Planting Maple and Tulip Trees
My Bedford, New York farm continues to transform with the planting of many beautiful and interesting trees.
Every year I try to add a few trees in my Japanese Maple Woodland. I love this area of the farm and am always thinking about what plants and trees would look best. There are hundreds of Japanese maples planted here already and because they prefer sun-dappled, part shade, I purposely planted them beneath older, larger trees - the varying heights add a nice texture to the grove. This week, my outdoor grounds crew planted another collection of these taller varieties such as maples and tulip trees, which will one day grow up to more than 120-feet tall.
Enjoy these photos, and please see my story on my Japanese Maple Woodland in the October issue of our magazine, "Living."
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- Every year around this time, my gardeners, outdoor grounds crew, and I carefully plan where we will plant hundreds of young trees. I get many of my trees as bare-root cuttings and then nurture them in pots before they are transplanted in more permanent locations. Here are some of trees waiting to be positioned and planted in the Japanese Maple Woodland.
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- This woodland is one of my favorite areas of the farm. It is located near my chicken coops and vegetable garden. Hundreds of rare and interesting Japanese maples are planted here and growing excellently. A Japanese maple is a small tree or large shrub in the Maple family that is native to the Asian countries of China, Korea and Japan. It is highly prized as a garden tree for its great ornamental beauty.
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- Many of my Japanese maples are varieties of Acer palmatum – trees that have been cultivated in Japanese gardens for centuries. These specimens provide countless variations in size, leaf shape, and color, creating a landscape of beauty and texture.
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- Red leafed cultivars are the most popular, followed by green shrubs with deeply dissected leaves. These leaves are deeply divided, but each lobe is also dissected, giving them a lacy effect.
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- And here is a green leafed version, ‘Osaka Suki.’ Japanese maple trees are particularly suitable for borders and ornamental paths because their root systems are compact and not invasive.
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- These trees are planted beneath the canopy of larger trees, but we needed a few more to fill the area.
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- Here’s Ryan placing a couple of the trees where they will be planted – many of them are going in an open space where older trees had fallen after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
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- Among the trees being planted – maples. The maple tree, Acer, has leaves with pointed lobes and with deep indentations between the lobes. The leaves are a bold green color.
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- The crew is also planting some tulip trees. This is the leaf of the tulip tree. Our tulip trees are the tallest at the farm – these trees can grow more than 120-feet. In the late spring bright yellowish-green and orange flowers bloom. They resemble tulips in shape. The silhouette of the tree’s leaves is also tulip-shaped. Together, these features give the tulip tree its name. The tulip tree is also known as tulip poplar, yellow poplar, whitewood, and tulip magnolia. Some of these names can be deceiving, as the tree is not a true poplar. Instead, it belongs to the magnolia family.
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- The tulip tree’s bark on its large trunk is colored light grayish brown. It is corky and has vertical to slightly wavering vertical furrows.
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- Each tree is planted to the height it was in the pot. Domi digs each hole next to the tree – about 10 inches deep. Trees do so well here at the farm because of the rich well-drained soil.
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- Pasang then plants the trees. Here, he carefully removes the tree from its pot.
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- And then breaks up the root ball to stimulate root growth. Essentially, Pasang loosens the roots a bit and creates some beneficial injuries. This helps the plant become established more quickly in its new environment.
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- A scoop of good fertilizer is sprinkled on the surrounding soil.
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- “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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- Once the tree is planted, it is staked to protect it as it develops. Because these trees are so tall, we use bamboo stakes to secure the trees. Bamboo comes in a variety of lengths and is easy to find at garden supply stores. We use natural jute twine for many of our projects. Jute twine is a vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is 100-percent biodegradable and pollution-free.
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- Chhiring ties garden twine in three places – this will ensure the tree is well supported and directed as it grows.
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- I always teach every member of the crew to twist the twine before knotting, so the tree or vine or cane is not crushed or strangled.
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- I like to tie the twine in a figure-eight formation. Each piece is tied just tight enough to keep the tree secure, but not break it. And, we double the twine to provide added security in case of strong winds.
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- The young trees will one day be as tall as their mature neighbors, providing a canopy of high shade for all the plantings below – it will be most beautiful. Please take a look at my story on Japanese maples in the October issue of “Living” – it’s on newsstands now. And stay tuned for a future blog later this fall when the Japanese maple trees show off their gorgeous amber red colors.
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