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Prepare soil for new trees
Rubi
Posts: 131
I've never done gardening before, so I'm new to all this. I am planning on planting two trees at the bottom of my garden, about 1.5m from the fence and 50cm from the edge of my lawn. One a cherry blossom and the other a crab apple tree. It appears I have clay and loamy soil. Please can I have advice on what I should do to prepare the ground. Do I need to spray with weed killer, add anything to the soil, how far should I dig, do I need to break the soil up as its clay, do I need to add sand, do I need to add new soil or compost and remove old soil. Also what type of root shall I buy as there's different types listed on the websites e.g. Bare root, pot plant, different pot sizes.
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Type is up to you Rubi, it's not too late to plant bare root but it soon will be, after which go for potted. As for prep, no to sand, yes to grit and manure. If you go onto BBC iPlayer and catch up on last week's gardeners world, Joe Swift showed exactly how to plant a tree perfect example, and probably better than explaining it on the forum. The trees will do well in clay so a planting hole is all you really need.
Funnily enough I watched Garderners World this morning having downloaded from On Demand. I think it was episode three or two that I watched.
Do you know which episode the tree planting was shown in?
Also what is grit? Sorry if that's a dumb question.
Is this something that you can buy from B&Q and is simply called grit?
Rubi - are you planting in a windy site - if so you may need to stake the trees - I would agree with Dave above, but would add some peat to the hole as well as grit and manure. Don't let the soil around the tree become dry as it is nearing the end of the planting season for trees and they need extra moisture during their first year of planting.
Rubi GW has only just begun, there are only two episodes, watch both. Grit is horticultural grit comes bagged. If not that a bag of 10mm pea shingle will do.
I agree with the above comments. Dig as big a hole as you can, at least twice as big as the pot if using potted trees. Both cherries and crab apples will do well on clay so long as it is not too heavy. Incorporate as much organic matter as you can; manure is best. Keep them well watered throughout the growing season for at least the first spring/summer and not quite so much during the second growing season from planting. Keep weeds and grass away from the root area for the first few years too. Happy planting! Stake on the SW side if in a windy location.
Speaking as someone who is also learning but who isnt also watch out for drains builders rubbish etc we don't all live in nice new rural environments enjoy and good luck
dennis
The reasoning behind not putting compost in the planting hole, for new trees, is that if you make the soil too rich, the tree roots will not "want" to grow outwards to find nutrition and water.
Planting in square holes, has also been recommended, as circular holes encourage roots to grow round and round, rather than explore outwards.
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