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When to plant
Early June to mid August is the optimum time for tree planting in southern Western Australia - starting as soon as the soil is thoroughly wet with winter rains and adequate weed control has been achieved. On dry sites, for example, deep elevated sands, it is best to plant trees before the middle of July. Very wet sites can be left until the end of August to minimise stress on the seedlings from waterlogging.
Planting methods
Trees can be planted by hand, or by mechanical planters. For larger hand planting projects, the easiest and quickest way is to use a planting tube such as the 'Pottiputki'. Using these devices, more than 2000 seedlings can be planted per day.
Tree planting machines take time to transport to the site and set up properly, but they can plant large areas efficiently, as long as the planting lines are well prepared, trafficable and unobstructed. They can plant bare rooted stock more efficiently than hand planters.
Seedling preparation
Remove seedlings from their cells in plastic trays by pushing up from the bottom while at the same time gently pulling on the stem. For trees in individual pots, invert the pot and tap the upturned edge on a solid object, such as a spade. The seedling should slide out of the container fairly easily. Cut off any long protruding roots. If the seedlings are pot bound, with tightly coiled roots, make two shallow vertical cuts down the root ball with a knife and gently tease out some of the roots.
Plant only healthy, actively growing seedlings - discard others. Prepare only 50 to 100 trees at a time on planting trays, to prevent them drying out, and to reduce transplant shock.
Planting depth
Plant seedlings deeper than they were growing in the nursery, to make sure the roots stay moist while getting established (without being waterlogged). Bare rooted seedlings have a soil mark on the stem, showing how deep they were growing in the nursery. For seedlings grown in trays, make sure the entire root ball is buried.
Choose a depth of planting to suit the soil conditions. On dry sites (especially dry sandy sites), plant the seedlings so the top of the root ball or soil mark is 5 to 7 cm below the soil surface. For heavier soils with adequate moisture, plant the seedlings 2 to 3 cm deep. On very wet sites, plant closer to the surface, or better still, delay planting until the end of winter.
Make sure the roots are planted into mineral soil, not mulch or loose organic matter, and that soil is firm around the roots, that is, 'heeling' for hand planting or using press wheels for machine planting.
Planting position for seedlings
Plant in the centre of the mound on mounded sites. If hand planting on sites that have been ripped only, place the seedling about 15 cm away from the ripline on the uphill side. This reduces exposure to large air cavities under the ripline and potentially damaging concentrations of pre-planting residual herbicides that can accumulate in the ripline under some soil conditions. For sites that have been furrowlined (usually only the deep non wetting sands of the Swan Coastal Plain), plant in the centre of the furrow. Only use knockdown (non residual) herbicides on furrowlined sites.
Fertilising
Adequate nutrition gives trees a good start, with rapid early root and shoot development. Test the soil before planting to find out if fertiliser is needed. If the site has a good fertiliser history it is usually unnecessary to fertilise in the first year. However, the trees may need a fertiliser application in later years. Tree nutrition will be covered in more detail in a separate TreeNote.
As a general rule of thumb, for sites which need fertiliser in the year of planting, give each seedling about 50 g (equivalent to a small handful) of a general purpose fertiliser containing phosphorous and nitrogen. Suitable fertilisers include DAP, Agras No1, or NPK Blue. Use a spade or planting tube, and bury the fertiliser in a lump, 15 to 20 cm away from the base of the seedling, on the downhill side. This concentrated lump of fertiliser has an extended release period, similar to compressed tree tablets (which cost more, but are easy to use). Burying the fertiliser prevents nitrogen being lost to the atmosphere and reduces potential growth of weeds near the seedling.
Apply fertiliser at the time of planting (to minimise labour costs), or some weeks later when the seedlings have become established (to maximise the effectiveness of the fertiliser). Later fertilising is recommended for wet sites, to minimise the loss of fertiliser by leaching, before the tree roots have grown enough to use it. Fertilising should be completed by the end of September.
Note: Fertilise only if weed control has been successful, otherwise it will accelerate weed growth at the expense of the seedlings.
Using a planting tube
Abstract from TreeNote No. 17 Department of Agriculture Western Australia
Tree planting - in the medium and high rainfall zone of Western Australia
Early June to mid August is the optimum time for tree planting in southern Western Australia - starting as soon as the soil is thoroughly wet with winter rains and adequate weed control has been achieved. On dry sites, for example, deep elevated sands, it is best to plant trees before the middle of July. Very wet sites can be left until the end of August to minimise stress on the seedlings from waterlogging.
Planting methods
Trees can be planted by hand, or by mechanical planters. For larger hand planting projects, the easiest and quickest way is to use a planting tube such as the 'Pottiputki'. Using these devices, more than 2000 seedlings can be planted per day.
Tree planting machines take time to transport to the site and set up properly, but they can plant large areas efficiently, as long as the planting lines are well prepared, trafficable and unobstructed. They can plant bare rooted stock more efficiently than hand planters.
Seedling preparation
Remove seedlings from their cells in plastic trays by pushing up from the bottom while at the same time gently pulling on the stem. For trees in individual pots, invert the pot and tap the upturned edge on a solid object, such as a spade. The seedling should slide out of the container fairly easily. Cut off any long protruding roots. If the seedlings are pot bound, with tightly coiled roots, make two shallow vertical cuts down the root ball with a knife and gently tease out some of the roots.
Plant only healthy, actively growing seedlings - discard others. Prepare only 50 to 100 trees at a time on planting trays, to prevent them drying out, and to reduce transplant shock.
Planting depth
Plant seedlings deeper than they were growing in the nursery, to make sure the roots stay moist while getting established (without being waterlogged). Bare rooted seedlings have a soil mark on the stem, showing how deep they were growing in the nursery. For seedlings grown in trays, make sure the entire root ball is buried.
Choose a depth of planting to suit the soil conditions. On dry sites (especially dry sandy sites), plant the seedlings so the top of the root ball or soil mark is 5 to 7 cm below the soil surface. For heavier soils with adequate moisture, plant the seedlings 2 to 3 cm deep. On very wet sites, plant closer to the surface, or better still, delay planting until the end of winter.
Make sure the roots are planted into mineral soil, not mulch or loose organic matter, and that soil is firm around the roots, that is, 'heeling' for hand planting or using press wheels for machine planting.
Planting position for seedlings
Plant in the centre of the mound on mounded sites. If hand planting on sites that have been ripped only, place the seedling about 15 cm away from the ripline on the uphill side. This reduces exposure to large air cavities under the ripline and potentially damaging concentrations of pre-planting residual herbicides that can accumulate in the ripline under some soil conditions. For sites that have been furrowlined (usually only the deep non wetting sands of the Swan Coastal Plain), plant in the centre of the furrow. Only use knockdown (non residual) herbicides on furrowlined sites.
Fertilising
Adequate nutrition gives trees a good start, with rapid early root and shoot development. Test the soil before planting to find out if fertiliser is needed. If the site has a good fertiliser history it is usually unnecessary to fertilise in the first year. However, the trees may need a fertiliser application in later years. Tree nutrition will be covered in more detail in a separate TreeNote.
As a general rule of thumb, for sites which need fertiliser in the year of planting, give each seedling about 50 g (equivalent to a small handful) of a general purpose fertiliser containing phosphorous and nitrogen. Suitable fertilisers include DAP, Agras No1, or NPK Blue. Use a spade or planting tube, and bury the fertiliser in a lump, 15 to 20 cm away from the base of the seedling, on the downhill side. This concentrated lump of fertiliser has an extended release period, similar to compressed tree tablets (which cost more, but are easy to use). Burying the fertiliser prevents nitrogen being lost to the atmosphere and reduces potential growth of weeds near the seedling.
Apply fertiliser at the time of planting (to minimise labour costs), or some weeks later when the seedlings have become established (to maximise the effectiveness of the fertiliser). Later fertilising is recommended for wet sites, to minimise the loss of fertiliser by leaching, before the tree roots have grown enough to use it. Fertilising should be completed by the end of September.
Note: Fertilise only if weed control has been successful, otherwise it will accelerate weed growth at the expense of the seedlings.
Using a planting tube
- Adjust the planting tube to give the desired depth of planting.
- Push planting tube into the ground and press on depth limiter until it reaches the correct depth.
- Take the seedling out of its container, or from the planting tray and drop it into the tube (roots first!).
- Step on jaw-opening pedal.
- Lift planting tube out of the ground with a twisting motion to loosen any soil stuck to the jaws.
- Press the soil firmly around the seedling with your foot on either side, to close air pockets, making sure the seedling ends up vertical. Leave a small depression around the plant to collect water (except on wet sites).
- A simple check to see if the trees have been firmly planted is to lightly pull a seedling by the stem. If it pulls out of the ground easily it has not been firmed in well enough.
- Close the jaws of the planting tube using the release lever, and move to the next planting position.
Abstract from TreeNote No. 17 Department of Agriculture Western Australia
Tree planting - in the medium and high rainfall zone of Western Australia