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Planting now vs fall

Kyle (East TN, 6b/7a)

7 years ago

Hi guys. Okay so I am planning on planting two M. glyptostroboides in my yard. I know that fall would be the reccomended time to plant, especially with how hot and dry it currently is here, but if I were able to water the two M. glyptostroboides daily, or whenever needed, would there be an advantage to getting them in the ground now?

Thanks

Kyle

Featured Answer

sam_md

7 years ago

Kyle, can we talk? Have you looked at the calendar lately? As of yesterday it is summer. In my state yesterday was SCORTCHING hot with the bright sun all day. I'm guessing that it was no different in East TN. Are you saying that you found a mailorder source that sells bareroot trees this time of year? How 'bout finding another source.

BTW, your state is saturated with growers, I've been there many times. Shop around, invest in good plants. Also Dawn Redwood is not difficult to grow, its child's play, don't overthink it.

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
they are trees... why do they need to be watered daily???

its really all about the week or two.. its takes teh disturbed roots to get back working .. and how miserable the weather is during that time. ... if the roots arent working ... it wont matter if you water every day ....

how big are they .. are they potted .... how big are the pots ... one trick with small pots.. is to plant.. pot and all.. into a bigger pot... it keeps the smaller pot cool.. so it doesnt dry as fast ... and i would put either of them.. in full bright shade ...

i would NEVER plant this time of year.. in my area ... especially a deciduous tree.. which might shed its leaves.. then insist on releafing ... way too much stress ...

hopefully a TN person can opine more locally ...

btw.. how much you have invested in these trees ... if you are willing to lose such.. go for it ... pros do it all the time.. but they dont pay retail ...

ken
Kyle (East TN, 6b/7a)
Original Author
7 years ago
They are small. Within the 1-2' range, and I believe they would come bareroot, although they've been container grown. I would not be investing much so a loss would be minimal.
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i dont know timing in your zone ... but in my MI ... one of the keys is night heat ... a cool recovery period for whatever happened during the day ... so i used to wait until at least sept .. so the nights were falling into the 50s ... one of the biggest advantages was .. in fall .. the soil wont be drying every day or so ... a deep good soaking at planting .. and then mulch.. and there were good odds ... that i might not have to water again until next summer .. and when you are planting all over a large yard ... that is a great benefit ... there was one fall ... that was actually a drought ... and i did water again in november ... you water when the trees need water ... and you dont put the hoses away october first.. just because ... but i did have to disconnect them from the house and remove the wand.. to make sure the hose could let out water pressure and not freeze and burst overnight ... in your zone.. the freezing probably isnt an issue until much later .... just fyi .. ken
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wisconsitom
7 years ago
.........or are these potted? As I've explained here too many times to count, the very existence of containerized (potted) stock stretches the window suitable for planting right through the summer months. Truly it is so, for you doubters out there. As any landscaper can tell you, many, many plants-millions if we look nationally- are installed during the summer months.

Now of course you will have to take ambient conditions into account. But how is that any different than planting done at any other time of year? Answer: It's not. What might differ is amount and frequency of water needed. But I suspect you already know this.
Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
7 years ago
Being in a UPS truck cooking for a couple days will be the worst part.

Metasequoia can be watered and watered more so you night be ok.
edlincoln
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Do you already have the trees? Is there an espeially good sale now? If not, there is no ADVANTAGE to planting now. A combination heat wave/drought can take out a lot of plants.

I suspect what happens in the wild is there may be several years when all the young seedlings die, then one year when rain falls at just the right time and a huge number of saplings get established. If a tree lives a hundred years and produces dozens of offspring on the years when the weather is right, this works out fine for the tree. Not so good for home owners who spend hundred on large specimens of exotic trees. Also, we sometimes plant trees in environments they would never grow in nature.

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