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| Photo Credit: Jennifer Bradley Lenet |
| Many gardeners plant small 1-gallon trees, but you have to care for them properly for them to grow into big, healthy beauties. |
What better way to celebrate Earth Day or Arbor Day than by planting a tree? A lot of us can’t afford the cost of purchasing and installing a large boxed tree, so we end up buying a 1- or 5-gallon size with the hope our small investment will produce a big, healthy specimen (after plenty of time and TLC). Unfortunately, smaller trees can come with pitfalls – like producing “lollipop” look-alikes or root-bound specimens that blow over in a windstorm. But you can avoid these problems if you just follow some easy instructions.
First, pick the best tree – and that doesn’t mean the tallest and biggest in the row. Often the largest trees are root-bound and can’t anchor its bigger crown in a brisk windstorm. So check out that root system! Ask your garden center or nursery professional to help you remove the tree from its pot so you can take a look at what lies below. | Add Photo to Journal |  | | Photo Credit: Jennifer Bradley Lenet | | Without good pruning, your little tree could turn into a lollipop. |
If the tree is pot-bound, the roots will circle – often at the surface, but more likely at the side of the pot or on the bottom. A healthy tree will have healthy, fine, fibrous roots extending to the container’s edge, but they won’t circle or create a tight mesh of roots along it. Also, make sure the roots aren’t brown, water-soaked or falling apart when you touch them. Look for creepy crawlies in the pot, too. Healthy, active earthworms are a good sign. Ants aren’t.
Be sure to choose a straight trunk with a few well-spaced, insect- and disease-free branches to provide your young tree with a healthy start. It’s okay to have a few smaller branches lower on the trunk, but avoid suckering from below the grafting point. Tell the garden center or nursery professional where you want the tree in your yard – to make sure you’ve got the right plant for the right location. Don’t forget to consider the tree’s proposed mature height and width as well.
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