Potting Hundreds of Trees at My Farm

April 4, 2019

Potting and planting hundreds of trees at the farm is a huge, yet exciting undertaking.

I love trees, and every year I plant hundreds, sometimes thousands - it's one way I can give back to the Earth and help to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet for my grandchildren and for everyone. This week, we received a shipment of 800 bare-root cuttings from JLPN, a family owned tree company in Salem, Oregon. Bare-root trees are so named because the plants are dug from the ground while dormant, and stored without any soil surrounding their roots. Once the young specimens arrived, my outdoor grounds crew hurried to pot them in nutrient-filled composted soil to keep them healthy until they can be transplanted in the ground.

Here are some photos - enjoy.

: Hundreds of bare-root cuttings from JLPN arrived including maple trees, black locusts, hornbeams, Cotinus, and Parrotias. Each bundle of 25 or 50 cuttings is first inspected for signs of damage, weather-induced stress, and insect or disease infestation before being placed in water. https://jlpnliners.com/

: JLPN’s cuttings are harvested in December, graded, and then held in cold storage until they are shipped out in spring.

: I wanted the bare-root cuttings potted-up in individual containers. The trees will only remain in these pots temporarily – eventually, they will be transplanted in various locations around the farm.

: We save pots whenever we can – they always come in handy for projects like these, and I always encourage the crew to reuse supplies whenever possible.

: We use composted manure and top soil for potting our cuttings. Composting manure above 131-degrees Fahrenheit for at least a couple weeks will kill harmful pathogens, dilute ammonia, stabilize nitrogen, kill weed seeds and reduce any objectionable odors. I am so proud of the nutrient rich soil we make here at the farm.

: Each pot is laid out ready to be filled. The crew has devised an efficient production line process for potting massive amounts of trees.

: Each bare-root cutting is placed into an appropriately sized pot. If it’s in good condition, the plant should sprout leaves in the same year it is planted. If planted in spring, a bare-root plant should have leaves by summer.

: Healthy bare-root trees get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, fibrous roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted. The tree is placed at the same level it was grown by the nursery – where the roots start and the top shoots begin.

: The soil is then gently filled in around the roots, but not packed too tightly. The important thing is to keep the soil moist.

: Phurba then pats the soil gently around the roots to ensure good contact.

: Next, Carlos sprinkles Osmocote on the surface of each potted seedling. Osmocote provides a steady supply of nutrients for even and continuous development throughout the growth cycle. The coated granules contain a blended mix of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium.

: These are weed guards, which help to prevent weeds from growing around the potted specimens.

: Phurba places one disc around each tree. These discs come in a variety of sizes.

: The trees are placed in sections – all neatly organized and identified. Bare-root cuttings are difficult to identify when there are no leaves, so it is important to keep them separated by cultivar.

: Ryan uses large markers to label sections of trees. This year, I ordered more than a dozen different maple varieties. This is Acer rubrum ‘Burgundy Belle’. ‘Burgundy Belle’ has similar growth habits as other red maples but also shows off a red-orange color and then a shade of burgundy in fall that’s rarely seen in trees.

: Acer rubrum ‘Autumn Flame’ is always the first tree to fill with bright red and fuschia colors in the fall.

: And Acer rubrum ‘Marmo’ is fast growing and has a robust structure and a strong tolerance to both cold and hot environments.

: Phurba and Carlos work hard to get the bare-root cuttings potted. It took two entire days to pot all 800.

: This project is done in the Equipment Barn where the seedlings can be kept in water and protected from the elements during the potting process.

: Bare-root plants should not have any mold or mildew. The cuttings should also feel heavy. If they feel light and dried out then the plant probably will not grow.

: Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk’ has bright white flowers that form at a young age – you can see some early growth here. It is a sturdy compact structure that grows vigorously when transplanted.

: Here’s a batch of ‘Ivory Silk’ potted up.

: All like seedlings are kept together and loaded onto our Polaris Ranger EV 4×4, section by section. This vehicle is so handy to use for so many of our farming projects. The trees can now be moved to a designated location, where they will be maintained until they’re transplanted into the ground.