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Post by wklman on Dec 19, 2021 9:23:24 GMT -6
Anybody ever plant balled and burlaped spruce trees? Any drawbacks? I need about 10-12 7-8' trees for a road screen and don't want to take care of and wait for small bare root trees.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 19, 2021 9:29:54 GMT -6
Anybody ever plant balled and burlaped spruce trees? Any drawbacks? I need about 10-12 7-8' trees for a road screen and don't want to take care of and wait for small bare root trees. I bought plenty of them on my old place. Never 7-8 footers though, more like 3-5'. If you go 7-8', be prepared to leave a dripper hose on them for 2-3 growing seasons. I'd also mulch them heavily. You lose so many feeder roots when they're dug. The 3-5' that I planted did okay. They just sat there and survived for several growing seasons, then they'd take off.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 19, 2021 9:38:11 GMT -6
Last year on Facebook Marketplace there were people selling nice sized Spruce . Maybe more like 5 feet tall ? For a decent price .
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Post by wklman on Dec 19, 2021 9:55:06 GMT -6
Last year on Facebook Marketplace there were people selling nice sized Spruce . Maybe more like 5 feet tall ? For a decent price . Yeah, I've seen those. I was thinking about getting some from plants nursery which is right around the corner from me about 3 miles away. Their prices don't look too bad.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 19, 2021 9:57:18 GMT -6
Last year on Facebook Marketplace there were people selling nice sized Spruce . Maybe more like 5 feet tall ? For a decent price . Yeah, I've seen those. I was thinking about getting some from plants nursery which is right around the corner from me about 3 miles away. Their prices don't look too bad. I was going to say there's a couple nurseries not too far from you
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Post by wklman on Dec 19, 2021 9:57:20 GMT -6
Anybody ever plant balled and burlaped spruce trees? Any drawbacks? I need about 10-12 7-8' trees for a road screen and don't want to take care of and wait for small bare root trees. I bought plenty of them on my old place. Never 7-8 footers though, more like 3-5'. If you go 7-8', be prepared to leave a dripper hose on them for 2-3 growing seasons. I'd also mulch them heavily. You lose so many feeder roots when they're dug. The 3-5' that I planted did okay. They just sat there and survived for several growing seasons, then they'd take off. So you think if I go 7-8 footers, I'll have to baby them? I was hoping to just plant, mulch, fertilize, and mow around them.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 19, 2021 9:58:57 GMT -6
I bought plenty of them on my old place. Never 7-8 footers though, more like 3-5'. If you go 7-8', be prepared to leave a dripper hose on them for 2-3 growing seasons. I'd also mulch them heavily. You lose so many feeder roots when they're dug. The 3-5' that I planted did okay. They just sat there and survived for several growing seasons, then they'd take off. So you think if I go 7-8 footers, I'll have to baby them? I was hoping to just plant, mulch, fertilize, and mow around them. Yes, you will need to keep them irrigated for a lengthy period of time. I wouldn't fertilize in year one.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Dec 19, 2021 10:25:07 GMT -6
I have talked to the Plants Nursery guy. Maybe he could help with suggestions?
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 19, 2021 10:37:50 GMT -6
On my soils, I would prefer some of the 12-18 inch potted spruce. I think the stall out period would be shorter if the trees were grown in pots and not damaged at all before planting.
I would put a weed barrier around them and a board or wooden shingle for winter shade on the south side.
Or just let weeds grow up on that S or SW side.
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Post by Sandbur on Dec 19, 2021 10:39:09 GMT -6
If your soil is light, add moisture holding crystals.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 19, 2021 10:46:30 GMT -6
Keep in mind that an evergreen's root system is pretty much a "mirror" of what is above ground. If you're digging up a 7-8' tall x 3-4' wide tree, the root system is also about that size. The only way you're going to come close to getting most of the roots is with a truck mounted tree spade. Even going that route, it is recommended to keep them drip irrigated for at least a year.
My cousin used to do some property development. He had a deal with a guy who owned a truck with a tree spade. Not sure where the guy was getting the spruces (I probably didn't want to know), but my cousin would get 7-10' blue and white spruces installed for less than I could buy them to plant myself. I told my cousin he needed to keep those trees irrigated for a year or two, but he told me I was nuts. I watched many of them turn brown and die over the years.
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Post by wklman on Dec 19, 2021 10:52:40 GMT -6
I have talked to the Plants Nursery guy. Maybe he could help with suggestions? I was going to call him when I had time this week 👍
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Post by wklman on Dec 19, 2021 10:58:51 GMT -6
Keep in mind that an evergreen's root system is pretty much a "mirror" of what is above ground. If you're digging up a 7-8' tall x 3-4' wide tree, the root system is also about that size. The only way you're going to come close to getting most of the roots is with a truck mounted tree spade. Even going that route, it is recommended to keep them drip irrigated for at least a year. My cousin used to do some property development. He had a deal with a guy who owned a truck with a tree spade. Not sure where the guy was getting the spruces (I probably didn't want to know), but my cousin would get 7-10' blue and white spruces installed for less than I could buy them to plant myself. I told my cousin he needed to keep those trees irrigated for a year or two, but he told me I was nuts. I watched many of them turn brown and die over the years. Great info, stu. I'm not sure if I should wait until 2023 when I'm up in mn permanently and get the bigger trees I can baby, or buy the smaller 3-5 foot trees and plant this spring. They're 300 yards from hose so watering will take some work.
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Post by smsmith on Dec 19, 2021 11:47:24 GMT -6
Keep in mind that an evergreen's root system is pretty much a "mirror" of what is above ground. If you're digging up a 7-8' tall x 3-4' wide tree, the root system is also about that size. The only way you're going to come close to getting most of the roots is with a truck mounted tree spade. Even going that route, it is recommended to keep them drip irrigated for at least a year. My cousin used to do some property development. He had a deal with a guy who owned a truck with a tree spade. Not sure where the guy was getting the spruces (I probably didn't want to know), but my cousin would get 7-10' blue and white spruces installed for less than I could buy them to plant myself. I told my cousin he needed to keep those trees irrigated for a year or two, but he told me I was nuts. I watched many of them turn brown and die over the years. Great info, stu. I'm not sure if I should wait until 2023 when I'm up in mn permanently and get the bigger trees I can baby, or buy the smaller 3-5 foot trees and plant this spring. They're 300 yards from hose so watering will take some work. That's a lotta hose
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Post by chummer16 on Dec 19, 2021 12:22:33 GMT -6
That’s funny because a guy around the corner from me planted around 30 a few years ago. They were in the 8’ range and he planted them for a road screen for his back yard. Must have paid a pretty penny for them. For for the first couple years one would turn brown every couple months. Now he has a screen with a few holes in it.
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