How to Help a Sapling Take Root

Saplings need a good root structure to grow into strong trees.

Place a tree in a garden to add contrast to standard shrubbery and flowers. The tree will offer shade, cement the soil through its long roots and allow plants that cannot survive in direct sunlight to grow. Garden centers sell saplings that are below 2 meters tall, but mature enough to grow easily. To successfully transplant and grow saplings, you must help them take up solid roots in the garden.

Things You'll Need

• Spade
• Bone meal
• Transplanting fluid
• Water
• Mulch
• Fertilizer
• Tree guard

Instructions

1. Plan the planting of the sapling. Planting it in the summer will not give it long to grow roots before the colder winter months set in. For the best results, plant saplings in early spring.

2. Dig a hole in the garden wide enough for the saplings roots, but don't crowd them or allow too much space. The hole needs to be 2 inches wider than the roots on each side. Dig the hole in a shady and sheltered area of the garden.

3. Add bone meal to the bottom of the hole to supply nutrients and provide drainage. A spadeful of bone meal will be plenty, or enough to cover the bottom of the hole.

4. Soak the young roots of the sapling in water and transplant solution for a few minutes before planting. Mix the solution as per manufacturers guidelines. This is normally about 1 cap for every 2 gallons of water.

5. Shake the dirt off the roots and spread them out before placing the sapling in the hole. Fill the hole just over halfway, add a generous amount of water and fill the rest of the hole with soil. Tap down the soil afterward with the sole of a boot or a shovel to compact the soil.

6. Loosen the first few inches of top soil and add a layer of mulch in a 1 meter wide circle around the tree, but don't allow the mulch to touch the stem. Mulch helps the ground retain moisture, deters weeds and stops erosion. Use straw, bark, wood chips, newspaper or landscaping blankets.

7. Add 0.5 kilograms of fertilizer at the end of May or early June. Do not add too much fertilizer or the tree will grow to fast for the roots.

Tips & Warnings

• Install tree guards, which are plastic tubes that encase the trunk, to stop insects and small animals from attacking the sapling. Although they do not help root growth, they will help the tree in the long run.

• Water the sapling regularly, especially during the hot, dry summer months.

References

• Landowner Resource Center: Planting and Caring for Nut Trees
• Home and Garden Ideas: Planting a Sapling