Planting Pine Trees

[Augusta]

Just wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I want to buy some 8 foot Black Hills Spruce trees and am wondering when the best time would be to have them transplanted into my yard. My yard has sandy soil. Thanks

[Steve Foss]

Augusta, I would either do it right away or wait until next spring. Strong healthy young spruce can be planted throughout the summer, but it's always best to send them into the winter with a full growing season behind them to get them acclimated. Depending on where you live in Minnesota, the growing season started a month or more ago. If you plant in mid-summer, be sure to keep giving those trees good deep drinks of water, because the stress of transplanting can be compounded by hot, dry weather, and sandy loam doesn't hold water as well as clay loam. I'd be sure to mulch them in with shredded wood or bark mulch, too, which allows all that moisture in the soil to be retained.

You can also plant most any trees after the leaves fall but just before the ground freezes in autumn.

[Powerstroke]

I have to agree with catfish. Evergreens, moreso than deciduous trees nee d as much of the growing season as possible to develop roots for the winter months. You are planting very large trees as far as transplanting goes, so unless you've got access to some serious equipment, I hope you're having someone install the trees for you. I've installed 36" spruce and they were a bear!!

The sandy soil isn't that big of a concern as far as plant choice since BH spruce are very tolerant of dryer sandy soils, but they will love you more with proper watering. They will need at least 5 gallons of water a week. Even a sprinkler system won't provide enough water. Best thing to do is place your hose in a 5 gallon bucket to see how long it takes to fill up (or a 1 gallon jug and multiply by 5) and thats how long you need to leave the hose on each tree at least once a week.

Mulching will go a long way with containing soil moisture and protecting to trucks of those new trees.