2 questions: soil and support

grilling24x7

Im going to be planting my new shade tree this weekend (probably American Elm -princeton - unless I learn about something new before Saturday). I'm trying to plan the planting and think about what I need to do.

1. Is it best to back fill the newly dug hole with the previous dirt or use a quality top soil to fill it back in?

2. What about staking the new tree? I am probably going for a 10-13 ft tall tree (that's what the nursery sells) in a container. I'm not sure how stable this tree will be once planted. Do I need to stake the tree? I read conflicting ideas online.

I just bought a soil test kit so hopefully the results of that will be in line with what the elm needs.

Thanks, and I appreciate any responses.

John

Eric Frei

Try to back fill with a 50/50 combo of your soil and their soil.

Staking trees serves two purposes, one is to prevent adverse weather breaking them (including blowing over) and two is to provide root ball stability so new roots aren't broken when making the bridge between the root ball and new soil. Now this depends on the size of the tree's root ball etc, so common sense prevails.

What method of staking are you considering?

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grilling24x7

I was going to see what the nursery recommends. I'm not really sure.