Project details
Skill
1 out of 5EasyAlthough digging out the old tree can be difficult
Cost
About $80 to $100
Estimated Time
60 to 90 minutes
Tools & Materials
- Pointed shovel
- Plastic tarp
- string
- Garden stakes
- Post driver
- Slow-drip irrigation bag
In this video, This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook brings a bit of green to the concrete jungle.
Steps:
- Use pointed shovel to dig out old, dying tree. Shovel dirt onto plastic tarp.
- Set new tree into hole and stretch a string across hole to determine planting depth. Be sure root flare isn’t buried below ground.
- Gently tug on roots to ensure they’re not twisted together or bound around the root ball.
- Be certain the tree is perfectly straight, then backfill around the root ball with soil. Use your hands to pack soil into air pockets.
- As you continue to shovel dirt around the tree, fill the planting hole with water from a garden hose to compact the soil.
- Drive two 2×2 stakes into the ground and then secure the tree with two straps.
- Spread 3 inches of licorice-root mulch around the tree, but don’t pile any mulch against the trunk.
- Water tree twice a week for two weeks and then once a week until ground freezes. Water with garden hose, slow-drip irrigation bag, or 5-gallon bucket with drip holes drilled around base.