I really dig planting new trees

There is no doubt that November is the best month of the year for planting trees in this country.

And November is nearly here so I’ve been prowling around my bit of woodland looking for gaps where I might be able to squeeze in a couple more. There is something a little compulsive about planting trees, something that appeals to the collector’s instinct.

There are several reasons why November is the best month to plant. Firstly the trees are dormant. All the sap has been sucked into the roots and there will be no growth for several months to come. This is obvious with deciduous trees but evergreens also stop growing in winter.

If you plant now the winter rains will wash the soil down around the roots of the new tree, eliminating damaging air pockets and ensuring that there’s no drought stress. A lack of water is the commonest single cause of failure in tree planting.

It should also be a couple of months before we get the sort of severe and prolonged frosts that penetrate deep into the ground and can damage a young sapling.

In extreme cases this sort of frost can cause wet soil to ‘heave’, physically moving so that the young tree that you planted perfectly upright starts to lean over at an odd angle.

All this mostly applies to ‘bare-root’ trees, either bought from a nursery or donated by a friend who has an excess of seedlings.

It also applies to the few species, including some willows, that can be planted as un-rooted cuttings. But although container grown trees can be planted at any time of year they undoubtedly do better if they’re planted out in the late autumn.

One problem I have come across is that some nurseries are lazy about digging up the bare-root stock and having it ready for sale in November. They seem to regard this as a winter market rather than an autumn one and you may have to nag them.

Dig a large hole so you can spread out the root ball and add in some organic matter like garden compost or leaf mould when you back fill. Trample everything down heavily to eliminate air pockets and if it fails to rain in the following week or so be prepared to water generously.

If you can keep an area about a metre in diameter around the newly planted tree free of weeds it will grow much more quickly. This has the added advantage of making it less likely that the tree will be accidentally damaged by a mower or a strimmer. The easiest way to do this is with some form of mulch mat.

Only use a stake if you have to, put it in before the tree and monitor the stake tie to make sure it’s not doing any damage. The slightest abrasion to the bark will stunt or even kill your new tree. Then just wait for spring.