Even if you can’t make it out to any of our Arbor Week festivities, you can still celebrate Arbor Week at home by planting a tree! Adding a new tree to your yard is a great way to gain energy savings, shade your yard or patio, increase your property value, create a stress reducing environment and beautify your landscape.

Before selecting a tree to plant, always be sure to Call OKIE to locate any underground utilities, and look up to make sure that no overhead utilities run within 50 feet of the planting spot. Match your site constraints such as utility conflicts to whatever species of tree you select. Avoid planting directly on top of underground lines. Utility line clearance pruning must take place around overhead electric lines to provide for service reliability and safety, so the best way to avoid having your tree pruned for clearance is to plant the right tree in the right place. Trees with a mature height of more than 50 feet should be planted no closer than 50 feet to overhead lines. Trees with a mature height of 25-50 feet may be planted as close as 30 feet from overhead lines, and trees with a mature height of less than 25 feet may be planted closer to overhead lines.

Next, make sure that the species you select can tolerate the conditions of your planting site. Trees that thrive in areas even as near as Tulsa may not be suited for the climate and soils that we have here in Edmond. Selecting a tree with low water needs, a hardiness requirement of Zone 6 (or lower), and tolerance of poor, alkaline soils is generally a good start in matching site and tree characteristics in our area.

After you’ve determined the perfect tree for your yard, it’s time for the fun part – planting it! Planting technique is an art and science that can make or break the survival of a tree. Follow these steps to ensure that your tree has the greatest potential to thrive in its new home. Finally, make sure receives a deep watering once a week for two years to get your tree established (once every two weeks during the winter months).

View more topics from the Special Arbor Week Edition of Edmond Tree Mail