TREES
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Annual Tree Sale - a great selection of bare-root native trees and shrubs for a great price.
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Controlling Weeds in New Tree Plantations
You've just picked up your seedling trees and transplants, and you're excited
about getting outside and planting them around your property. They don't look
like much right now, but in a few weeks they'll kick into high gear.
Unfortunately, so will the weeds!
Weed competition is probably the greatest reason why tree plantings fail. Why
put all the time and effort into planting these tiny trees if you don't have a
plan for managing the array of nasty weeks that will inevitably appear?
Uncontrolled weeds dramatically reduce the growth of your new trees, and may
even kill them.
It is important that new trees have a weed-free area that reaches out several
feet surrounding the stem. If you place a seedling tree or transplant into
existing sod - a lawn or pasture setting - without scalping away some of the
sod, good luck. Bluegrass sod or other established, perennial grasses are very
aggressive in the spring. Unchecked, they generally out-compete your trees for
water, nutrients and light.
People who place their transplants into newly-tilled soil generally are quite
pleased with the results until several weeks later. As the soil warms, there are
a multitude of weed seeds that will begin to germinate. Unchecked, these weedy
plants can outgrow your trees in a matter of a month or so. Don't expect bare
soil to stay bare very long; sooner or later something will grow in this spot.
More information on controlling weeds in a tree plantation is
available in .pdf format.
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