Planting and Installation
The Planting and Installation domain tests whether a plant goes into the ground so that it establishes quickly and survives: nursery stock handling, hole preparation, root flare depth, backfill, watering, mulching, staking, timing and spacing. Most exam scenarios are about a detail done slightly wrong that kills the plant two seasons later.
Stock types and handling
- Bare root: keep roots moist and covered, plant dormant in early spring or fall, and never let roots dry or freeze.
- Container: inspect for circling and girdling roots and tease, score or shave the outer root mass before planting.
- Balled and burlapped: remove the wire basket, twine and burlap from the top and down the sides of the ball; synthetic burlap must come off entirely.
The planting hole
- Dig the hole two to three times the root ball width but only as deep as the root ball, so the root flare ends at grade or 2-5 cm above it. Wider, never deeper.
- Backfill with the excavated soil. If the native soil is genuinely unusable, amend the whole planting area, not just the hole, or you create a bathtub that holds water.
- Water in thoroughly to settle the soil and remove air pockets, then mulch 5-7 cm deep, keeping mulch clear of the trunk.
- Stake only where wind, traffic or vandalism demands it, using flexible ties, and remove the stakes within one to two seasons.
Timing and aftercare
- Provide irrigation through the first two growing seasons; most transplant failures trace back to water.
Worked example
A B&B tree arrives with the root flare sitting 10 cm below the top of the root ball. Do not dig the hole 10 cm deeper to "fit" it. Measure the ball depth with a straightedge, set the hole bottom so the flare finishes at grade, and if the ball cannot be lowered far enough, plant slightly high and pull soil away from the trunk. A buried flare rots and girdles.
Traps that cost marks
Volcano mulching; deep planting; heavy backfill amendment; lifting a tree by its trunk instead of the root ball; planting into a poorly drained hole without checking drainage.