If you just can’t wait to plant that special landscape tree, why
wait? In Georgia, the
dead of winter isn’t all that dead.

“We have such great root weather, roots don’t really have a
dormant period here,” said
Kim Coder, a forester with the University of Georgia Extension
Service.

People landscaping can learn a lesson from commercial foresters,
Coder said. In
January and February, they’re busy planting pines across
countless Georgia acres.

Why don’t they wait until spring? Because there’s much more harm
in waiting too long
than in planting too early.

“Roots are active and growing in a lot colder soil than people
may think,” Coder said.

As the weather warms in spring, he said, the roots get a head
start on the foliage. And
that’s the way it should be, because the aboveground parts of
the tree depend greatly on
the root system underground.

In Georgia, summer is the real test. “You need to give the roots
as much time as you
can to get established before it gets hot,” Coder said.

The hardest part now may be finding the tree. But if you go to a
good nursery or
garden center, you’ll probably find plants more available than
you thought.

“Go to a reputable nursery or garden center and pick out the
tree you want,” he said.
“A Georgia-grown tree is best. It will be more adapted to our
climate and less prone to
environmental stress.”

Coder said it’s critical to plant a commercially grown tree.

“There are a few pathogens out there that will take advantage of
trees that are just
sitting there dormant,” he said. “You won’t normally have to
worry about those if you
start with a good-quality, nursery-grown tree.

“If you just go out and steal an orphan out of the woods,” he
said, “you’re going to get
a tree with a poor root system. And you just might bring in a
pathogen or insect that
could make lunch out of your yard.”

Choose a place in your landscape where the tree will have plenty
of room when it’s
mature. Then plant the tree in a big, well-prepared hole.

Add two to three inches of organic mulch over an area extending
well beyond the root
ball. That will help keep the soil temperature and moisture more
even.

Water it well. That’s critical, even when the winter cold and
spring’s mild weather
don’t remind you of the need.

“You really need to baby your tree through the first year,”
Coder said. Make sure it
gets the water regularly. Do whatever you need to do to protect
it from lawn mowers,
string trimmers, children, pets and anything else that might
injure it.

“Then, during drought times for the first three years, water the
tree,” he said. “If you
do all that, you should have a healthy tree that will outlive
you.”