CAES Newswire

 College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences UGA Cooperative Extension
Menu
Published on 02/26/03

Just any old planting hole won't do

By Mike Isbell
University of Georgia

By now you should see trees for sale in nurseries and garden centers. If you ordered any by mail, you should be getting them soon.

So when you get your trees, what do you do with them?

Yeah, I know -- you plant them. But how? There's more to planting a tree than digging a pit and flinging in a tree. The hole you dig can be the difference between the life and death of the tree.

So what's a perfect hole?

Kim Coder, an urban forester with the University of Georgia Extension Service, says it has three important features: a compacted mound of soil in the bottom, steeply slanted sides, and a wide area.

The bottom mound

The mound of soil in the bottom is so the tree's root ball can rest on it. You can compact it with your foot since the roots are going to grow outward, not downward. This encourages the roots to spread and keeps the tree from settling too deep in the hole.

Position a tree to rest at the same or a slightly higher level in the soil than it did in the nursery. You can tell where the old soil level was by looking at the stem base.

If you want to kill the tree, plant it too deep or let it settle into a deep hole.

The steeply slanted sides are important, too. The sides should never be straight up and down. Always slant them at least 45 degrees from the soil surface.

Slanted sides

Slanted hole sides allow and encourage roots to spread out and grow into the native soil. This helps keep the tree from becoming pot-bound in the hole.

And finally, the width of the hole is a big key. Tree-planting holes should be three times wider than the root ball of the tree you're planting. This allows the tree to get off to a fast start.

There's a good way to describe proper tree planting: dig a saucer, not a hole.

Proper tree-planting holes are easier to dig, too. So, if you want to work harder so you can kill your tree faster, plant them in a deep, narrow, straight-sided hole.

If you'd rather make it easier on yourself and your tree, plant your trees correctly.

Mike Isbell is the Heard County extension coordinator with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Experts/Sources:
Mike Isbell
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time to spend more of the holiday with guests, taking time ahead of the day to set expectations can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. CAES News
Manage holiday stress with kindness, boundaries 11/21/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The holiday season can be a time of anticipation and joy, but balancing multiple commitments and personalities across families and friends can be a source of stress for hosts and visitors alike. Much like preparing parts of the meal ahead of time allows you to spend more of the holiday with guests, setting expectations ahead of the celebration can go a long way to ensuring enjoyable gatherings, said Ted Futris, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist and professor of human development and family science.
Conner Hall CAES News
CAES welcomes 2024 cohort of Rural Scholars 11/20/24 Maria M. Lameiras
The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences welcomed its fourth cohort of students chosen for the CAES Rural Scholars Program this fall just weeks after celebrating the program's first graduation. Georgia Orman, one of four inaugural Rural Scholars in CAES, graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education. The new scholars for 2024, all from Georgia, are Ela Ash of Ocilla, Lauren E. Coley of Cochran, Amelia Housley of Canon, and London O’Steen of Ambrose.
Women play a vital role in rural American farming, but much of that work is "invisible," like raising children or household chores, according to a new UGA study. (Getty Images) CAES News
The women and stress behind rural farming in America 11/19/24 Leigh Hataway
Recent research from the University of Georgia suggests the unique stresses from farm life may be taking a toll on one of the pillars of the families that make your dinners possible: the women who keep farming families running. “If we don’t control our food sources, we don’t control our health and safety,” said Anna Scheyett, lead author of the study and a professor in UGA’s School of Social Work. “It’s a matter of national security that farmers survive in the United States. And one of the big factors in helping farms survive is women.”
Mergoum at Creature Comforts CAES News
That's the spirit! 11/18/24 Maria M. Lameiras, Claire Sanders Kinnard
Wheat breeders spend years meticulously crossing varieties to coax the best traits out of each species, carefully propagating plant varieties that are healthier, heartier and better suited for the environments where they are grown. Professional brewmasters are equally painstaking when choosing the components that will give their beers a specific flavor profile.
Contest-winning concept becomes viable business for alumnus who developed solar-powered, self-propelled chicken coop as a student. CAES News
Poultry in motion 11/14/24 Sean Montgomery
Chris Ayers emerged from his orange and black rough-terrain vehicle with an ear-to-ear grin. “This is Chiktopia,” he said, sweeping his arm wide to indicate the back half of a 3,600-square-foot warehouse on his family’s farm in Ball Ground, Georgia. “This is where I manufacture and assemble the chicken coops. Everything is done entirely from over here.”
UGA Grand Farm Site Plan web CAES News
UGA Grand Farm wins stage two of 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund competition 11/13/24 Jordan Powers
Startups in the agricultural technology sector face significant barriers on the path to establishment, including access to training and capital. These barriers are heightened for underrepresented entrepreneurs seeking to start new companies. The University of Georgia Grand Farm, part of a historic partnership between the University of Georgia and Fargo, North Dakota-based Grand Farm, aims to change that.