Planting An Allee of Pin Oaks
It’s no secret how much I love planting trees, and because I also feel strongly about reforestation and giving back to the earth, the more trees planted, the better.
This year’s large tree-planting project continues at my Bedford, New York farm with a group of young, healthy pin oak trees, Quercus palustris. My gardeners and outdoor grounds crew are working very hard to plant as many saplings as possible before the ground freezes. For this latest project, I decided to create an allee of pin oaks along the carriage road just past my Christmas tree field heading to what I call my “Contemporary House”. The pin oak is a medium-sized deciduous oak of the red oak group that typically grows to about 50 to 70 feet tall with a broad pyramidal crown. The foliage hangs from thick, dense branches and looks quite majestic when mature. In time, I know these young pin oaks will look just as beautiful as my existing pin oaks by my Equipment Barn.
Here are some photos.
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- If you follow my blog regularly, you know I have a mature allee of pin oaks just down the carriage road from my farm’s front gate. This photo was taken earlier this fall before the leaves started to change. Pin oak, Quercus palustris, is native east of the Mississippi River and hardy in zones 4 to 8. It is a full, ovate shaped tree with a growth rate of about two feet per year making it one of the faster-growing oak trees.
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- This is the pin oak allee in spring when the leaves are all bright green and lush. Pin Oak is one of the most popular landscaping oaks because it’s so easy to transplant, grows relatively quickly and is a very hardy tree. One of the tree’s most distinguishable traits is that its lower branches hang down, while the middle branches reach out horizontally and the upper branches grow upright.
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- The bark of the pin oak is dark and furrowed. It makes good wood for splitting, and for firewood.
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- Here in the new planting space, 104 pin oaks are lined up along both sides of the carriage road leading to my “Contemporary House.” The trees are hard to see in the pots with their slender trunks, but in time they will be big and beautiful.
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- My grounds crew foreman, Chhiring, starts by lining up the trees about 10 to 15 feet apart. He uses gardener’s twine to position them perfectly straight about two to three feet from the carriage road.
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- Each tree is placed carefully across from the other in this allee formation. Working in an assembly line, the crew starts digging the holes. Whenever planting trees, always consider the size and spread of the specimen when it is mature.
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- Here, Carlos digs the holes just slightly bigger than the containers.
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- Each tree is planted to the height it was in the pot. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Gardeners often say “bare to the flare” is the rule of thumb. Look for the root collar or root flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk. The root flare should be just above the soil surface.
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- As we do with all the trees planted at the farm, a good amount of compost is added to the existing soil in each hole.
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- Then a generous amount of fertilizer is sprinkled on the compost and the existing soil. The elements are mixed together and planted with the tree.
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- Always have a good quality tree fertilizer on hand to mix with the soil. We use dryroots, a natural granular fertilizer with nitrogen, potassium sulfate, iron, magnesium, kelp meal, vitamins, and humic acids to improve soil and plant health.
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- We always save our pots after a transplanting project is completed. These pots will come in very handy – for planting the next set of trees.
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- The leaves of the pin oak have deep indentations, making them look skinny. They have about five to seven lobes each and are about six inches long. Pin oak is known for the gorgeous fall color. These leaves are starting to turn.
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- In the fall, they have deep red or scarlet hues. Sometimes, the foliage turns more of a yellow or bronze color in fall; however, once the fall color display is done, pin oaks often retain brown leaves, which persist on the tree through winter.
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- One by one, each tree is carefully placed into its assigned space.
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- Once the tree is in the hole, Phurba takes another look to be sure the tree is aligned and that the best side of the tree is facing toward the road. It’s the small details that can make all the difference.
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- Then he backfills the hole with the soil.
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- And gently steps around the root ball and soil to ensure there aren’t any air pockets.
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- Next, the young tree is staked to protect it as it develops. Here, Gavin starts tying twine to secure the tree to the bamboo stake. He will secure it in three places – one low, one in the middle and one piece of twine near the top of the tree.
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- Here is a large spool of jute twine. We use jute twine for many projects around the farm.
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- The knots used should be very simple. I always teach every member of the crew to twist the twine into a figure eight before knotting, so the tree or vine or cane is not crushed or strangled.
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- Ryan then walks along the new allee cutting all the bamboo stakes to size so they look neat and uniform. The cut pieces will be used to stake smaller trees around the farm – nothing is ever wasted.
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- Hard to see the trees now, but in time they will all look very handsome. Pin oaks prefer moist, rich, well-drained acid soil and full sun.
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- 52 pin oaks on each side – I can’t wait to see how they develop. Are you planting any trees this season? Share your comments with me in the section below. I always look forward to hearing from you.
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