Planting a tree next to a tree stump is a challenge

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We took a Mulberry tree out of our backyard, the neighbors were complaining about the berries, the pups ate the berries, not a good thing. In its place we are planting Leyland Cypress evergreens. These trees grow fast and are good at creating a green fence, which makes good neighbors.

But we had to deal the Mulberry tree stump, plus two other stumps from previous tree removals. I have been delaying this project for a while, but the cool weather means its time to get this in gear. So out comes the reciprocating saw.

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A large tree root crossed right where we wanted to plant on of the trees, so I bought a pack of wood cutting blades for the saw and started cutting the large root. It wasn’t as hard as I had imagined, but it took a bit of time. The larger roots have lots of smaller roots coming off of it going downward. Lots of lifting up a root to find it still attached underneath.

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I don’t dig a large hole for planting things. The instructions say dig twice as wide and deep, but this doesn’t work for me. I’ve done well planting how I plant so far in life. I have found that as the hole gets deeper, its not easy to use a shovel to get out all the dirt. A scoop of some sort works much better after one had broken up another layer of dirt with the shovel. One more reason to save those yogurt containers!

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I wanted to re-use the plastic pots that the trees came in – not sure for what yet – so I pulled the trees out of the pots by laying them down and having help. One person grabs the pot, one pulls the tree trunk. Out it comes.

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I think the most important thing in planting in general is plenty of water after planting. I plant things a bit lower than the soil layer, and build a moat of dirt around the plant so I can fill it with water. It will slowly drain into the soil and water the plant. It needs to grow roots, so water it a lot the first few weeks. What are your plant planting methods? Let us know below.

Comments

One response to “Planting a tree next to a tree stump is a challenge”

  1. Ray Powell

    I do the same as you, however I mix some liquid fertilizer to completely feel the hole and let it soak in. Then I plant as you did and water with liquid fertilizer until I think I have my backfill soil saturated.
    I plenty much do this with every thing I plant, to get a good start with plants.
    Enjoy your Videos, Thanks for sharing.
    Ray