On Sunday November 13, 2016 I attended an urban greening tree planting / tree adoption event held by Endless Orchard,the Office of Sustainability, and the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society. I assisted this event by carrying the trees that were adopted, along with bags of mulch, to the cars of those who adopted trees. There were numerous fruit trees that could be adopted such as Bartlett pear trees, cherry trees, and apple trees. After assisting with carrying the trees and needed supplies, I was given a very detailed, step-by-step demonstration on how to successfully plant and maintain fruit trees by a woman from Endless Orchard named Dana. When preparing to plant a fruit tree, I learned you must carefully decide where to plant. Dana explained that you must consider how much sunlight your tree will need to thrive, as well as keeping in mind how big your tree will be in 20-30 years. Next Dana explained that you must only prune dead and damaged branches by cutting just above the branch collar. The next step of planting a tree is to remove the tree from the container. The fourth step is to trim the roots, as it is very likely that the roots will be growing in a circle around the inside of the container. This step is important to keep in mind because the roots give the tree stability, so you must ensure they are not tangled. You want to also loosen and remove about 1-2 inches of the outer roots and soil. The fifth step is to find the root flare. When planting trees, many people make the mistake of covering the root flare, while it is actually supposed to be exposed, not covered. The sixth step is to dig the hole for the tree to be planted. Dana explained that many people dig deeper rather than wider. For the black cherry trees we planted, we only dug about 5-6 inches deep, but our hole was very wide at about 3 feet. After digging the hole, you want to test the depth to make sure the root flare is at the proper depth and is not covered. Buried root flares can actually kill the trees, so this step is utterly important. The eighth step of tree planting is to back fill the soil. You must gently place your tree in the center of the hole, keeping in mind that the trunk must be straight and the root bally is stable. You must pack down the soil as you go to ensure that all the air pockets are filled. The ninth step pertains to using the "3-3-3 method" of mulch. You must make a ring of mulch around the tree that is 3 feet wide and 3 inches deep. You want to make sure that the mulch is kept 3 inches away from the trunk so the root flare is still exposed. Dana explained that the mulch should not look like a volcano, but rather like a donut.
The tenth and final step of tree planting is to water the plant. A new tree will need roughly 15-20 gallons each week (until winter when the ground freezes) for the first two years of the trees life. After our demonstration, we headed behind Anderson and Gladfelter to plant our three black cherry trees. Having the background information necessary to plant trees made the process much easier. There were many course concepts and information from lectures being used throughout the day that I witnessed through this urban greening event. For example, while planting the cherry trees, members from Endless Orchard discussed the soil thoroughly. The members discussed the texture and moistness of the mulch and soil we were using, which was very reminiscent of our in-class soil lab we completed in November. Through class lectures we learned that soil quality is of the utmost importance because it promotes plant health, which is why it was so crucial for the trees we planted to have the very rich and organic mulch it had, provided by the office of sustainability. The members also discussed how the mulch was very rich and organic, and from class lectures I could also tell the mulch had a lot of organic matter by the color: dark brown. Our class lectures also helped me determine that the mulch had healthy soil fauna, as the mulch was very loose to the touch. Another topic discussed by the members was the use of fertilizers. They emphasized to everyone who adopted trees not to use fertilizers, as fertilizer is very stressful for new trees. The amount of nitrogen found in fertilizers is also not good; it attracts insects. The use of fertilizers for new plants being relatively negative was another topic we discussed when talking about soil biology in class. Through class discussions we learned that microbial systems have evolved over time to provide nitrogen and phosphorus to new growing plants, giving one more reason to add to the list of why fertilizers were not needed for these fruit trees. Another interesting tip given to me by the members was to "finger test" the soil around the tree if you are unsure if it needs watered. The in-class lab we completed helped me determine whether the soil was too dry and needed water, or if it was more moist and damp and did not need watered. In class we also discussed how constant construction affects and modifies urban soil biology, texture, and chemistry negatively, which played a large part in determining the location of planting the cherry trees on campus, as we selected a very small, grassy area behind Anderson that should never have any construction done to the area in the future. At the end of the event, another student began interviewing Dana on the importance of trees in an urban area. Dana's response reminded me of the topics we discussed about trees and urban settings in the beginning of the semester. Dana explained that trees are critical to urban cities because they are a very simple solution to climate change. She continued by expressing how cities are continually getting hotter and wetter. Trees help cool homes and reduce the urban heat island effect. Trees also help to manage and capture storm water runoff. I can easily continue my involvement with urban greening efforts, and I plan to. I received contact information from some of the members of Endless Orchard to contact them about a few upcoming events in November that I am currently planning on attending. One of the most satisfying aspects of this stewardship event was knowing I was making a difference with such minimal work. I was surprised by how relatively easy and quick it was to plant three trees, which is one of the reasons I believe I will continue on with planting trees in the future. I think if everyone knew how simple something like planting trees was, people would be more eager to plant and maintain trees, as the benefits trees bring to communities is definitely worth the care of them. After this event I completely agree with Dana's statement that planting trees is one of the most simple ways to combat climate change. Tree planting addresses many urban community needs. As previously stated, urban areas suffer from the urban heat island, and trees are a relatively easy and cost effective way to address this need. Also stated by Dana, cities are continuing to get wetter, and trees also give a solution to this need by capturing storm water runoff. Living in a city also exposes citizens to an abundance of pollutant gases, which trees can also help with. Trees absorb these pollutant gases and filter particulates out of the air. Overall, the tree planting stewardship event was a very positive experience, and I am glad I got to take part in it.
Below are more pictures of the tree planting event, as well as a video of Dana giving a demonstration on planting with a clip of our actual planting.
Video
In this photograph we are trying to get the exact depth of the hole; it was a little too deep so we filled it in a bit more.
In this picture we are cutting the container that was holding the cherry tree
This picture shows one of our black cherry trees after successfully planting it
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