Planting Eastern Redbud Trees at the Farm
Every year, I always plant a collection of interesting and beautiful trees. It is such a joy to watch the gardens, groves, and allées evolve and expand around my Bedford, New York farm.
This week, we planted 12 Cercis canadensis trees, or eastern redbuds - the state tree of Oklahoma. They came from Select Horticulture in nearby Pound Ridge, a nursery that offers an extensive inventory of quality specimens, including unusual and rare trees and shrubs in hard-to-find sizes. Since these redbuds are quite tall already, I decided to place them on both sides of the carriage road down by my chicken coops and hoop houses where they will all get full sun.
Enjoy these photos.
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- There is always so much happening at my Bedford, New York farm. On this day, we’re planting a dozen beautiful tall redbud trees, Cercis canadensis – a deciduous, often multi-trunked understory tree with a rounded crown that typically matures up to 20 to 30 feet tall with a slightly larger spread. It is noted for its stunning pea-like rose-purple flowers which bloom on bare branches in early spring.
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- Eastern redbud leaves are alternate, simple, broadly heart-shaped and three to five inches high and wide. These leaves are dark green now and will turn yellowish in autumn.
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- The seeds of the redbud tree are contained in small, brown pods that appear after the flowers fade.
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- Pete placed the trees where they should be planted. When choosing trees or plants and their permanent locations, be sure to consider the size of the specimens when mature as well as their light needs. These trees will grow pretty wide, so they need a good amount of space.
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- Before planting, I asked my gardener, Brian O’Kelly, to prune each one.
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- Meanwhile, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, begins digging the holes with the backhoe of our trusted Kubota M62 tractor.
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- Because these locations are just off the carriage road, Chhiring is able to position the tractor easily and make these holes pretty quickly.
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- When planting balled and burlapped trees in well-drained soils, dig the hole two to three times wider than the diameter of the tree’s rootball.
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- Next, Phurba begins the task of removing all the wrapping and wiring from around the rootballs.
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- Each tree’s wire cage is also removed. These materials hold together the rootball so that chunks of heavy soil do not fall out or tear roots. The wrapping protects the roots from dehydration and sunburn and allows trees to be safely moved.
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- All the plastic, burlap, wiring, and twine are all gathered in one area for disposal later.
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- Chhiring sprinkles a generous amount of fertilizer into the hole and the surrounding soil. Redbuds do well with a multi-purpose fertilizer, but when transplanting, one can also use a food with endo- and ecto mycorrhizae to help promote faster establishment, deeper roots, and strong soil structure. It is very important to feed the plants and trees regularly, especially when they are transplanted.
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- The rootballs of these trees are quite large and heavy. Here, Chhiring and Phurba slowly and carefully roll the tree into its new hole.
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- How many trees do you see? It is important to line them all up perfectly. There are actually four trees already in their designated holes, but it looks like just one.
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- A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them at the proper depth. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk. Digging a wide planting hole helps to provide the best opportunity for roots to expand into its new growing environment.
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- These trees need a good drink, so Chhiring adds some water before they are completely backfilled.
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- Next, the hole is backfilled and tamped down lightly to establish good contact between the soil and the tree’s rootball.
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- Here is another redbud getting planted just across the carriage road in front of my corn garden and pumpkin patch.
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- These trees will get at least six hours of full sun in this location. They will thrive here. Chhiring waters the tree thoroughly. The forecast also calls for some showers on this day.
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- The area around the trees is raked neatly. On the left is another redbud, a weeping redbud variety.
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- Both of these are also redbuds. The one on the left was just planted. In spring they will have beautiful flowers.
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- And here are the redbuds in front of my hoop house. I know they will be so happy here. And they were planted just in time – we are expecting lots of rain today and probable thunderstorms. Everything at the farm will get a good watering.
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