Helping Saplings

Hi,

I have planted in my field 20 Oak saplings about 6 inches high.
I have 6 Conker saplings ready to go in also.
Being and impatient soul, I am wondering what I can
do to hurry them up a bit.
Is there some food which would help them flourish.?

thanks
Howard

 

Basically Howard, no. Also as they are only seedlings they are going to need protection from rabbits and squirrels.:gnthb:

 

A few basic pointers to help them keep strong and healthy:

Protecting
Tree guards make good deterents to rabbits and other sapling-munching fauna, but also can help protect against mechanical and other biological damage.

Staking
Do not stake the trees unless it is absolutely, positively required, e.g. you live on top of a mountain in gale force winds. Young trees need the swaying movement in order to grow strong, thick stems.

Feeding
Organically you can feed trees anything like blood, fish and bone or simple well-rotted farmyard manure. You could also try a balanced 7-7-7 NPK chemical nutrition mix.

Mulching
Clear an area around the tree of any competing greenery including grass. Add a good thick layer of mulch. This will help to retain nutrients, ward off other plants and weeds, prevent soil compaction, and keep the soil warm(ish) in the winter. Reapply the mulch annually.

Watering
Don't overwater the tree or the roots will never develop fully. In dry spells give the area around the tree a good soaking then leave it for a few days for the water to seep through the soil. Make the tree's roots search for it.

The only way you can influence trees is by altering their hormone levels, such as gibberellin, and this is normally done under strict scientific conditions and not normally available to the public.

 

Thanks for the info, there was a couple of things I hadn't done there.

Howard

 

I'm about to state the obvious, just in case, like me, you've overlooked it.

Keep the weeds down around the saplings. The weeds will grow faster than your trees and at this early stage will easily block out the sunlight and rob all the nutrients before your baby trees get them. I know its obvious, but I turned my back on my newly planted hedge for a few weeks earlier this summer, and when I next went up the bracken had appeared from nowhere and completely swamped my hedgerow. We saved it, but much longer and all the baby trees would have died I reckon.

 

I think you can help nature along a bit ...

I planted seedlings in deep pots (what are termed "Rose" pots) last year. Some Judas and Indian bean tree seedlings. They grew to between 4' and 6' in a single season . This year (still in pots) they have done nothing - clearly I should have planted them out, or potted them on to much bigger pots.

I plant trees with a 2M piece of 2" - 3" perforated drainage pipe under them, arranged in a loop around their roots. All watering is via this, so that the water is under / alongside the roots, rather than on-top-of (some pictures in My Blog)

I water once a week during summer (hose running for about 2-3minutes per plant) regardless of whether it has rained or not

In the first couple of years I fertilise (early in the season, NOT late like now :thumb with high Nitrogen fertilizers - Sulphate of Ammonia, for example).

I mulch with well rotted manure in Spring, and cover with weed suppressing fabric "squares".

For very small plants I put some lay-flat clear plastic around them (mini greenhouse) held away from the plant by 2 or 4 bamboo canes. This reduces the impact of wind which dries them out, and makes them work harder. May warm them up a bit too, but that isn't my primary objective.

You could consider using Mycorrhizae to stimulate root growth, but I expect its a waste of money for small plants (as compared to translating larger, more established, plants)

 

One problem that I have found with tree tubes is that they are a nice safe place for slugs... so keep an eye out for them!