Planting information Trees/woody shrubs

Some basics about planting small trees/shrubs I thought you might like to read.
Some things surprised me (like no fertilizing first season and not amending the planting hole except for bone meal.) It's a quick read and very informative.

http://www.ecostudies.org/Noteworthy_Shrubs_and_Small_Flowering_Trees.pdf

I don't agree entirely with that planting guide, at least as far as our area is concerned. Each region's soil is different and therefore requires different planting procedures. If you dig a hole in carolina clay and plop the plant in without amending the soil, it will almost always rot. The only reason farmers get away with it is because they till the soil each year, which increases aeration, and they plant on mounded rows.

The problem with clay is that when you dig a hole in it, you create what we call the "bathtub effect"; water drains so slowly from the hole it just seems to sit there. That's why, at our nursery, we recommend that you break up the sides of the hole so that there are no flat "walls" in the hole, you amend the soil so at least the excess water will drain way from the crown of the plant, and that you always make sure that the crown is at least 1 to 2 inches higher than the surrounding soil level. We recommend that you amend clay soil with soil conditioner (composted pink bark chips) and compost or cow manure. You can't do anything about the soil that is surrounding the planting hole but at least you can keep the major roots from rotting.

As to the bonemeal, when I was in school a study had just been done on bonemeal and they had determined that whatever was good/beneficial about it before, was no longer present because of the way it is manufactured today. Basically, it ain't what it used to be and now it's virtually useless. It also can attract animals that may dig to try to find it!
On the positive side, Espoma just released a new product that I'm very excited about because it is a root stimulator that includes mycorrhizal fungi. (ps- the reason you shouldn't fertilize when you plant is because fertilizers encourage the plant to make more leaves and shoots and in the first year it should be focusing on putting on good roots)

I still say thanks to you for providing a link to this planting guide, because overall it's a good one. It just needs a little tweaking for those of us who don't have good soil like they apparently do in Millbrook , NY :)

I belong to the school of thought that it's better not to amend for trees and shrubs (unless you can amend an entire garden bed and go down fairly deep). If you have clay soil and you amend just the planting hole, that can also create a "clay bathtub" which holds water around the roots. Plus then the roots like to stay in the nice amended planting hole rather than spreading out into your native soil. So personally when I plant trees & shrubs in my clay-ish soil, I shake off as much of the container soil as I can and plant them straight in my garden soil, no amendments (I do make sure the sides of the planting hole are roughened up rather than smooth though to help the roots get better traction) Maybe if you live in an area where the clay is worse than here then planting them in the native soil doesn't work as well though, but in my area it's definitely the best way to go.

I lived in NY (Queens) and you are right about the soil there in that part of NY - it is wonderful. We took down a horse and carriage shelter to gain a small backyard for the kids to play. This was right in the middle of Queens (not too far from Manhattan) and it had been there for almost 100 years. That next summer, I had tomatos growing everywhere. I wondered if the horses were fed tomatos. It was amazing to me that the seeds were viable after all that time. Everything I planted after that just came up big and healthy and never did I have an issue with difficult digging or poor soil conditions. Of course there was probably a good deal of manure around that carriage house too.

You both (Plantfreak and Ecrane) both make good points. I have some great topsoil here in Hillsborough ---we are lucky that we were able to control how much top soil the builder removed when the land was cleared. When we plant trees or shrubs, we just turn in the top good 8-10 inches of good stuff with the clay that lurks deeper. So, in effect, have done both 'amended' the soil in the hole but didn't add anything extra to the dirt that wasn't there already.