SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/27931
— or are they more interested by symbolism in which case a majestic, long-lived, veteran species might be more important. Q: When is the best time to plant? A: Again, it varies with location, but in most places the colder months are best. Trees are generally dormant, or nearly so, and are far more tolerant of the stresses involved in transplanting. Q: What should be taken into considera- tion regarding climate and soil conditions? A: Common sense is by far the most im- portant thing. It is pointless planting a mango in Ohio, and a birch is never going to thrive in Nevada. Most trees have evolved to thrive in a particular habitat, and you ig- nore millions of years of plant genetics at your peril. So, before planting, read up on your chosen species. Yes, you can alter the soil’s pH to get something to grow in an oth- erwise alien environment, but you are setting a millstone around not only your own neck, but those of future generations. If you are in an acid area and you plant an alkali-loving tree, then every couple of years you will have to treat the soil to keep the tree happy. And if you plant a delicate tree in a harsh climate you will need to rush out each fall to shroud the thing with frost-protection. Q: What suggestions do you have regard- ing planting of B&B trees versus bare root planting versus containerized trees? A: Impatience is a very human failing. We all suffer from it and it’s one of the biggest headaches when it comes to plant- ing trees. Clients naturally long to see re- sults quickly, so they want a big tree now! This often means putting in a big B&B specimen and involving huge trucks, dig- gers and cranes. To me this just misses the big picture. Trees grow fast in their early years, but can live for centuries. Smaller, bare-rooted, specimens will usually catch up with their bigger B&B or containerized equivalents within a few years. Indeed, some years back I planted two hedges — one using foot-high bare-rooted ‘whips’ and the other using 10-foot B&B stock. A decade later the ‘whips’ are half as high again as their expensive neighbors. Q: What are your recommendations re- garding follow-up care? A: I wish I could put on a saintly expres- sion and put forward a litany of after-care in- structions with a straight face. The truth is I tend to ‘plant and walk’. One of the wonder- ful things about trees is that a healthy speci- men planted in the right spot should need very little aftercare. Yes, protection from deer and rabbits can be vital, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to clear grass away from the base of the trunk — preferably by mulching — but, in general, the tree should be able to look after itself. If it can’t, you’ve probably planted the wrong tree in the wrong place, in which case you are starting a potentially never-ending battle with nature. ■ John Kmitta is editor of Arbor Age maga- zine, sister publication to SportsTurf. This in- terview originally appeared in Arbor Age. www.stma.org SportsTurf 39