Best Transplant Practices Have Changed

By C. Rae Hozer, Cumberland County Master Gardener

Rae’s Recommended Trees  Plant’s common name is followed by scientific name in parentheses, information on size (height x spread) and plant features. (Continued from last week.)

6. Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), (20’ x 15’), hardiness zones 5-8. These small trees have year-round good looks and are wildlife friendly. During the last century, these native plants have become susceptible to a strain of anthracnose which can be deadly to them. Selections cultivated by University of Tennessee researchers have superior disease resistance. They’re sold under the ‘Appalachian’ trademark. Shop for these names:

  a. ‘Appalachian Spring’ is a native dogwood first found in Maryland that’s proved to be anthracnose resistant. It has fairly large white flowers in springtime. Actually flowers are the center part surrounded by showy “bracts” (not petals), each bract with a notch or “cleft”.

  b. ‘Jean’s Appalachian Snow’ is mildew resistant. Bracts are large, stiff, and white.

  c. ‘Karen’s Appalachian Blush’ is mildew resistant with very large white bracts that display a pink blush around the edges.

  d. ‘Kay’s Appalachian Mist’ is mildew resistant. The bracts are stiff and cream-colored overall with purplish color at the clefts.

7. The Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) variety ‘Wolf Eyes’ has variegated foliage. Leaves are green with creamy white margins. Kousa dogwoods hail from the Orient (China, Japan or Korea). Kousas bloom a month or so later than American dogwoods and are naturally more resistant to anthracnose and powdery mildew than our native flowering dogwoods.

8. Sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboretum), (25’-30’ x 20’), hardiness zones 5-9. Summer blooms are creamy white in color, shaped like lily of the valley flowers and grow in clusters. W– Attracts, bees, butterflies and hummingbirds during spring migration.

The best practices for transplanting trees and shrubs were updated at least 20 years ago but many homeowners still use outdated methods. As a result, trees and shrubs are installed too deep, planting holes are made too narrow, or fertilizer and soil amendments added to backfill soil hurt rather than help establishment of a good root system at the plant’s new location.

Since the future health and beauty of woody landscape plants are directly related to installation methods and maintenance during the first two years, be sure you know the modern-day, university-based recommendations for transplanting trees and shrubs. Obtain the UT Extension publication ‘PB1621 Best Management Practices for Planting Ornamental Plants’ in the ‘Landscape’ section at the www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/homeGarden/ Internet page using your computer web browser or ask for this publication at your county University of Tennessee Extension office.  

Planting trees too deep is a common mistake. (Measure the root ball or from the top of the container to its bottom before digging the planting hole.) Make the hole a couple inches less deep than the root system. Don’t think you can simply correct the mistake by putting some loose dirt back in after making a hole too deep. That doesn’t work well. The soil settles and the plant almost always ends up sitting too low. Be sure a wider “flare” at the tree base is  visible above ground level. See illustrations in PB1621 mentioned above.

Plateau Gardening is written by Master Gardeners for those tending home landscapes and gardens in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland Region. Contact UT Extension Cumberland County, P.O. Box 483, Crossville, TN 38557, (phone 931-484-6743) for quick answers to specific questions, free publications, or to learn about becoming a Master Gardener. Email comments or yard and garden inquiries to Master Gardener Rae, mgardenerrae@frontiernet.net.