I purchased this Hollywood plum tree and I am Zone 8B in Oregon Willamette valley. It came in a pot from the local nursery which seems like a 10 gallon pot. Is it too late to plant it in the ground? If I let it grow in the pot, do I need to protect the tree during winter?
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It’s a great time to plant it in the ground.
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What a lovely healthy looking tree. It really fits well into your frontscape.
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I would water it well before remoVal from pot, wait until sunset to transplant, make a hole bigger and deeper than the pot, remove from pot and carefully untangle the roots that are likely entangles by the pot walls. Then plant it and fully water it in so that it can adjust in the coolness of the evening temps. It should do just fine.
Dennis
Kent, wa
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I’ve lost no trees planting in the fall. I’ve lost my share by planting at this time of year, especially if you experience a summer heat wave. If it gets scalding hot during the summer at any point, at least in a pot you can move it into a nice shady location if it starts suffering from heat related stress. If I can’t get my trees planted by March (or April at the latest), I always wait until the fall. Best to not shock the tree by transplanting it during the hot weather of the active growing season. This is especially true if you will be away on extended holidays during the summer when new plants require regular watering.
Just my opinion, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
id plant it and mulch heavily to keep the roots cool. water often if it gets real hot out. should be fine.
Thanks, so if I leave this in the pot do I need to protect it in the winter?
I guess that depends how cold your area gets. My zone is rated 9b and it may get down to -10 to -16 degrees celcius (14 - 3 degrees F) for a few weeks here and there during the winter. With those type of lows I never worry about taking precautions. If you get colder you could always pack some straw around it. I usually aim to plant in November once the trees have become dormant. The temps are usually fine for planting here at that time of year.
I started gravitating towards fall planting many years ago when I was in my 20’s. My mom just loved her plants and trees. I always tried to buy her a really nice plant/shrub/tree for Mothers day in May. I’d plant it out for her and often as not the tree died on her. After a while I realized this just wasn’t very good survival rates and I stopped buying her trees for mothers day. Instead I switched to buying her trees for her birthday which was at the beginning of November. It wasn’t quite the same getting a present that wasn’t beautifully in bloom, but she never lost a tree I bought her after that. Ever since those lessons I have always aimed for fall/winter plantings.
Even the owner of my local nursery here always tells me not to plant the trees I purchase from him in the spring until the fall. So I’m pretty sure it’s not just me, but our climate is pretty mild in the winter here. Most areas that get very cold temps on regular basis during the winter are probably better suited to planting during the spring as soon as thing thaw…
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Honestly it will be safer in the ground than in a pot. As Steve said you want to mulch it heavily both to keep it moist and cool.
I was amazed the last time I was digging a planting hole in my sand/gravel/rock soil. Six inches down and the soil was downright hot, them rocks can really store a lot of heat. Under the mulch on the tree not 8 feet away it was downright cold to the touch. Unlike tomato plants apple trees do like cool roots.
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3 degrees Fahrenheit in 9b?Is that from the Polar Vortex?The average lows should be 25-30F.
Sorry if my conversion was wrong, I used the internet for that. Its been a ages since we’ve used farenheit in Canada. The average temp here is rarely below freezing in the winter, but we do get the odd cold spell. Much of January & Feb this year I was outside landscaping my yard with a tshirt and shorts, (or no shirt at all). I planted many trees in January & Feb as the weather was very mild at that time this year.