By Mike Isbell

Georgia Extension Service

Volume XXVII Number 1 Page 14

When I was a kid I used to wonder if you were to dig a hole
all the way through
the middle of the earth to the other side, when you got to the
middle, would
you be digging up or would you be digging down?

Forget about the molten rock in the middle of the earth and
the effects of
gravity, too. Just ponder the hole.

By now you should see trees for sale in nurseries and garden
centers. If you
buy a tree, how do you go about planting them?

Well, there’s more to planting a tree than digging a pit and
flinging in a
tree, as in a TV commercial I just saw. The hole you dig can
be the difference
between life and death for the tree you plant.

Three features of the perfect hole

So what’s the perfect hole?

Well, think of a saucer-shaped hole instead of a pit-shaped
one.

The perfect hole has three features.

1. The first is a compacted mound of soil in the bottom
   of the hole.
   This is where the tree’s root ball rests. Position the
   tree to rest at the
   same or a slightly higher level than it’s growing in the
   container or in
   the burlap ball.
   
   
   
   If you plant it too deep, you’re going kill it.

2. The second feature is a hole with steeply slanted
   sides. Don’t
   make the sides vertical. Slant them at least at a 45-
   degree angle from the
   soil surface. This will encourage the roots to spread out
   into the native
   soil.

3. And finally, tree-planting holes should be three
   times wider than the
   root ball, to allow the tree to get off to a fast
   start.

But if you’re digging through the center of the earth —
well, there I go thinking
again.