The final blog post in our series of 3 is designed to help you plant native trees and shrubs in a riparian buffer (the land that borders streams and other waterways). While we have been focusing on planting in a riparian buffer, most of the tips provided will apply to planting trees or shrubs in other locations on your property.

Once your trees and shrubs are planted, it is important to protect them from deer damage! Placing tree guards or constructing your own fencing (photos below) around individual trees or shrubs is the best way to protect them from deer until they become large enough to survive without protection (typically 8-10 years).

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Once installed, periodically check the plants and manually remove any aggressive vines climbing on the tree guards or fencing. Avoid the use of chemicals to fight the vines in riparian zones; they can harm the plants, insects and our waterways.

See our post about the importance of riparian buffers and our first post about preparing to plant and our second post about planting.

Learn how to give your trees and shrubs a strong start by attending one or more of our upcoming tree planting events on May 29, 30 & 31.  More information and volunteer sign up for these upcoming plantings available soon!

Welcome to the second in a series of 3 blog posts to help you plant native trees and shrubs in a riparian buffer (the land that borders streams and other waterways). Most of the tips provided in these posts also apply to planting trees or shrubs in other locations on your property.

Spacing your trees and shrubs approximately 12 – 15′ from each other, you may plant in rows or in more naturalistic groupings to better echo the more organic patterns found in nature – or a combination of both. Get creative!

Many of your trees and shrubs will likely arrive in pots. Dig the holes as deep as the pot and twice as wide. Remove the plant from the pot and loosen the roots, especially if they are tightly bound. Adjust your plant in the hole, adding or removing soil as needed so the root flare (where the roots start to spread from the trunk – see photo below) is just above ground level. Take care not to bury  the plant too deep or cover the trunk with soil, while making sure your plant isn’t sitting too high, with its top roots exposed. Tamp the soil around the root ball as you fill the hole to ensure that the plant is firmly planted.

See our post about the importance of riparian buffers and our first post about preparing to plant.

You can gain some practical planting experience by joining us for a one or more of our native tree planting days – May 29, 30 & 31 – at Ashbridge Preserve. More information and volunteer sign up for these upcoming plantings available soon!