Planting trees (Kingsport, Bristol, Church Hill: live, pine, Wal-mart)

[Robbied]

About.com: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/

in accordance with the map, Crossville moves from 8b to 6 b . I would imagine by the time we build, everything will be standard and I will not have to worry when ordering trees, shrubs etc. Or for that matter by that time, I might have to hire someone to plant and just worry about the rockers on the front porch and what color the crocheted lap blankets will be.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by TnHilltopper

As offered previously, dig a bigger hole a bit bigger than you need and use a richer mix of soil that will help the tree establish faster. Do not fertilize

Since we are in Iowa my advice may not hold true.

We planted a Kentucky Coffee tree and it stalled after a couple of years. I asked the owner of a local nursery about it and he had me use Fruit Tree spikes (only Fruit Tree), broken in half, and planted in a ring 12 inches apart and 12 inches from the edge of the original hole. I did this for two years, then moved the ring out another 12 inches for two years.

The tree took off and grew like a weed. The explanation was that the roots were very happy in the hole we dug and filled with rich earth. The fertilizer "enticed" the roots out of the hole.

BTW the Kentucky Coffee tree is an excellent tree. Used on our south side it provides great shade in the summer, and lets the sun through in the winter. It has no insect or disease problems and is, quite honestly, beautiful to look at. The picture below does it no justice. This Google search has some better pictures. kentucky coffee tree - Google Image Search

From Kentucky's State Tree - Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/kytree.htm#CoffeeTree - broken link)

About the Kentucky Coffee Tree http://www.kdla.ky.gov/Images/KYSymbols/02CoffeeTree.jpg (broken link)
The only tree that has a commonly accepted name which includes a state name, the Kentucky Coffee Tree is the one of the only two remaining species of Gymnocladus in existence. (The other is in China.) Gymnocladus means "naked branches," which the Coffee Tree has six months out of the year.
The Coffee Tree is a legume, a flowering plant that produces compound leaves and pods containing seeds that are edible. (Although Coffee Tree beans are poisonous to humans unless roasted thoroughly.) The plant produces green-white unisexual flowers that attract insects to provide cross pollination. The seed pods are 6 to 10 inches long and usually appear in late summer and sometimes last throughout the winter. The beans are packed in a green gooey substance in the pods, and are also protected by a hard, dark green-brown shell. The seed pods are only produced by female plants.
The Kentucky Coffee Tree is a medium to large tree, usually reaching a height of 75 to 100 feet and a diameter of 2 1/2 feet. The largest Coffee Tree on record is located in Morgan County, Kentucky** (http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/kytree.htm#2 - broken link), at a height of 78 feet tall and over 17 1/2 feet in diameter. The trunk of the Coffee Tree is short and divides into two to four secondary branches which are almost parallel to each other. The bark is dark gray and has rough projecting fissures. Young growth is stout often coated with a crusty film and fine hairs. The Kentucky Coffee Tree usually lives to be about 100 years old.
Found mostly in the midwest, the Kentucky Coffee Tree prefers deep, rich bottomland alluvial soils. The largest specimens can be found mostly in moist hollows on limestone soil, but the plant is tolerant of various soil types.

[TN Tin Man]

Originally Posted by Robin

About.com: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/

in accordance with the map, Crossville moves from 8b to 6 b . I would imagine by the time we build, everything will be standard and I will not have to worry when ordering trees, shrubs etc. Or for that matter by that time, I might have to hire someone to plant and just worry about the rockers on the front porch and what color the crocheted lap blankets will be.

You need to watch out for that Global Warming..........

[TnHilltopper]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Since we are in Iowa my advice may not hold true.

We planted a Kentucky Coffee tree and it stalled after a couple of years. I asked the owner of a local nursery about it and he had me use Fruit Tree spikes (only Fruit Tree), broken in half, and planted in a ring 12 inches apart and 12 inches from the edge of the original hole. I did this for two years, then moved the ring out another 12 inches for two years.

The tree took off and grew like a weed. The explanation was that the roots were very happy in the hole we dug and filled with rich earth. The fertilizer "enticed" the roots out of the hole.

Originally Posted by TnHilltopper

As offered previously, dig a bigger hole a bit bigger than you need and use a richer mix of soil that will help the tree establish faster. Do not fertilize until the middle of the second year.

The reason for not fertilizing a newly planted tree in its first year is because the root system is still enveloping the rich soil it was planted with and that was added at planting. Newly planted trees do not have developed and establish root systems and can burn quite easily from fertilizer. If you planted in the late fall or early spring, you may fertilize with a time release or slow release fertilizer, but I would use great caution, especially if it is an expensive specimen tree.

Now I am sure this also depends on where you live in Tennessee, the type of soil you have, the size of the tree and its root-ball that you are planting. I happen to live on a rock dome that has a covering of either solid clay or a dusting of coarse sand, so I have to pay very close attention to how each tree is treated. So far I haven't lost any planted trees but I did have a lot of trouble getting some blueberries started last year. I bought a new batch this year and they seem ok so maybe it was just a batch of poor quality.

I would also encourage folks to have patience as our sense of time is not that of a tree. Usually by the third year they will rocket upwards if cared for right.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by TnHilltopper

The reason for not fertilizing a newly planted tree in its first year is because the root system is still enveloping the rich soil it was planted with and that was added at planting. Newly planted trees do not have developed and establish root systems and can burn quite easily from fertilizer. If you planted in the late fall or early spring, you may fertilize with a time release or slow release fertilizer, but I would use great caution, especially if it is an expensive specimen tree.

Now I am sure this also depends on where you live in Tennessee, the type of soil you have, the size of the tree and its root-ball that you are planting. I happen to live on a rock dome that has a covering of either solid clay or a dusting of coarse sand, so I have to pay very close attention to how each tree is treated. So far I haven't lost any planted trees but I did have a lot of trouble getting some blueberries started last year. I bought a new batch this year and they seem ok so maybe it was just a batch of poor quality.

I would also encourage folks to have patience as our sense of time is not that of a tree. Usually by the third year they will rocket upwards if cared for right.

If you noticed we didn't start fertilizing until year three, even in Iowa. If you could see the soil here you'd be green with envy. There's a reason we can grow almost anything. But we also aren't used to plants stalling like that. Because the soil here is so rich trees usually just take off and this one didn't.

When they built our house they dug the basement and piled all the clay from the bottom of the hole in the yard. They then spread it out over the entire area. So now when I dig for planting I use a post hole digger (gas-powered with the engine at the end of a long arm. If you've seen one you know what I mean. A one person operation thanks to the leverage the engine at the end of the arm gives) and it hits a hard pan anywhere from 18 to 24 inches down. Once I get through that 2-3 inches of packed clay I'm in pay dirt: rich. loamy earth that smells soooo good and plants love it.

[TnHilltopper]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

If you noticed we didn't start fertilizing until year three, even in Iowa. If you could see the soil here you'd be green with envy. There's a reason we can grow almost anything. But we also aren't used to plants stalling like that. Because the soil here is so rich trees usually just take off and this one didn't.

When they built our house they dug the basement and piled all the clay from the bottom of the hole in the yard. They then spread it out over the entire area. So now when I dig for planting I use a post hole digger (gas-powered with the engine at the end of a long arm. If you've seen one you know what I mean. A one person operation thanks to the leverage the engine at the end of the arm gives) and it hits a hard pan anywhere from 18 to 24 inches down. Once I get through that 2-3 inches of packed clay I'm in pay dirt: rich. loamy earth that smells soooo good and plants love it.

Ha ha, yeah, I am envious! I lived a while in Northern Indiana and recall that soil being dark, rich and the smell was wonderful! (of course it was usually under 3 feet of snow most of the time)

I pretty much plant with two tools, the post hole digger that will introduce you to muscles you didn't know existed and the Pick-Mattock which is essentially a pick with a flattened end and an ax like blade on the other side for cutting roots. Shovels can be used once in a great while but I jumped on my last one and it folded the spade like tinfoil.

However, I have learned to incorporate the rock features and slopes into the over all landscape and it adds a unique touch. I figure why fight it, might as well join it. I figure in another 20 years I will get things just like I want them.

Best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time in now.

[Tek_Freek]

Originally Posted by TnHilltopper

Ha ha, yeah, I am envious! I lived a while in Northern Indiana and recall that soil being dark, rich and the smell was wonderful! (of course it was usually under 3 feet of snow most of the time)

I pretty much plant with two tools, the post hole digger that will introduce you to muscles you didn't know existed and the Pick-Mattock which is essentially a pick with a flattened end and an ax like blade on the other side for cutting roots. Shovels can be used once in a great while but I jumped on my last one and it folded the spade like tinfoil.

However, I have learned to incorporate the rock features and slopes into the over all landscape and it adds a unique touch. I figure why fight it, might as well join it. I figure in another 20 years I will get things just like I want them.

Best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time in now.

Sounds like I have to learn a new style of planting, gardening, and landscaping when I get there.

[TnHilltopper]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

Sounds like I have to learn a new style of planting, gardening, and landscaping when I get there.

When you wake up one morning and find one leg longer than the other, then you know you are settled in.

My neighbor lady up the way is about 300 years old and still sharp as they come, told me a good one this morning. Trees take three years when planted: the first year they sleep, the second they creep, and the third they leap.

[Tek_Freek]

Way ahead of you. I had Polio in my right leg when I was four. I have a 1/4" start on the move already.

[TnHilltopper]

Heck Tek, folks might think you were born here then. btw, does that auger have a rock chipper type blade or can you get one? I'm wondering if I may have to rent a pneumatic hammer or something for about 8 fence posts that sit literally on solid sandstone, so wondering if that auger has something that might work?