Pennsylvania Horticultural Society offers Tree Tenders classes in Delaware County - Delaware County, DE

Tree Tenders offer classes in Delaware County - Life - Delco News Network

How big should I dig the hole? How often should I water? Do I need to fertilize the tree? Planting a tree isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic steps a gardener needs to know if the tree is going to thrive.

Delaware County residents can get tips on planting and caring for new trees by enrolling in a Tree Tender course offered April 6, 13 and 20 in Rutledge Borough Hall and sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS.) The fee for the nine-hour evening course is $25.

Residents 16 and older may register online at phsonline.org or by calling 215-988-8845 or 215-988-8793. Rutledge Borough Hall is located at 212 Unity Terrace in Rutledge.

“We get all questions having to do with proper planting and care,” says Barley Van Clief, Tree Tenders project manager. “One of the things we want everybody to learn is what they should and can handle themselves and when they should call a professional arborist.

“We don’t want them to be climbing tall trees with a pruning saw!”

Another basic lesson is how to properly mulch a tree. Van Clief bemoans the fact that so many landscapers are piling mulch high against the trunk of a tree, forming what she calls a “mulch volcano,” that “the public interprets that it’s the correct and best way to mulch. But … mulch volcanoes are very detrimental.”

Perhaps the most critical part of planting a tree, she says, is planting it at the correct depth. “Too many times trees are planted too deeply, which smothers the root system.”