{"id":59557,"date":"2021-09-28T06:29:05","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T11:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=59557"},"modified":"2021-09-28T06:29:05","modified_gmt":"2021-09-28T11:29:05","slug":"save-the-planet-learn-how-to-plant-a-tree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=59557","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSave the planet, (learn how to) plant a tree\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cSave the planet, (learn how to) plant a tree\u201d<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/header>\n
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I like catchy memes as much as the next person. They\u2019re easily memorized and passed on. But \u201cSave the planet, plant a tree\u201d has always bugged me for two reasons. First, and probably most importantly, this simplistic mantra absolves people of doing MORE to improve our environment. It\u2019s a \u201cone and done\u201d approach: \u00a0\u201cHey, I planted a tree today, so I\u2019ve done my part.\u201d That\u2019s hardly a responsible way to live in a world where climate change is a reality, not a theory. Planting trees (and other woody plants) needs to become part of a personal ethic dedicated to improving our shared environment, and that includes reducing our carbon footprint in MANY ways.<\/p>\n

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    No and no.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Second, and more germane to this blog, is that most people don\u2019t know how to plant trees (and that includes an awful lot of professionals who should know better). Planting trees properly requires an understanding of woody plant physiology and applied soil sciences. Otherwise, newly planted trees are likely to die due to one or more problems:<\/p>\n

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    • Poor plant species selection<\/strong>\n
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      • Mature size too large for site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        • Species not adapted to urbanized conditions. This includes insistence on using native species whether or not they tolerate environmental conditions far different from their natural habitat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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            Gaultheria shallon<\/em>\u00a0does well in the forest subcanopy \u2013 not so well in urban settings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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            • Poor\/improper soil preparation<\/strong>\n
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              • Working amendments into the soil before, during, or after planting. Your goal is to keep a texturally uniform soil environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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                • Digging a hole before seeing what the roots look like. It\u2019s like buying a pair of shoes without regard to their size.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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                    The reality of tree roots: you can\u2019t dig a hole until you can see what goes in it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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                      \u2026click on the above link to read the rest of the article\u2026<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      \u201cSave the planet, (learn how to) plant a tree\u201d I like catchy memes as much as the next person. They\u2019re easily memorized and passed on. But \u201cSave the planet, plant a tree\u201d has always bugged me for two reasons. First, and probably most importantly, this simplistic mantra absolves people of doing MORE to improve our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[31361,31860,4554],"class_list":["post-59557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment","tag-the-garden-professors","tag-tree-planting","tag-trees"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59558,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59557\/revisions\/59558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}