The Best Tree You Can Plant This Spring
Monday, April 23, 2012
The sourwood tree is inexpensive, easy to care for, hardy, and creates lovely blossoms in springtime.
This All-American native plant often grows along the sandy ridges of streams running from Florida to southern Pennsylvania west to southern Indiana. A small to medium size tree that reaches about 30 feet high, the sourwood generally has a spread equal to two-thirds its height. Its crown shape is rounded with a very attractive pyramidal top. The sourwood isn’t well known among homeowners or landscapers in the East, but thanks to its many advantages, it’s growing in popularity.
Many Pluses, Few Minuses
Sourwoods are not costly. The wholesale price of a 1.5-2 inch caliper sourwood is approximately $160. They’re easy to care for and they’re cold hardy. They can easily withstand the average annual minimum temperatures found in Massachusetts (0 to -10° F) and southeastern New England. Sourwoods have no major insect, disease, or cultural problems if planted in the right soil. Sourwoods grow under dry conditions but need a peaty soil (pH between 5.5 and 6.0) for maximum growth.
Sourwoods are eye-catchers. Their many lovely features never seem to fade even with age. Their oblong leaves, which are about 6 inches long, turn dark green in summer and brilliant red to purple in the fall. Their flowers, white and urn-shaped, emerge in late June, borne on 4-inch to 10-inch long panicles, and last until late September. Their bark is stunning. When young, it is smooth and appears grayish brown to black. As the tree ages, the bark becomes thick with deep furrows and scaly ridges.
Sourwoods roots are shallow and easily disturbed, so plant from young, balled-and-burlapped stock when possible. Sourwoods grow in shade but prefer sun to maximize blooms and fall leaf color. In the garden, they do best in sunny locations with well-drained soil. Keep them irrigated, mulch well in winter, and avoid under planting because sourwoods resent competition.
Protect When Transporting
Sourwoods are easily damaged, like many trees, so protect them from excessive wind, drying, and rough handling when being transported. Dig planting holes at least two feet wider than the size of the root system. Plant sourwoods an inch or so higher than the depth that they grew in the container or nursery to allow for settling. Eliminate air pockets by watering and tamping after planting. Fill in the hole with a mixture of existing soil and soil amendments, such as organic material or loamy topsoil.
Wait a year before fertilizing sourwoods because, like most trees, they need to establish themselves first. When fertilizing, avoid applying directly to the roots. Cultivate an area four to five feet around the base of a newly planted tree and mulch. Avoid putting plastic under mulch, and keep the mulch away from the tree trunk. Two to four inches of mulch are more than enough to protect a Sourwood’s roots. Munch well in the winter.
Sourwoods must be watered throughout the growing season. Water is critical to its establishment. Short, frequent watering stunts deep root growth. Using a slow trickle of water for hours at the base of sourwoods works best. Water weekly when there is no rainfall. If watered properly, sourwoods have a lifespan of about 80 years.
If you love color in your trees, the slow-growing, easy-care sourwood is ideal. It has pretty bronze tints in spring, a handsome winter silhouette, and bright red autumn foliage. It’s a great tree to plant in the spring.
The Rhode Island Tree Council teaches proper plant techniques in its Tree Steward’s classes. For more information, contact RITree at (401) 764-5885, or go to RITree’s Web site.
John Campanini is technical director of the Rhode Island Tree Council. Previously, he was Providence’s city forester.
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