Would anyone have any advice as to how to best care for newly transplanted and rather large trees? Last fall we picked out a beautiful red maple at a local tree farm and this spring they dug it up and we had it put in at the very end of May. It's a beautiful tree--a tad larger than I remembered it being (the landscaper said it was hanging out of his 18 foot trailer)--but I'm a little worried about how to best take care of it. The landscaper suggested watering it with a very slow trickle from a hose twice a day for an hour and a half, depending on weather conditions of course. This seems a tad much to me. I can see doing it in hot weather, but our weather until just recently has been very much on the cool side and I worry about the tree developing some sort of root rot. Also, the tree was not tethered--the landscaper said that with such a large tree tethering it was not necessary. Do you think that's correct? I don't think I'll believe the tree is stable until it's gone through at least one blizzard and is still standing.
Btw, when we put the tree in I insisted on a nine foot diameter hole which was then backfilled with a soil/compost mix. I know that the traditional wisdom is that you shouldn't improve the soil too much around trees because they have to grow in the soil that you have, but trust me our soil is horrible. We plan on addressing the soil issue, but we really wanted to get this tree in and I'm hoping that by the time this tree's roots get to the end of the soil we put in for it the surrounding soil will be on it's way towards being vastly improved. But in the meantime, should I plant something on top of this soil, mulch it or just leave it be? This tree was really a financial and emotional investment for us and we want to make sure it's here long after we're gone. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
