[CANUFNET] Inquiry regarding tree size and tree establishment

[stephen at ufora.ca]

This topic is complicated.

 

Smaller stock will produce healthy trees in the long run at the lowest cost as has been noted in these discussions and the research.  

 

But it can also be a question of time and money – are you willing to wait 10 years to get a tree to a size that you could plant today?  Will you take care of the little tree – weeding, watering, keeping the animals and kids from destroying it? Investing significant money in a larger tree can also be an inducement to care for it.

 

Getting the client or a municipality to accept a seedling instead of a 50mm caliper deciduous tree/175cm conifer is often difficult. It’s also easier for a little one to quietly disappear on a weekend, and nobody will notice if the client really doesn’t want a tree there anyway.  Deer or rabbits can eat the small ones, and they can be covered by weeds and vines in the early years. Some municipalities are opting for deciduous trees about 200cm tall and conifers 100cm tall as the best compromise between the two sizes. This means container-grown stock which will have problems with circling roots, but this is another topic.

 

On my own lawn I have a white oak that was planted as a 60mm wire basket tree in 1999, about 2.5m tall at planting.  Two years later I planted a black oak seedling 30cm tall a few feet away.  Treating both exactly the same with water and fertilizer regularly the black oak caught up to the white in height in 7 years but still hasn’t caught up in diameter.  The black is 33cm DBH and 11m tall, and the white is 34cm DBH and 10m tall today.  Both ways worked, with care, but the timing was different.

 

Stephen Smith

Urban Forest Associates

Urban Forestry & Ecological Restoration

www.ufora.ca

Office/fax 416-423-3387

Cell 416-707-2164

 

From: CANUFNET <canufnet-bounces at list.web.net> On Behalf Of Mark Carroll via CANUFNET
Sent: June 3, 2021 9:13 PM
To: Canadian Urban Forest Network <canufnet at list.web.net>
Cc: Mark Carroll <environment1st at rogers.com>
Subject: Re: [CANUFNET] Inquiry regarding tree size and tree establishment

 

As  Municipal Arborist in charge of planting street trees and planting seedlings within natural zones I can emphatically say that planting smaller trees will increase survival rates. I have many examples where small planted trees have survived and even surpassed the growth of nearby larger planted trees, if this makes sense.

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On Thu., 3 Jun. 2021 at 1:55 p.m., C. Kavassalis via CANUFNET

<canufnet at list.web.net <mailto:canufnet at list.web.net> > wrote:

What is the current understanding of the influence of tree size on

transplant establishment and growth?

 

As a Master Gardener, I would like to make sound recommendations to

the public regarding caliper size and age of trees for best long term

results based on up-to-date research. My current understanding is

based on a 15 year old study by Watson concluding that smaller trees

establish more quickly and result in larger trees. Does this still

reflect best practice?

 

Watson, W.. (2005). Influence of Tree Size on Transplant Establishment

and Growth. HortTechnology. 15. 10.21273/HORTTECH.15.1.0118.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237555899_Infl_uence_of_Tree_Size_on_Transplant_Establishment_and_Growth

 

Thank you

Cathy Kavassalis

Master Gardeners of Ontario

 

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