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Saturday, November 6, 2004
Austrian Pine May Be Slightly More Able to Withstand Insect Pests
By Lynn Ellen Doxon
For the Journal
Q: We lost three 40-year-old piñons and three 40-year-old ponderosa pines in our North Valley front yard this year. We are looking for a couple of replacements better suited to the Valley than the other trees were. What can you recommend?— Joan McDougall, Albuquerque
A: If you are looking for a pine, you might try an Austrian pine, which is very much like the ponderosa but slightly more able to withstand insect pests we have here. It does require a little more water than the Ponderosa.
Several junipers would be more hardy, but only the females are available in the city limits because the males aggravate allergies.
Q: I understand that fall is a good time to plant trees and shrubs. Can you give me any advice on planting technique?
A: The most important step is to pick the right plant for the right place. Consider overhead wires, underground utilities, the ultimate size of the plant at maturity and its ability to tolerate the climate and microclimate.
If the soil is poor, improve the entire area before planting, not just the planting hole.
When selecting the plant, make sure the root ball is solid, not a bag of loose earth, and treat it gently on the way home so you do not break it up, destroying roots.
Dig a bowl-shaped hole two to three times wider than the root ball but no deeper. Remove all pots and containers, including those made of paper or biodegradable material. You want the roots to get into the soil as quickly as possible. Also remove any wire baskets and cut the bottom out of the burlap before putting the tree in the hole. Place the root system on solid ground in the hole so that the base of the trunk, or the place where a shrub produces stems, is at ground level or slightly higher. The first lateral root should end up just under the soil surface and the trunk should flare visibly at ground level.
Remove the remaining burlap when the plant is in the hole, then backfill with soil you dug out. Add water as you backfill to remove air pockets and moisten roots.
Mulch with 2-4 inches of bark or other organic material. Make a 4-6-foot circle of mulch around a newly planted tree. Stake using poles on either side of the tree, using wide, beltlike material, not wire or twine, in a "figure-8" around the tree between them. Keep the root area moist but not waterlogged, even in the winter.
Send questions and calendar items to Lynn Ellen Doxon, c/o the Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109; e-mail to lynndoxon@hotmail.com; or fax them to (505) 821-3479.