How to Buy Trees

From LoveToKnow Buy

Trees are a wonderful addition to any property, providing shade, privacy or blocking an unpleasant view while adding to your home’s property value. Choosing the right trees for you and your yard can take some time and research, but the work will pay off when you have found the perfect plant for your needs.

Different situations, different trees

Keep several things in mind before you head to the store:

Why do you want to buy trees? For privacy, shade or just looks?
Faster-growing trees have a shorter life than slow-growing ones.
Remember you'll need to maintain your trees' appearance, such as trimming, leaf raking, etc.

Fast-growing

Most people moving into new construction or with no trees on their property want fast-growing trees to provide shade, screen out an unwanted view or improve the look of the lot. There are many different types of fast-growing trees to choose from. Most of them have soft wood and will not live as long as the slower-growing hardwood trees.

Trees that grow the fastest grow from three to 10 feet a year. These trees include the weeping willow, which thrives in moist soil in USDA growing zones 5-11 and provides a drooping tree ranging from 30 to 50 feet. They are known for their ability to absorb water and are great to use to prevent soil erosion.

The willow hybrid is an evergreen that grows about six feet a year in zones 4-8. It grows to a height and spread of about 60 feet and is great for windbreaks and privacy screens. The hybrid poplar is one of the fastest growing trees, growing to full maturity in about five years. It grows about 10 feet a year, thrives in zones 3-8 and is a great wind screen, as well as a helper to keep your house shaded and cool.

If you’re looking for a quick-growing flowering tree, consider the Empress tree, which can grow up to 10 feet a year and has lovely lavender flowers in the spring. They create dense shade and a good for places with long growing seasons.

Other fast-growing trees include the American sycamore, white ash, silver maple and Lombardy poplar. Slower growing trees that still fall in the fast-growing category are the tulip poplar, which makes flowers that look sort of like tulips in the late spring, Norway spruce, autumn purple ash and the quaking aspen.

Flowering

If you’re looking for trees that flower in the spring, there are many choices. the Eastern redbud is a great tree, growing to about 20 feet and showing purple flowers in the spring. They tend to shed some branches, so if cleanup is not something you want to work with, pick another tree.

The flowering crabapple offers profuse numbers of flowers in spring, colorful apples in fall and interesting branches in winter. This is a great choice for a place where you need something that looks interesting all year, like in front of a window that you look out of often. These are small trees but very decorative.

The southern magnolia is a great choice for wet places in the south. They bloom with large white flowers in the summer and have large green leaves. They are evergreen, but they do drop leaves throughout the year. many different sizes of magnolias are available, with some growing up to 60 feet tall.

Dogwoods are another popular choice for spring color. They vary in size depending on the climate and have pink or white flowers. They are beautiful trees in rows or with several in the same yard.

Finally, consider flowering pear trees. Bradford pears have fluffy white flowers in the spring and an upright, oval or pyramid shape. Bradfords are not very sturdy, often splitting in strong storms, so consider other varieties such as Aristocrat if you don’t want to have to perform a lot of maintenance or replace your trees after foul weather.

Small trees

Japanese maples are among the most popular small trees. They are great as an accent tree amid larger trees. Varieties range in size from three to 20 feet. They have beautiful fall color and interesting branches that provide interest throughout the year. Redbuds are also considered small trees.

Tree forms of holly stay small and provide a great winter show of waxy green leaves and red berries. Japanese black pine, cherry laurel, Japanese plum, red buckeyes, honeylocusts, purple leaf plum and chinaberry are among the other trees classified as small. These trees are often quick-growing and highly ornamental.

Be warned, however, that some places classify trees that grow up to 30 feet as “small,” so check the label or the tree or ask the garden shop workers how tall a tree will get before you plant it in a place you don’t want a large tree.

Shopping

Once you have a few varieties in mind, you can begin to shop for your tree. It’s great to buy trees locally whenever you can because you will get to see if the plant is healthy before you buy.

A small tree can be young, or it can be an unhealthy old tree. To tell the difference, look at the bark. Smooth, glossy bark indicates a young tree, while thicker rough bark means the tree is older, but unhealthy.

Buy the healthiest trees you can find and the largest plant you can easily plant in your yard that you can afford. Smaller trees will be less shocked by the transplanting, but larger trees will give you more instant gratification. You may need an auger or some kind of earth-moving equipment to plant a large tree if you have bad soil.

Trees can also be purchased online but you are likely to get little more than a twig with roots that can be easily shipped and planted. This is fine if you buy from a reputable dealer and are willing to be patient, but you just never know what you’re getting when you buy online or from a catalog.

Another great reason to buy local is that you know you will be buying plants that will work in your area and you’ll likely be able to ask questions about where, when and how to plant the tree and get knowledgeable answers.

Planting

Trees can be planted any time the ground is not frozen, though spring and fall are the most popular times for tree planting (probably because mild weather is less of a shock to the plant).

There are three main ways you can buy a tree: bare-root, balled and burlapped or in a container. Bare root means the plant is not in any sort of container and the roots are exposed, while a balled and burlapped tree has its roots in a soil-filled burlap sack. Container grown trees have all their roots in the container.

More long roots are saved using the bare root method, but balled and burlapped or container grown trees are easier to transport. Container grown plants will suffer the least shock because all their roots stay intact.

When working with your tree, carry it by the root ball, never by the bark. Especially when the tree has already started growing for the spring, the bark is very fragile. All parts of the tree should be protected as much as possible during transport.

The biggest mistake people make when planting a tree is to plant too deep. The hole should only be as deep as the root ball or container in which the tree was planted, and two to three times as wide. The roots should be placed on firm soil and filled in with the same soil that was taken out of the hole. It is helpful to build a soil dam four to six inches high around the tree to prevent runoff and allow the roots to slowly take in water.

Stake a small, unstable tree if needed, but be careful to place the stakes far enough away from the tree that you won’t sever roots. Water the tree well and get ready to enjoy yeas of shade, flowers and pretty leaves.

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