Trees Need Shade Too

Aside from the current flooding, did you know that trees need shade too? Newly planted trees, or those planted in the last year or so, can greatly benefit from partial shading.

We plant some trees with the hope of them growing up to shade our homes, thereby making it cooler inside during the summer blaze, as well as saving money on air conditioning, or reducing the  greenhouse effect, etc. Good reasons, all of them, but in order to get a newly planted tree established, often they need help. Shading can benefit a young tree, giving it that little extra "umph" when it most needs it - the first season (or two). Even the "fast growing" trees, like the willows and poplars, can benefit from shade.

Consider, a newly planted tree doesn't have the roots system firmly or widely established. Hey, just planted, the soil is loose, the roots are in a wad, and its already wilting... The newly planted are just not ready to handle the blazing days to follow. They can and they will (or are suppose to), but they need some help. If not correctly planted or/and watered sufficiently, wilting is the first sign of stress. Longer term stress can cause the limited root system to die back, which can summer-kill the tree. Watering alone "can" do the trick, but overwatering is almost as bad as underwatering (the roots can't breathe). Limited water, very warm soil surface temps, or roots that can't breathe, contributes to the stress on the 'lil $5.95 tree.

We are big proponents of having a thick mulch layer around newly planted trees. Mulch helps to moderate soil moisture and temperatures, but in many cases, mulching may not be enough. Shade helps. The idea is that if you can block the mid-day sun, which causes the most stress on the tree, that will add some relief to the roots and leaves, even for a few hours. The mid-day is when the sun is most intense, and typically when the humidity is the lowest. This causes stress on the roots and leaves, as noted.

So, what to do is add some shade. There are several ways to do so, so just get creative about it. One of the simplest ideas is to drive in a stake (wood or pvc) on the sunny-side, just outside the tree planting hole. Attach a piece of wood or cardboard to the stake. "Wa-la..." partial shade. There are other materials or structures to use for sure, but the goal is to reduce the amount of full blazing sun for a time during the mid-day. You can build a cage , a tower, or whatever, but the tree getting too little sun, is almost as bad as getting too much. Keep it simple, keep it cheap.

Having a partial sunblock for a couple hours during the hottest part of the day, during the first season (at least), the overwhelming stress on the newly planted tree roots will be greatly reduced. Reduced stress will result in that fast growing shade tree to survive its first summer, allowing it to grow on its way to shading the house.

Happy shading...