Purdue Extension: Ways to kill your tree without trying

Recent Arbor Day programs and the Owen County Soil & Water Conservation District's tree give-away event underline the interest citizens have in planting trees for a variety of reasons. When you plant a tree you have several options, including species, type of planting, timing and location.

The following actions are very easy to undertake, and I have been guilty of many of them. Take care with your new tree planting, as well as recent plantings in years past. Purdue Extension-Owen County can be contacted at 812-236-6039 for all your tree questions.

Here are a few things you shouldn't do to a young tree:

1. Top the tree like a crew cut. A topped tree will invite moisture, insects and disease because healing of cuts is limited. Multiple sprouts grow from the topped limbs, further causing decline.

2. Mulch the tree like a volcano. This happens a lot in shopping malls, where the mulch gets piled tall and looks like a volcano. Proper mulching should form a ring around the stem but not climb up the stem more than a couple of inches.

3. Weed eat or bang the trunk with equipment. A young tree has a limited circumference, and it is easy to cut into the bark and damage the flow of water and nutrients with weed eater blight. Mulching around the tree to create a barrier between tree stem and tools can help keep the vascular system working.

4. Destroy root zone with a construction project. Most ornamental trees have fibrous roots systems that are not extremely deep. Building a concrete patio or pad on part of the root zone will damage significant root mass and could impact tree health. The root zone can be as wide as twice the height of the tree.

5. Plant the wrong tree in the wrong place. A white pine doesn't like a poorly drained soil. It is easy to impulsively buy a tree for the yard that looks neat in the neighborhood but doesn't require the type of soil and drainage your spot offers. Not a short-term death, but over time I have seen several trees decline because they were not suited for the soil and drainage offered them.

6. Planting the new tree too deeply is another pathway to eventual decline. The root flair should be a bit above the soil profile. Planting too deeply will, over time, promote decay and decline.

7. Amend the soil hole for your new tree with lots of moss or material that retains moisture. The only soil that may be eligible for such amendment is very sandy soil.

8. Leaving the Guy wires for too long. Guy wires for life can end up damaging major tree limbs. These supports are relatively temporary and not intended for several years of support. I have seen some nice trees deformed by guy wires left on for too long.

9. Let the roots of the new tree dry out and tree stress is underway. Bare root trees can only stand to have roots exposed for a limited time. Container trees that are not kept watered can end up with dry roots and transplant shock can take place. If you cannot get your new tree planted right away, keep it watered.

10. Forget to water the tree during the next several summers. Transplant shock can happen a couple years after you plant. You baby your new tree for 2024 then think it has made it, only to find that it declines and dies in the next couple of years because you failed to water in dry times. Sustain your care for the next couple of summers for that new tree.