Potting Many Trees at My Farm
Our annual tree potting and planting project continues at my Bedford, New York farm.
Every year, I try to plant as many trees as I can. I feel strongly about reforestation and giving back to the earth, so the more trees planted, the better. Many of them come to me as bare-root cuttings that are then potted in individual containers where they can develop strong root systems for two to three years before being transplanted to more permanent locations - in allées, in groves, and in large groups in the woodland. It's a big undertaking every spring, but it's so satisfying to see these trees grow and flourish.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I have tens of thousands of trees here at my farm. In fact, I made this old and beautiful sycamore the symbol of Cantitoe Corners. It stands tall and majestic in the back hayfield where I can see it every time I tour the property.
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- The bigger and older trees are original to the farm, but I have thoughtfully chosen, planted, and maintained thousands since I moved here.
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- These trees line one of the carriage roads – the layering of colors from afar is so beautiful. These trees were just feet tall when we planted them.
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- This allée of lindens is one I designed and planted. It runs from the carriage road next to my pergola all the way down to the chicken coops.
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- Because we plant trees every year, they are all in different stages of growth.
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- Here is the area we once used to grow our pumpkins. I decided it was better suited to store our young potted trees. We lined it with industrial strength weed cloth and carefully placed our potted specimens in organized, rows by tree type.
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- We recently received our order of trees from JLPN, a three-generation family owned tree company in Salem, Oregon that focuses on growing deciduous seedlings and softwood rooted cuttings. These bare-root cuttings are all American Sweetgum.
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- The sweetgum’s roots are shallow, particularly in its native, moist habitat, but these trees can also develop deep vertical roots directly beneath the trunk in well-drained soils.
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- Each bare-root cutting is placed into an appropriately sized pot. The root section should fit into the pot without bing crowded at the bottom. Healthy bare-root trees get off to a more vigorous start because their abundant, roots have already had a chance to develop unrestricted.
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- Pasang plants each specimen carefully, so it is straight and centered in the container. Then Pasang tamps down lightly after the pot is backfilled so there is good contact between the tree roots and the surrounding soil.
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- Each tree is placed into the soil where the roots start and the top shoots begin.
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- Here is a mature American Sweetgum in autumn. The American sweetgum, with its star-shaped leaves, neatly compact crown, interesting fruit and twigs with unique corky growths called wings, is an attractive shade tree. It has become a prized specimen in parks, campuses and large yards across the country.
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- Here, Phurba places a group of sweetgums into the wagon. It is important to keep the trees organized in their groups for identification. They are difficult to identify without the leaves.
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- The trees are then lined up in the enclosure with narrow aisles in between labeled sections.
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- These are bald cypress trees. Still bare of any foliage, these cuttings are just twigs in pots…
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- … That grow up to look like these mature specimens I planted when I moved here. This stand of bald cypress line one side of the carriage road across from my winding pergola. Nestled beneath the bald cypress on one side is my Basket House, where I store all my rare, antique, vintage, and contemporary baskets.
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- The leaves are compound and feathery, made up of many small leaflets that are thin and lance-shaped. Each leaflet is less than two inches long, alternating along either side of a central stem. They are a medium green in summer and turn russet brown in fall. Like trees with leaves, bald cypress trees drop their needles in autumn leaving the tree – well, bald.
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- Here’s Chhiring giving all the trees in the “nursery” a good drink. Also in this collection – dawn redwoods, Metasequoia.
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- The Metasequoia is a deciduous, coniferous tree that grows in a conical shape to 100-feet tall. This tree is just starting to leaf out. As the tree matures, the trunk broadens at the base and develops attractive and elaborate fluting with deeply fissured bark.
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- These are parrotia trees in late summer – also first nurtured in individual pots before being transplanted to this area outside my Equipment Barn in 2019. Parrotia persica ‘Persian Spire’ is in the family Hamamelidaceae, closely related to the witch-hazel genus Hamamelis. It is native to northern Iran and southern Azerbaijan and it is endemic in the Alborz mountains.
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- And of course, the beautiful smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria, seen here during summer. These small trees and shrubs are thriving here in this middle field allée backed by London Planes.
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- I am a firm believer that caring for bare-root cuttings in pots before they go to more permanent locations gives these trees a stronger start. Tomorrow, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day – an annual event supporting environmental protection. I hope this inspires you to plant a tree this weekend – or two, or three…
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