Potting Lots of Trees at My Farm

April 18, 2018

Potting hundreds of trees at the farm is a huge undertaking.

This week, my outdoor grounds crew has been very busy caring for all sorts of trees and shrubs - container seedlings as well as bare-root cuttings. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while they are dormant, and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. Once we received the shipment, it was a race to get them into some good nutrient-filled soil to prevent them from becoming desiccated. With team work, and a lot of good, old-fashioned elbow-grease, the crew got many of them done.

Enjoy these photos.

: After receiving hundreds of bare-root tree cuttings, the outdoor grounds crew began potting each seedling, so they could be carefully nurtured before moving to a more permanent location.

: Ryan prepares large markers to label sections of trees as they are potted.

: In order to get all the seedlings potted as quickly as possible, it was “all hands on deck.” The crew created a very productive assembly line.

: Here is one of the many bare-root cuttings. Each one is part of a bundle that includes 25, 50 or 100 bare-root specimens. Healthy bare-root trees get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, fibrous roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.

: Each pot has several drainage holes, which makes watering much easier. These light, plastic pots are available at garden supply stores, but if you have the room, save the containers you get from new plants just in case.

: Carlos plants a seedling into each pot. If they are in good condition, the plant should sprout leaves in the same year it is planted. If planted in spring, a bare-root plant should have leaves by the summer.

: The tree is placed at the same level it was grown by the nursery – where the roots start and the top shoots begin. The soil is then gently filled in around the roots, but not packed too tightly.

: Ryan sprinkles a good fertilizer made especially for new trees. We use M-Roots with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.

: Each pot is then fitted with a weed disk, which will prevent any surface weeds from growing, while also letting in water and lots of air circulation. These are available at garden supply shops and online – they will definitely save time on manual weeding this summer.

: All the potted seedlings are then grouped together, so they can be moved to a designated location, where they will be maintained until they’re transplanted into the ground.

: For this collection of bare-root cuttings, we decided to store them down in the parking lot behind my stable, where they are out of the way, but still easily accessible for watering. Ryan and Chhewang rolled out weed cloth one layer at a time as the pots were unloaded.

: The trees were placed neatly on the weed cloth and separated by tree type. This is Carpinus caroliniana, the American hornbeam – a small hardwood tree in the genus Carpinus. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, and musclewood. I have many mature hornbeams planted in various areas at the farm.

: Chhewang positions each pot carefully, leaving room enough for a small footpath in between the sections.

: Fernando follows behind to check that every weed disk is fitted properly on each pot.

: This is American witchhazel. This native grows throughout northeast and southeast North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida and from the Great Lakes to east Texas. American witchhazel is a shrub or small tree with arching branches generally growing as a dense, multi-stemmed clump reaching heights of 20 to 30 feet and widths of 15 to 20 feet.

: Carlos keeps the cutting centered in the container as he fills it with soil. We always use composted manure and nutrient-filled soil in all our garden beds and in these vessels.

: The goal in handling bare-root plants is to maintain adequate moisture so they don’t dry out.

: As more pots are filled, Ryan helps to place more weed disks on each container – they should fit securely under the lip of the pot if possible, so light cannot hit the surface. These disks are also pre-cut with slits that easily wrap around planting stems.

: Fernando loads the potted specimens onto the pick-up truck, so they can be transported to the stable parking lot.

: Here, Chhiring fills each pot about a third full of compost, while Carlos, Dawa and Carlos continue planting the pines and adding the rest of the soil.

: Here is another load of cuttings already unloaded and lined up in their new home.

: Ryan and Chhewang unroll another piece of weed cloth.

: The next group of cuttings to be potted included American sweetgum, also known as American storax, hazel pine, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum. It is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical regions of Mexico and Central America. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is a popular ornamental tree in temperate climates.

: These bare-root cuttings range from a foot tall to about three feet tall. These look very healthy and should grow quickly once planted.

: When planting, be sure to plant bare-roots before new growth starts.

: Our order includes two types of rhododendron – Lee’s Dark Purple and Rosebay. Rhododendron is a medium-sized, dense, broadleaf evergreen shrub that has large, glossy, dark green leaves.