16 ILLINOIS NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY CIRCULAR 52 



logged condition. With the exclusion of air, roots decline and 

 die, and trees and shrubs in waterlogged soils may be killed. 

 This most frequently happens in disturbed soils when plants are 

 located in clay fill or in potholes in clay subsoil following con- 

 struction work. The soil around plants in such sites should be 

 tile drained (see selected references under tree planting and 

 care). 



Recently planted trees 



Following transplanting it is often necessary to water trees 

 or shrubs for 2-3 years to provide an adequate water supply 

 while root systems are becoming established. Some trees will not 

 be fully established for 3-6 years. Trees and shrubs planted with 

 bare roots normally require longer to develop adequate root 

 systems than do plants moved with balls of soil. Also, older and 

 larger plants require more time to become established than 

 younger and smaller ones. 



A newly planted tree is most easily watered if a circular 

 mound of earth 3-4 inches high is prepared around the plant at 

 the edge of the planting hole (Fig. 9) . The mound of earth serves 

 as the dike of a reservoir that should be filled with water at 7- to 

 10-day intervals during the growing season. The reservoir will 

 contain a supply adequate to soak the soil of the backfill and the 

 soil contained in the ball about the plant roots. 





Fig. 9. — A mound of earth 3-4 inches high around a newly planted tree 

 serves as the dike of a reservoir that will hold sufficient water to soak the 

 soil of the backfill and the soil contained in the ball about the plant roots. 



