Young Tree Care Guidelines

If you want your tree to grow up strong and healthy, then how you take care of it during the first five years is crucial. Planting a brand new tree is an exciting event, and you are undoubtedly looking forward to seeing it grow big and strong over the coming years. But to see that happen, it’s imperative that you follow some essential young tree care guidelines for your seedling to grow and flourish.

When planting a new tree in your garden, there are many factors to consider, such as choosing a suitable variety of tree and planting it in the ideal location. But don’t forget about your young tree once it is planted! They have unique needs that need to be catered for, and a good understanding of young tree care is required to keep them healthy.

As tree removal specialists, we understand trees and know what needs to be done to take care of them properly. This article will share some fantastic guidelines that will help you take care of your young tree and ensure it grows up healthy and happy, so you will hopefully not need to resort to tree removal in the future!

Correct Watering

Proper watering techniques are essential when caring for any tree, but this is especially crucial when it comes to young or newly planted trees! So ensure your baby tree receives the much-needed moisture it needs to grow.

During the first few years of growth, young trees use a lot of their energy to grow and firmly establish their roots. This can make them more susceptible to the adverse effects of heat, cold and drought.

When it comes to watering young trees, regular and deep watering is vital. To do this, you want to ensure that the water reaches down to the roots and not just sits on the surface of the soil. Remember, the tree roots need water, not the trunk or leaves! You could consider installing an irrigation system so that your young tree always receives regular and thorough watering.

Suppose you are experiencing a period of drought. In that case, it’s especially important to water trees regularly because if you suddenly stop watering them, they can quickly go into drought stress and even die.

Add Some Mulch

Another way you can take extra care of your young tree is by adding mulch around it. Mulch is your young tree's best friend because it protects it from heat and cold, helps it retain needed moisture and prevents soil from compacting. It also helps suppress the growth of weeds, which we will discuss later.

Apply mulch all around the base of your young tree, making sure to use organic material such as wood chips or rotten compost. Usually, a layer of mulch around 5-7cm deep will do the trick, but try to ensure that the mulch does not touch the base or trunk of the tree.

Stake Your Trees

Staking your young trees helps to support them until they can establish stronger roots and are able to support themselves adequately. It’s important to note that you are not trying to support the stem. This part of the tree needs to be able to move for it to grow stronger.

When deciding whether to stake your trees or not, there are a couple of factors to consider. One is the location of your young tree, whether it is exposed or not. The second factor is the size of the tree shoot.

If your plant stock is over 1.8m in height, it will likely require staking unless it is in a sheltered area. It may need staking if it is between 1.2-1.8m high and is growing in an exposed area. And plant stock lower than 1.2m shouldn’t need any staking at all.

If your young tree does require staking, it’s essential to do it properly, so you don’t risk stunting its growth. Stakes must always be secured deeply into the ground. It’s best to do this before planting the tree, if you can, to make sure you don’t damage any roots. Use a stake that is about a third of the tree's height so the stem can move. You will also need to secure the tree at the top of the stake, but don’t do this too tightly, as you don’t want it to rub against the stake and damage your young tree. Stakes are usually okay to be removed after about two years.

Remove Weeds

Weed removal is another vital step for healthy tree growth. Weeds compete with your tree for essential water and nutrients. At this early stage in its life, young trees desperately need nutrients and moisture, so the fewer the weeds around your tree, the better!

If you want to keep your young tree as healthy as possible, then try to keep at least a one-metre squared weed-free zone around it. Try to maintain this for at least three years to give your young tree the best chance of growing strong.

You can remove these weeds by hand, or as mentioned before, mulch can help reduce weeds around your young tree.

Thinning

Now let’s fast forward about 10-15 years! If you have multiple trees growing near each other, they may need thinning out in order to promote further growth. This involves removing trees that are not growing or developing well to give other trees a better chance of success and survival. This tree removal process can be carried out over the years as you notice which trees are doing better than others.

Professional Tree Care

Of course, as your tree grows, more challenges will come, such as facing disease, decay and other problems. Cutting Edge Tree Removal services are always on hand to help you diagnose any potential tree issues and provide you with the proper treatment solution to help keep your tree healthy and living a long and happy life!

We can help you with the maintenance and care of your trees using our expert knowledge and professional skills. Contact one of our arborists today on 02 4003 4400 to see how we can help take care of your tree!