British Columbia: Monkey Puzzle

We just bought and planted a small monkey puzzle tree (about 3 feet tall). It is in beautiful condition and shape and we want to keep it that way. What type of care does this tree require?

 

Give it some mixed mulch 5-10cms deep on top of the plant pit you've created, and give it a good blast of water once per week. The best thing you can do beyond that is leave it ;)

 

Thank you. I think I can handle that :)

 

Do not plant trees in pits - that is small areas of modified soil surrounded by unmodified existing soil. You want the same soil throughout the rooting area, both present and future - so there are no zones of different soil texture that are liable to affect how water enters and leaves the root zone of the tree.

 

Thank you!

 

Ron's rather vague advice is precisely the reason hundreds of thousands of young trees end up in the green waste pile every season across North America. A little information is dangerous.


Monkey puzzle is a bomb proof tree, but if you want specifics on planting, this would be a good starting point:
http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_planting.aspx

 

...And Ron, from what you're spinning on changing soil textures - Many species are incredibly adaptable considering the conditions we put them into, but the typical urban soil is most likely the biggest pressure on early growth. What you're asking me to do is carefully expose channels in highly compacted pre development scrapings for bare root stock to thrive? Looks great on paper.

A little ideology never hurt, but the evidence presented in urban arboriculture planting studies of the public and private domain as of the last thirty years seem to suggest the average urban soil as not being optimal by any means.

 

Ron, in our area, that works very sometimes.

Many times, I prefer to avoid ending up back-filling with an amended soil that ends up being more porous than the pre-existing surrounding soil. Because when rain comes in the winter, water can penetrate the root ball area a bit too easily and cause a bit of a water pot scenerio. Like a soil soup scenerio.

Its not that I never amend. But if the soil dug out is workable, its definitely do-able.

For me, its a matter of whether the soil has been abused or not. If its been compacted, or maybe a blue clay re-deposited from a nearby stream flood plain, I may discard it or use it for a mound base. And then find some other soil to use.

Mulch seems to be one of the most critical aids. Even today, someone called me 7 years later, to prune some arborvitae that I planted in 2003. They said the ones I put in, looked better than another row someone else did, while I was in southern Oregon for 3 years. My first question was "didn't I mulch the ones I installed?", to which they said yes. And they said the other row installed by the other person was not mulched. My estimation, is that the difference in appearance is at least 50% due to that one difference alone.

: - )

 

There was nothing vague or theoretical about what I posted. Failure of small amended planting holes to improve results is not even a new discovery.

In 1968, a study was begun to determine the "optimum" amount of soil amendments to use in the planting hole since recommendations varied from 5% to 50% by volume. The optimum amount turned out to be none.

--Establishment and Maintenance of Landscape Plants (1987 Carl E. Whitcomb, Revised 1991)

http://www.lacebarkinc.com/establish.htm

 

I planted a 1m high monkey puzzle tree last summer in what looked to me to be terrible soil. I was advised that monkey puzzle trees come from rocky scree-like conditions and it seems to be doing alright. It was raised from a seedling to that height in a pot and then planted in coarse gravel. I mulched it and hand-watered it during the summer and have left it alone since.

Apparently these trees are tolerant of a variety of soils but prefer acidic well drained soil so, I'd suggest going easy on the watering to avoid drowning it. What are the site conditions for your new tree anyways? I don't believe anyone else has asked yet.

 

We live on the side of a mountain, so it is planted on a flat part of a small hilltop. There is quite a bit of mulch, and there seems to be a lot of drainage, so I'm thinking it should do OK, as yours did. Thanks for the advice.

 

Utilizing existing soils that are properly interfaced (as in creating pore space prior to dropping plants in place) is a practice I strongly believe in if at all possible - and was not what I referred to in my response. "Do not plant trees in pits - that is small areas of modified soil surrounded by unmodified existing soil". As of your latest post I have a feeling that where you said modified/unmodified, you actually meant amended/unamended, or perhaps you were trying to suggest a bit of both. I know what you're on to, but your original post *is* vague.
Being that this particular person's plant is already in the ground, I found your timing on excavation advise (in response to my outrageous use of the term "planting pit") to be a little off. Mulch and adequate water, improvements in soils both in CEC and pore space -- That's all it took to provoke your original reply. I don't get it?