Nursery Container Trees
Planting new trees is a great way to add beauty and value to a property, but there are several considerations that should be made when deciding what to plant and how. From species and genus diversity to soil conditions and heartiness zones, just shopping for the right tree can be a science in itself! Arbor Master is here to help with the entire process, including selection based on site and soil conditions as well as choosing quality trees from a number of trusted nurseries we work with in Iowa. We prefer container grown trees over ball & burlap because they have a higher rate of survival and less problems when the root system matures. Some species are prone to circling and girdling roots and this becomes more of an issue when the rootball has already started growing around the cage of a B&B tree. One of our favorite nurseries, Iowa Native Trees and Shrubs even uses air pruning pots to solve the problem of root circling, decreasing the chances of girdling years later. They offer only trees native to the area and are focused on helping the customer match the right tree to the site using a DNR resource listing under-planted trees in Iowa.
Diversity is important, on a property as well as the canopy of the community, whether a rural woods or urban forest. By planting less common trees and more of them, we can avoid the disastrous results of monoculture we've seen with the American Elm and now all North American Ash varieties. When Dutch Elm Disease wiped out virtually all the Elms, Iowa planted Ash almost exclusively as a replacement tree. Now with the onslaught of Emerald Ash Borer infestation spreading across Iowa, we are learning from these past mistakes. The DNR now recommends that we plant no more than 5% of the entire canopy in a species and no more than 10%. We should reconsider what is popular and especially avoid doing what our neighbors do just to give our streets a uniform look. Arbor Master works closely with homeowners and corporate properties as a liaison to the many nurseries we have to choose from. We not only pick the right nursery for our clients, we also select the best specimens available based on our arborist experience and training.
When planting the perfect tree for your property, we will handle everything so it's as easy as watering for you! Our step-by-step approach starts with obtaining permission to dig and locating buried lines through Iowa One Call. We then purchase and pick the tree up for you and deliver it to its new home, where we use the Air Spade to create a planting hole with channels of less compact soil radiating outward to further reduce the chances of circling roots. After removing the pot, scoring the roots and dropping it in the hole, soil is added and watered in to the proper planting depth that leaves root flares and trunk taper above ground. Finally, we add 2-3 in of mulch as far out to the dripline as possible, making sure to shape a donut with very little mulch at the base of the tree rather than a mound or volcano burying the trunk taper. Proper mulching is one of the easiest things you can do for your tree to ensure its success.
