Arbor Day – A Day For The Trees

HISTORY. Arbor Day was the creation of J. Sterling Morton, a Detroit editor and arborist who moved to Nebraska Territory in 1854 and gradually convinced his pioneer neighbors that trees on the Great Plains were essential, not only for beauty, but shade, windbreaks, topsoil retention, building material and fuel. Morton first proposed Arbor Day in 1872 and the first one was held in April of that year. Nearly 1 million trees were planted that day. In 1874, it was proclaimed an official Nebraska holiday, slowly spread to other states and eventually was blessed by President Theodore Roosevelt in a speech in 1907.

When Morton and his wife were landscaping their frontier Nebraska spread a century and a half ago, their primary concerns were making sure their trees and shrubs survived in the harsh prairie climate and that they had the right trees to provide shade, timber or fuel.

Trees have survived the test of time. According to researchers, the bristlecone pines, growing in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, are the oldest living things on the planet. Some are more than 4,000 years old and still producing pinecones. Trees provide us with shade, beauty, fruit, songbirds and oxygen. They yield fuel for warmth, building material for shelter, chemical compounds for medicine and other necessities for life. Our nation’s forests represent a variety of resources: wildlife, unspoiled nature, watersheds, recreation and timber, to name a few.

PLANTING TIPS. Spring is ideal for planting trees. If a tree or shrub is bare-root, prepare a hole large enough to allow the roots to spread out completely. For balled and burlapped ("b-and-b") plants, dig the hole up to twice the diameter of the root ball and the same depth as the root ball. Remove all the burlap, wires and nylon ropes as they interfere with the tree’s establishment and survival. If the tree or shrub is in a nursery container, remove it at planting time. Any crowded or compacted roots should be teased out with a shovel or spade to encourage outward growth. Do not disturb the root ball too much.

Once the tree is set in its new hole, use a good loamy soil for backfill around the plant. A mix of equal parts of loam, peat moss, and sandy soil is ideal. It's a good idea to incorporate some of the original dug soil into the backfill medium. Firm the soil and mulch around the new planting with 3 inches of wood chips or shredded bark, and water well. The mulch helps to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. Don't let lawns grow right up to a tree's trunk; there is the risk of injuring the tree with lawn mowers and weed whackers. Use an alternative ground cover that needs no mowing, such as pachysandra, myrtle or lamium.

ARBOR DAY INFORMATION. Although National Arbor Day is slated for the last Friday in April each year, many states observe Arbor Day on different dates according to their best tree-planting times, according to The National Arbor Day Foundation. For a listing of designated arbor days for each state, visit www.arborday.org/arborday/arborDayDates.html. Or visit The National Arbor Day Foundation’s home page at www.arborday.org.