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Is it ok to plant conifers without amending soil?

8 years ago

I planted a 5' tall Pauls select Norway Spruce on July 1st. I know I shouldn't plant in summer but it's been unusually cool this time of year in northern Illinois and we have received record rainfall.

I have read a lot about planting techniques and fertilizing conifers. It seems all the places selling trees think you should amend soil and fertilize with some type of root starter when planting. Other sources say to just plant it in native soil for best results and that this will force the roots to actually go deeper in search of better soil and more water. I went the latter route after reading about a landscaper who said that he had noticed root systems went deeper without amending soil.

As it is now, my Norway looks ok. Maybe mildly stressed. I keep it watered every 48 hours if we don't get a substantial rainfall. The heat is starting to pick up around here and sometimes I wonder if I should give it a little boost of root starter or something else to help it out a bit. But I'm new to the game and I don't know what I should do. I really want the tree to do well. It wasn't cheap and I don't want the time and effort I put into getting it home and planting to go to waste. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Featured Answer

Embothrium

8 years ago

I'd use shade cloth or lath instead.

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Comments (11)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
amending is not recommended..

see link

more later, if others havent responded ..

water when it needs water.. dig a 3 to 6 inch hole at the edge of the ball planted.. AND FIND OUT ... you seem to be guessing ... and that isnt good ...

IMHO .. all goos are hocus pocus.. to separate money from your wallet ...

perfect water

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub
outback63 Dennison
8 years ago
Buying all those amending products from nursery's is a waste of time. It helps their bottom line with good profit margins. To the novice it seems like a good thing to do. Actually the roots are out of the amending hole in 6 months.
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Embothrium
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
the roots are out of the amending hole in 6 months

Unless the effects of amending the back-fill on how water moves into and out of the hole - the main reason to not amend back-fill - are sufficiently detrimental to stunt or kill the specimen.
plantkiller_il_5
8 years ago
easy on the water,,,tree that size ,,4 gal. once a week

here in N. Il.,,,whether it rains or not

ron
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
as to dave and embo ... the problem is when the amendments are wildly divergent from the native soil... you can cause more porblems than solve ..

e.g. if bad non draining clay.. with plants that like hig drainage ... adding water retaining peat into a wet hole.. only doubles your problems... etc ...

plant killers 4 gallons must be perfect for his soil in his micro climate... etc ...

you have to dig that hole and find out ... try to figure out.. how to let the soil.. at depth.. NEARLY dry.. in between deep waterings ... and frankly.. even in my glacial sand.. that can be weeks between waterings ... dexcept for the heat of august ..

even if you figure it out for this month.. MOST LUKELY ... by late sept... you may not need to water much at all ... since the days wont be so hot;.... and with cool nights... they just dont need that much water.. just keep digging holes...

ken
outback63 Dennison
8 years ago
I gave one reason just to keep it simple. Yes, to be sure there are other reasons also.
Embothrium
8 years ago
The bottom line is you want the same soil throughout the entire rooting area, without zones or pockets of different material. This is why the latest trend is to even recommend taking the field soil or potting medium off the roots when planting - textural differences between the soil on the planting site and the soil or potting medium the plant came with can be quite problematic.
edlincoln
8 years ago
Amending is certainly not necesarry. Planting this time of year the biggest reason for it to do badly is lack of water. Sounds like you are taking care of that. Excess sun is the other problem. The other thing you could do (if it is small) is to provide partial protection from excess sun to prevent dessication. I find tree tubes can do this for small deciduous trees...would a tarp set up to screen it from the direction the sun is in at noon help with a conifer?
Nick Ball
Original Author
8 years ago
@embothrium, how do I use a shade cloth? I imagine it would have to be taken off at some point during the day. Do they just let partial sunlight in?
edlincoln
8 years ago
Some versions let partial sunlight through. Or you could figure out what direction the sun is at noon in the summer (and/or the direction of prevailing winds), and place it to screen from that direction.

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