The best time to plant a shade tree is ten years ago. The second best time is now. Trees planted now will have time to become acclimated before next spring’s growing season.
Visit your local nursery and see which trees suit your needs. Take into consideration the angle of the sun in winter and summer. A shade tree near the house can cool the house with its leaves during hot summer months while allowing more sun to reach the house in winter. Plant balled-and-burlapped and containerized trees in fall or spring. Plant bare root, dormant stock in Spring.
Wait until Spring to plant slow growing species such as magnolia, tulip tree, gingko, birch or any of the several oaks (Burr, scarlet, English willow and White.)
Staking newly planted trees is advised in our area due to high winds that occur here. If you stake a tree, allow some room for movement of the trunk, this encourages healthy root establishment. Remove stakes as soon as possible--small trees may need support during one growing season, large trees may be staked for 2-3 years.

COLOR
Color is often the deciding factor in choosing shade trees for your home. Many colorful favorites are showing their best at this time of year.

Dogwood continues to be a popular residential tree. With spring flowers, an interesting shape in winter, fall berries and brilliant leaves, it may be the all time favorite small tree. A new variety, C. kousa “Chinensis’ blooms later, in June, and has scarlet foliage in fall with berries and mottled bark that provide winter interest.
Many dogwood are the ideal shade tree for a patio, porch or entryway.

With mature height of 20 to 30 feet, amur maple ‘Red Rhapsody’ and paperbark maples (Acer griseeum) are good trees for small yards. Japanese maples are a small accent tree, topping out at 10-15 feet. For larger yards, red maple (A. rubrum) grow to a height of 40 feet. The leaves of a new variety, ‘Red Sunset’ turn a fiery scarlet-orange.

PLANTING
When planting a tree yourself, dig a hole 2-3 times as wide as the ball of roots. Dig deeper in clay areas and fill the hole with a generous mixture of topsoil and compost to allow the roots a place to grow.

Placement of the tree is critical. Pay attention to the maximum size the tree and grow to and expect that it will, perhaps getting bigger than expected. Learn how large the canopy will be and how it relates to existing or future trees placed in the landscape. Consideration of the direction of shade during different seasons will help heat and cool the house, in winter and summer respectively. Try to imagine the tree at its mature size in your landscape.

Water the newly established tree but DO NOT OVERWATER! Too much water is the #1 reason for plant death. Water deeply and infrequently. In clay soil, the water will not be able to penetrate the clay pan. A deep root feeder attached to your garden hose allows you to water the roots of the tree and avoid the runoff. With the hose turned on low, slowly push the rod into the ground at the dripline of the tree. Do not fertilize until the following growing season so the tree can deal with the shock of planting and winter before beginning to grow.

Shade trees have framed our houses and towns for hundreds of years, some living to very old ages, becoming grand and majestic specimens. They provide the backbone of the garden and yard, indeed our very cities and parks. A cooling grove of whispering leaves is a treasured summer scene. With planning, vision and mostly, action, those shade tree day dreams can begin to take root

Robin Milliken is a Landscape Specialist and Master Gardener
The Master Gardener appears monthly in The Olathe Daily News.
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