I planted a pine and it's now 9 ft tall, i was wondering if there is anything i need to do to keep it healthy?

Question

I planted a pine and it's now 9 ft tall, i was wondering if there is anything i need to do to keep it healthy?

Answer 1

Do you know what type it is? Even if you don't know here are 3 ways to help it if you really want to make it grow nicely.

1) Buy 3 bags of composted manure from home depot or a garden center. Spread out  all 3 bags around the base of the tree. Take a heavy metal garden rake (the solid type) and rake it into the top inch of the soil. Take your time and work it in slowly without damaging the roots. This will help because the roots of evergreens especially spruces and pines are near the upper layer of soil.

2) Here is another method: Get a large stake and a sledgehammer preferable a 5 pound one.... where the tree line ends at the bottom of the tree add one foot outward. NOW draw an imaginary ring around the whole tree at that line. Now drive that stake into the ground on that imaginary ring at every 18 inches. You want to drive the stake in 6-8 inches deep. Buy some dry everygreen food in a bag from a garden center. Pour the food into each of the 6-8 inch holes (You can fill each hole to the top). What you are doing is called "deep feeding" and it can be done every other year.

   Though it involves the most labor....this method is the most effective way to feed a evergreen tree because that dry food will desolve everytime it rains or when snow melts. Actually, a good time to do this type of feeding is during the fall and this will extend the feeding period for about 4-6 months and you will see amazing growth the following spring.

Here is a 3rd method... Miracle Grow sells ever green food that you add to a Miracle Grow spayer (that attaches to a garden hose). Follow the directions and spray the whole tree with this food. You even spray the branches as the food permiates (gets absorbed) through the pine needles. You have to do this at least twice a year because a lot of the food will get washed away in the following rain. So, its good to use this method during a dry spell to extend the feeding time.

If you do any 2 suggestions here you will have a very happy pine tree!