F.A.Q.s

Q: Why do you tell your customers that it’s not necessary to fertilize a newly transplanted tree?

Great question! Doesn’t it make common sense that a tree would prefer to be transplanted into nicer, fertilized soils to lesson the shock? Actually, quite the opposite can happen. While trees and shrubs tend to grow better in amended soils when compared to native soils, recent research has proven that plants often do better in the long run when they are transplanted in un-amended soils because their roots are forced to spread wider and deeper into the surrounding areas. This is because there isn’t a nicer soil around for them to choose to stay with. For example, if you backfill your hole with too much good soil, like a potting soil, the roots will choose to culminate in the same area and they will never want to break through the clay soil, or un-amended soil nearby. When this happens, the roots can actually wrap around themselves and your tree will not only be held in the ground by shallow, unsteady roots, but your tree can ultimately become root-bound and die. This is not to say that fertilizing your tree initially is wrong, but in many cases it’s not necessary as you can always fertilize with a light, powdery fertilizer the second spring.