[CANUFNET] Inquiry regarding tree size and tree establishment

[C. Kavassalis]

Thank you for your comments and observations.

As Master Gardeners, we typically provide advice for members of the
gardening public who do understand the need to care for trees as they
establish. So we currently recommend the use of smaller seedlings for
ease of handling and faster establishment. But your provisos about
deer and rabbit predation are really good to note.

How do you feel about root washing larger ball and burlap stock to
correct root defects as Dr. Chalker-Scott advises:
https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/bb-root-balls.pdf

Thank you.
Catherine Kavassalis
MGOI.ca

On Mon, Jun 7, 2021 at 9:23 AM Stephen Smith via CANUFNET
<canufnet at list.web.net> wrote:
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> This topic is complicated.
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> Smaller stock will produce healthy trees in the long run at the lowest cost as has been noted in these discussions and the research.
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> 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.
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> 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.
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> 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.
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> Stephen Smith
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> Urban Forest Associates
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> Urban Forestry & Ecological Restoration
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> www.ufora.ca
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> Office/fax 416-423-3387
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> Cell 416-707-2164
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> 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
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> 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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> Sent from Rogers Yahoo Mail on Android
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> On Thu., 3 Jun. 2021 at 1:55 p.m., C. Kavassalis via CANUFNET
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> <canufnet at list.web.net> wrote:
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> What is the current understanding of the influence of tree size on
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> transplant establishment and growth?
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> As a Master Gardener, I would like to make sound recommendations to
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> the public regarding caliper size and age of trees for best long term
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> results based on up-to-date research. My current understanding is
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> based on a 15 year old study by Watson concluding that smaller trees
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> establish more quickly and result in larger trees. Does this still
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> reflect best practice?
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> Watson, W.. (2005). Influence of Tree Size on Transplant Establishment
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> and Growth. HortTechnology. 15. 10.21273/HORTTECH.15.1.0118.
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> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237555899_Infl_uence_of_Tree_Size_on_Transplant_Establishment_and_Growth
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> Thank you
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> Cathy Kavassalis
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> Master Gardeners of Ontario
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>