Forgot your password?
Not Registered? Sign Up
Manage your account
Shade Trees: Care
Your trees will grow 30 percent to 60 percent faster with regular care during the first five growing seasons. Good care means more shade sooner.
Watering
For newly planted trees, "deep water" twice a week when the temperature is below 90 degrees F and three times a week if the temperature climbs to 100degrees F or above. If you are planting during the summer, follow this watering schedule until the fall rains begin.
Water your trees deeply and slowly, at least 10 gallons each time, by placing a hose near the trunk and letting it trickle all day or all night. Sprinklers are not adequate to allow the water to go deep enough and moisten all the tree roots.
Summer watering is very important in the first few growing seasons. Please keep the soil constantly saturated.
Soil and environmental conditions vary, so keep the rootball moist, but be careful not to overwater.
It is easy to determine if the soil near the trees is too wet or too dry. Dig up a handful of soil from about 6 inches deep and squeeze it into a ball. If it crumbles, it is too dry. If water drips out, it is too wet.
Mulching
Keep wood chips or other organic mulch 4 to 6 inches deep around the base of your tree (but not against the trunk) to help control weeds and reduce moisture evaporation from the soil. Wood chips improve the soil structure and its fertility when it decomposes.
Do not mulch with rock or gravel. Mulching with rock does not provide the insulation to the roots that a 6" layer of wood chips provides to keep a tree growing vigorously during the hot summer months. Also, do not use black plastic since tree roots need oxygen.
Weeding
Keep the planting area (4 feet in diameter) clear of weeds, grass and other plant life. Competition from other plants inhibits young tree growth.
Do not use a lawn mower or weed trimmer within this area. Put on a pair of gardening gloves and pull the weeds out by hand. To avoid this chore altogether, mulch! .
Staking and Tying
If your tree came with a nursery stake (a thin stake attached to the tree trunk) remove it to enable the tree to get strong.
If the trunk bends over, stake it with two large stakes, each about 18 inches from the trunk. If your tree can easily support itself, do not stake it. If you stake your tree, periodically check the stakes and ties to ensure that they are not harming the trunk or branches. The sooner you remove the stakes and ties, the stronger the tree will be.
Fertilizing
Use fertilizer tablets which supply nutrients for approximately one year. After that, continue to fertilize your trees annually.
Your local nursery or the Master Gardener office (916.875.6913) can advise you on the best product and its use. Remember to water thoroughly when you fertilize and to carefully follow package directions to be certain that you do not over fertilize.
Do not use "weed and feed" fertilizer mixes as they will harm young trees.
Winter Care
Break down the berm (the edge of soil that contains the water basin) to drain excess water away from the tree.If water still stands around your tree, it will die.
Raise the tree until the crown is slightly above soil level. If your tree is staked, wait until early summer before removing the stakes and ties because our strong winter and spring winds can bend or even blow over some of your trees.
Pruning
We recommend that you do not prune your new tree for the first 3 years. However, if your tree is growing vigorously, some trees can be pruned after two years.
The more foliage that remains on the tree, the faster it will grow. Pruning is covered in the monthly tree care classes presented by the Sacramento Tree Foundation and the special pruning classes offered during the fall and winter months. You will also receive a winter newsletter with more pruning information.
When it is time to prune, follow these general procedures for young trees:
- Use only clean and sharp pruning tools.
- Remove dead, damaged and the weakest of any crossing limbs as well as suckers from the base of the tree.
- Each branch selected for removal should be cut outside the small ridge known as the branch bark collar located where the branch joins the trunk. Leave this collar intact. Wound dressings should not be used for pruning cuts.
- Never cut the top off your tree!
- After 3 years, you may prune the lower limbs to approximately one foot off ground level. If you want to walk under your tree canopy, continue to remove the lower limbs (1' off the ground) each year for up to 5 or 6 years.
- Most pruning that cannot be done from the ground or a short ladder should be left to a certified arborist. Contact your local nursery or the Master Gardener Office at 916.875.6913, for recommendations.
Now That It's Your Tree ...
The key to growing healthy and beautiful trees is your stewardship of your newly-planted trees.
The Sacramento Tree Foundation helps to monitor the progress of your trees by selectively examining and measuring them.
Although caring for your trees does require scheduled attention by you, it is not difficult or demanding work. Please take care of your trees so that they may provide years of shade and beauty.
Tree Questions or Problems?
Call the Stewardship Department at the Sacramento Tree Foundation at 1.800.924.LEAF (5323).