Post-Planting Checklist: Heading toward home base

Don't stop now, you're almost done! Following the steps below can ensure success, allowing your new plant to become a beautiful and healthy addition to your landscape for years to come:

• Pruning is not recommended, except to remove dead or broken branches. Allowing lower branches to remain on the tree for the first year promotes strong trunks and healthy growth - it also reduces the risk of sunburn.

  Some deciduous fruit trees may need to be shaped and thinned to promote fruiting. Use bypass pruners, which leave a clean cut. Avoid sealants; leave the wound exposed to the air and the plant will heal itself. Never cut the top off (called topping) a tree. This creates a huge wound resulting in an unsightly and unhealthy tree as well as with weak growth.

• Staking a newly planted tree is only necessary if it can't stand without support. Use two sturdy poles placed outside the root ball in undisturbed soil. Fasten horticultural tape or wire to the poles and create a loop around the trunk to loosely secure the tree. Allowing the trunk to move slightly within the tie promotes formation of strong trunk tissue. Make sure that the wire does not cut into the tree bark by using segments of old garden hose to cushion the cord against the trunk. Inspect and loosen wires periodically as the tree grows. If you're in an area with high winds, consider staking any new tree. Stakes should be removed after the first year.
• Fertilizing a newly planted tree or shrub is often debated. Plants from wholesale growers receive abundant fertilizer making the addition of more at planting time unnecessary. Some plants never need fertilizer - most desert trees, cacti and other natives. Wait at least one year after planting to apply fertilizer to other perennial landscape plants.
• Watering is not optional. You must water well when planting. Create an area around the plant to collect water by building up a ridge of soil two to three inches high to serve as a water collection basin. If you have a drip irrigation system, place emitters over the root ball or simply let a hose trickle in the basin. Apply enough water to thoroughly wet the soil to the depth of the root ball. This will remove air pockets without compacting the soil. Remember that as your plant grows, the drip emitters should be moved away from the stem or trunk to below the tips of the branches or "drip line."
• Mulching is simply applying a two- to four-inch layer of organic mulch on top of the soil, keeping away from the stem or trunk. This slows evaporation and keeps the soil cooler, which is important for tender feeder roots located just below the soil surface. And, as an added bonus, organic mulch adds nutrients back into the soil as it decomposes.

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