K-State Ag Today: Tree planting, like real estate, depends on location

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When planting trees, the best way to increase your chance of success is to choose the right tree for the right site. Dennis Carlson, a district forester with the Kansas Forest Service, says annual moisture should be considered.

“Western part of the state, you’re going to stay with much more drought-hardy species; as you get into the eastern part, more of a ‘water-loving’ species -- those that require a little more moisture like pecan, walnut, and those," Carlson said. "In the central, we’re a transition zone, it’s going to depend on your soils again, on your sandy sites, or whether you’ve got nice clay-loam sites.”

Carlson adds that choosing a native species can offer more benefits, with less work and maintenance from the landowner.

“Once we get into what I would call non-native species, then we have to start looking at where in the geographic region they came from. We look at certain zones, you know, your hardiness zones, you know some species that are maybe more native to Oklahoma, maybe we can get away with a few of those here in Kansas," he said. "Once we get into the really far exotic ones, it’s one of those that, it may or may not grow here. And there’s also, a thing a person has to look at in a large planting, is unintended consequences. What if you brought in a tree that can repopulate itself very successfully and then become a problem?”


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