Branching Out

A world without trees is probably a world we wouldn’t want to visit. That’s why keen businesses and homeowners know the importance of planting trees.

These large, perennial, woody plants create a naturally inviting atmosphere that makes customers and friends feel at ease and encourages them to stay. Trees attract countless varieties of wild life; they create fresh air, shade and ground cover, and they’re excellent natural barriers and eye candy — especially the dazzling displays of reds, yellows and oranges during the fall.

Now it’s spring, which is the perfect time to dwell on the valuable beauty and ecological importance of trees. It’s also a great time to get your equipment ready to spearhead your tree landscaping operations. Whether you’re running a skid steer, compact utility loader or compact excavator, your tool carrier can be equipped with the right collection of tools for your tree planting needs.

Skid steers and compact utility loaders are engineered as attachment carriers. Both can wield a variety of hydraulically driven attachments such as tree spades, tree clippers, nursery jaws or pallet forks, and both machines can
transport, dig, install and maintain your big plants with the right set of implements. Your compact excavator is
also a handy piece of iron. It can prepare the ground for landscaping via the dozer blade and then dig the planting hole with a bucket or auger.

“Compact excavators do not move as quickly as wheeled machines, but they have the ability to get into more confined work areas,” says Bob VanDittie, Takeuchi sales support manager. “Excavators have the ability to dig beside walls or fences and to move the boom into a variety of positions including over the side of the machine for digging.”

Before you go digging holes in the ground and uprooting trees, remember that trees are living organisms and planting and transplanting them causes them a considerable amount of distress. Usually, it takes several years for a newly planted tree to settle into its new environment. Many times, people don’t consider the needs of the tree when picking a variety for planting, which can decrease the chance of a tree’s survival once planted. Making sure that the right tree is planted with the right tools in the right place can help ensure that the tree will grow tall and strong for many years to come.

From Sapling to Super-Sized

Planting the wrong tree for its environment is the No. 1 cause of tree deaths and accounts for more tree casualties than all insect- and disease-related tree deaths combined, according to the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Before you set your heart on a certain tree, you’re going to need to ask yourself a few questions because trees are not cheap investments.

1. Why is the tree being planted?

2. What is the size and location of the planting site?

3. What type of soil conditions exist?

4. And lastly, how much maintenance are you willing
to provide?

These questions will help size the perfect environment for your big leafy (or coniferous) friend. If you plan on planting a tree close to a house, you don’t want an
enormous, top-heavy tree, as it will grow right up against the house. If you are looking for a few trees to provide privacy and windbreak around your deck or patio, a few dense evergreens with a narrow growth habit should do the trick.

“If a tree is planted in a less ideal place, it has less of a chance for survival,” says Brice Dorwart, ISA-certified arborist with Bartlett Tree Experts in Bala Cynwyd, Pa. “One of the most popular is the Bradford Callery pear, or ‘Bradford,’ which grows large, but the branches strip off easily in bad weather. It’s better to go with a native tree that would have a better chance for survival and contribute to the ecosystem.”

Take a look at your soil — get down there and get your hands dirty. Is it shallow or compacted? Often disturbed? Or subject to drought? If a tree isn’t tough enough for your soil, it’s going to have some problems. Of course, as with any specialty projects, it’s a good idea to consult a
professional arborist who can help you determine what tree is right for you, as well as alter or condition the soil before planting.

“You have to look at the density and moisture of the
soil, the pH and light requirements,” Dorwart says. “At the very least, definitely consult the ISA guidelines on
tree planting.”

A general rule of thumb is the majority of trees require full sun light for proper growth and flower bloom. As you search for the best location, look for a spot with rich soil and proper sunlight, be mindful of the wind exposure, as, in the case of the popular Bradford tree, wind can harm and potentially uproot newly planted trees.

When it is all said and done, personal preferences play a large role in tree selection. Whether you want a tree that is going to complement your property or be the focal point of your private landscape, the tree selection has to be spot on. The emphasis should be put on striking a balance between functionality and aesthetics, so that you get the tree you want and the tree lives longer than a year or two. You can find out more about the tree selection guidelines at www.treesaregood.com.

Hard Wood, Hard Work

After you have surveyed the land, talked to a professional and chosen the correct tree, it’s time to roll out the equipment and get to work. Whether you are working with a loader or excavator, the range of attachments is going to be comparable. More than likely, you will use an auger or bucket for digging and a tree spade to uproot or pick up a tree for planting.

The most popular attachment in the tree care industry is by far the tree spade skid steer attachment, which can run about $1,100 to $1,500. If you need more power, a tree transplanter attachment is a tree spade on steroids. Generally requiring rear stabilizers and counterweights, a tree transplanter will run anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000. While an auger attachment will make quick work of digging holes for tree planting, it is a more
versatile attachment that can dig holes for any purpose such as fence or deck posts and costs around $2,000 to $3,000. Once the tree is planted, a tree shears
attachment will keep the tree healthy and beautiful with proper maintenance for around $5,000 to $12,000. Finally, if a tree needs to be removed, a stump grinder attachment will take care of that difficult task for around $5,000 to $6,000.

How you use these attachments will depend greatly on your machine. You will need to understand your machine’s capacities — the lift capacities, degree of slope (if applicable), digging depth and size constraints. You’ll also want to take extra precautions when using tree care attachments. For instance, be careful when lifting over the side of a
compact excavator, especially when you are pulling the auger from the ground or lifting a tree with a tree spade or lifting hook. If you are unsure of your machine’s capacities, check the operator’s manual for your tool carrier and its attachments, VanDittie recommends.

Mini excavators and backhoe attachments for skid steers and compact utility loaders are good for ground preparation for tree installation, digging holes or
compacting and grading loose soil. Before you start
digging, call your local utilities to make sure that no underground utilities are in or near the work area.

When preparing a hole for your balled-in-burlap,
bare-root or container-grown tree with your compact excavator, the ISA recommends that you dig a wide,
shallow hole as much as three times the diameter of
the tree’s root ball, but only as deep as the ball itself.

The hole must be as wide and the soil not too compacted, as the roots on a tree must push through surrounding soil and you want it to be loose enough so that the tree does not struggle.

It’s a whole different ball game if you are using a tree spade attachment. The spade is used to first dig a precise hole for the tree and then drop the tree into its new home. Because the spade digs a near perfect hole, there is virtually no settling or air pockets.

“A tree spade is the most efficient tool for planting and transplanting,” says Tom Banner, manager, product sales training, Case Construction Equipment. “It is designed to preserve enough of the root system and surround soil to increase the likelihood of a healthy move.”

Support for the root system is crucial when planting trees. During the transplant, the tree’s root system is reduced by 90 to 95 percent, which causes trees to experience transplant shock, which is characterized by slow growth and reduced vitality. However, proper ground preparation can ease the tree into its new location and reduce the amount of time the tree experiences shock.

When using a tree spade, remember that the load is extended further from the machine than it would normally be with a bucket. The tree should also be positioned directly upright on the tree spade or fork. If a top-heavy tree is tipped forward or to one side, the machine could
go with it.

“It’s important not to ask your skid steer to do more than it was designed to do,” says Banner. “You cannot expect to lift the full rated operating load for the machine when the load is extended forward.”

With the load extended forward, it is likely that the
operator’s view is obscured by the tree’s foliage. In this case, someone on the ground should guide the operator during tree transportation.

Once the tree has been placed in the planting hole, make sure the tree is at the proper height, straighten the tree and then bring the excavator or skid steer over to back fill the hole. You should fill the hole about one-third full and then gently pack the soil around the base of the root ball. Do not use a bucket to compact the ground, warns VanDittie. Not only is that damaging to the machine, but it also compacts the soil too much, which could suffocate the tree. If the tree was burlapped, cut and remove the string and wire from around the trunk and top third of the root ball.

When the tree is first planted, it may require stakes for support. Although the ISA reports that research has shown that trees establish stronger trunk and root systems if they are not staked at the time of planting, if staking is required, two stakes should be used with a wide, flexible tie material to hold the tree upright.

“The stake supports around the tree should only remain on for one year,” Dorwart recommends. “If they are not taken off, the tree could strangle itself.”

And no one wants an unhappy tree taking its own life. After the decision to stake is made, you need to mulch the base of the tree. Apply only 2 to 4 in. of mulch around the base of the tree, but make sure that the actual trunk
of the tree is not covered. If it is, that too could suffocate the tree.

“A lot of younger trees are doomed from the get go,” says Dorwart. “Either they are buried too deep or over mulched. Remember to spread the mulch evenly and remove last year’s mulch before laying down a new batch.”

Limb from Limb

Once the tree is in the ground, you will want to
continue to pay close attention to it for the next couple
of years to get it through those adolescent stresses of transplantation.

It will be important to watch the trees for any diseases or insects that might cause distress. Dorwart recommends that you pay attention to any insects that might be eating leaves and burrowing into or creating any
webbing in the tree — these are tell-tale signs of insects that harm trees. First, watch the insect and don’t go around smashing every bug on the tree. An insect such as a praying mantis can help protect the tree.

Many pesky insects, such as bagworms and moths, can be dealt with by the use of spray treatments.

Also, keep an eye out for scabs or rusts, which are fungi that harm the tree. Root disorders, such as root rot, are common in newly planted trees and surface if the tree’s roots are kept too moist from over-watering.

As the tree grows taller and stronger, the pruning of its canopy can aid its growth. Shade trees with a full-crowned or vase style canopy should grow tall and then wide. If you notice that the tree is wider than it is tall, you should prune the branches back, so that it grows properly.

A skid steer or excavator equipped with a tree shear attachment can make quick work of what could be an entire afternoon chore of clipping. Just be sure that you don’t go overboard with the pruning. Topping, or cutting the branches back to stubs or lateral branches that are not large enough to sustain the remaining branches, is an all too common problem that can lead to the decay and death of a tree. There is a fine line between a healthy pruning and butchering the tree. Like the monthly haircut, you want to thin out the sides and leave as much on top as you can. Yet, tree care isn’t limited to newly planted trees.

Often times within the construction, and even the
landscaping industry, damage to trees is not considered.

A tree’s root system spreads out far from the trunk of the tree and generally rests between 6 to 12 in. below the soil; and yet, crews will roll equipment and trucks around trees, which can compact the soil to the point where the tree
is suffocated.

“Most of the time, these are very innocent acts,” Dorwart explains. “Whether it is a contractor parking his pick up under a tree on a hot, sunny day or merely
resting tools up against the base of a tree, these actions damage the tree.”

The best way to preserve trees is to limit access to the construction site by raising protective fences around the trees. It is best to allow 1 ft of space from the trunk of the tree for every inch of trunk diameter. For even more tree protection, create only one access route on and off the property, which may also serve as the route for buried utilities if required. If the burial of utilities is required, it is less damaging to tunnel the utilities under the center of the tree rather than across the roots. If a major root is severed, it can cost the tree between 5 to 20 percent of its root system.

The most important way to help maintain tree health is to consult an arborist during the design phase of construction. From there, fences can be erected, signs can be posted and trees can be protected.

Jason Morgan is assistant editor of Compact Equipment.