Start a tree

Flower & Garden Magazine, June-July, 1995

Trees do more for the Earth than almost any other living thing on the planet. Animals of all types depend on trees for shelter and food; humans make use of trees for even more purposes. But in addition to everything else they do for the inhabitants of our planet, trees help to purify our air. You might say that trees are the "lungs" of the Earth.

Humans and animals breathe oxygen in and carbon dioxide out, while trees absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen as a waste product. This dependence that plants and animals have on one another is perhaps nature's best example of recycling.

Besides putting oxygen back into our atmosphere, trees help to cool and purify the air as well. Trees actually help remove dirt, sand, dust. smoke and fumes from the air. You can easily feel the difference that a tree makes on a hot day by moving from the sun to the shade of a tree. This cooling effect is even more apparent when you walk into a wooded area containing many trees standing close together.

As much as we depend on trees, they also depend on us. Carelessness leading to forest fires, building and land development and harvesting for lumber and paper deplete the number of trees on the planet each year. Luckily, trees are a renewable resource.

You can plant a tree and help increase the "breathing" power of the planet. Even if you live in an apartment or do not have the outdoor space to plant a tree in your own yard, find an empty spot somewhere that could use a tree.

What You'll Need & How to Do It

What You'll Need

* permission to plant a tree in the place you've selected

* a tree seedling of your choice

* a trowel or shovel

* about 4 cups of compost

* water from a garden hose

* mulch (wood chips, dead leaves, hay, sawdust or similar material)

How to Do It

Step 1 Consider what kind of tree you would like to plant and where you want it to grow. Spring or fall are better seasons to plant a tree than summer, but now is a good time to make plans. Look at trees in your neighborhood, trees at a nearby arboretum and books at the library. Talk to someone at your local garden center or nursery and ask for suggestions.

Step 2 Ask an adult for help in selecting a tree seedling. Sometimes you can find a seedling that has started from a fallen seed. Likely spots to look are near down-spouts where the ground is moist.

Step 3 On a cool, cloudy day, dig a hole about 1 foot wide and 9 inches deep at the planting site. Mix the compost in with the soil and add enough of it back in the hole so that the seedling will be transplanted at the same depth it was originally growing.

Step 4 Dig up the seedling, keeping as much of the soil around the root area as possible. Gently place it in the hole.

Step 5 Hold the seedling upright by its stem and carefully scoop the rest of the soil over the root area and around the stem. Tamp the soil down but don't stomp it; the roots need some air.

Step 6 Once the planting hole is filled, put a layer of mulch about 1 inch deep over the area. The mulch will help prevent the soil from drying out and will discourage weeds and grass from sprouting.

Step 7 Give the new seedling plenty of water but don't overdo it. A good soaking that saturates the soil once or twice a week is better than daily sprinklings.

RELATED ARTICLE: DID YOU KNOW?

* Each acre of forest land annually produces about 4 tons of oxygen, which is enough for 18 people to keep breathing for an entire year.

* In 1872 a Nebraska newspaper editor, J. Sterling Morton, came up with the idea of a tree-planting day to be called Arbor Day. By 1894, Arbor Day was celebrated in all the states as well as in other countries around the world.

* The people of ancient China believed that trees have souls just like humans. They believed that when trees are cut down or burned, their spirits are driven out and they must wait for new trees to be planted in order to have a place to live in peace.

* Rows of trees planted to shelter buildings, roads or railways are called shelterbelts. Rows of trees planted to provide shade for cattle or to protect crops and topsoil from wind are called windbreaks.

* One large shade tree planted near a house can reduce the expense of air-conditioning in the summer. Several smaller trees along the edge of the yard will cut down on cold winds enough to help reduce winter heating bills.

* In Cuba as late as the 1950s, it was against the law to cut down any royal palm tree that had at least two fronds growing on it.

* Trees are important weapons against soil erosion and they are our best defense against a serious environmental condition known as global warming.