Written by Brent Holtz, UCCE San Joaquin County
One of the worst things that can happen to young trees from nurseries is that they are planted to deep. Sometimes they are initially planted at the right height, but then a berm is thrown up around the trees and their crown (the graft union between the scion and rootstock) is covered with the soil from the berm. I saw many diseased trees last spring that had Phytophthora root and crown infections and every one of them had their graft union below the soil line; sometimes the union was more than six inches below. If you are planting or replanting, trees should be planted high on small mounds as shallowly as possible. Planting depth after settling should be no deeper than in the nursery, and the graft union should always be well above the soil line.
Try to follow some of these planting tips:
1. Dig a hole deep enough so the roots are spread out and not cramped,
2. Plant the trees so that the nursery soil line is above the current soil line,
3. Plant the highest root a little above the soil line and then cover it with extra dirt, and
4. When planting allow for 3-6 inches of settling in the planting hole.
I have never seen trees die from being planted too high, but I have seen many trees killed by being planted too low. This is especially true in heavy soils with a high clay content. These soils have slow water percolation, drain slowly, and remain saturated longer than well drained sandy soils. The mound around the tree trunk forces excess water to drain away from the tree, thus reducing the length of time the crown is exposed to excess surface moisture. Saturated soil conditions can occur at plating if the trees are irrigated too heavily, or when a high rainfall winter and spring occur. Some orchards survive years before a wet spring kills trees that settled too deep or had their crown covered with a berm. Plant the tree right the first time!
After making a strong case for planting the trees high, there is one exception. If you are planting on Marianna 2624 plum rootstock you should plant your trees the same depth they were planted in the nursery. With this rootstock, planting trees too high will cause them to sucker from the roots. Marianna 2624 is fairly resistant to Phytophthora and it can also tolerate excess soil moisture better than other rootstocks.
Anonymous
March 12, 2012Don’t forget with mariana 2624 in heavy wet soils there are issues with Union Mild Etch
The Almond Doctor
March 12, 2012Thanks – very true point.
Anonymous
November 5, 2012What do you think about the Viking Rootstock on clay loam soil? The soil is well drained.
David Doll
November 6, 2012Based on the studies found throughout the state, it will probably perform well. Viking seems to handle the diversity of soil types well, and it has some level of Phytophthora resistance (roughly the same as Nemaguard), which is common in wet soils. Carolyn Debuse has a trial on a silty-clay loam, and Viking was smaller than Lovell, but was larger than some other hybrids. No rootstock, however, will tolerate in-season saturated soil conditions or a high water table…so check for these first.
Doug Edwards
April 10, 2017I have a lake lot where the soil is pretty sandy and the water table is about 2′ down when the lake is up. What would be the best tree to plant in these conditions that would give shade relief on hot summer days. Located on Possum Kingdom Lake on the same latitude as Fort Worth in North Central Texas.
David Doll
April 10, 2017I would reach out to your local extension office. They should know more about the conditions. Just websearch “Cooperative Extension “Your County” Texas.”
Hope that helps,
David
Doug Edwards
April 10, 2017Thanks
Mehmet
April 10, 2020Hi I’m mehmet,
I want to plant a garden in Turkey. For which season should I look for the measurement of ground water? Ground water should be at least how many meters.
Thank you very much in advance for your answer.
David Doll
April 17, 2020Ideally, you would want to see at least 3-4 meters without a water table. I have seen successful orchards planted on soils with a water table at 2 meters. The more problematic feature of water tables is if they are variable. Water tables that rise closer to the surface can kill the tree.
Hope that helps,
David