Celebrate a life by planting another. You will receive a small tree to plant or pot in your garden to mark a life event such as the passing of a loved one, birth or adoption of a child.
Looking after your tree
Once you have received for tree through the council’s programme, to make sure that it is able to thrive, you will need to look after it by planting it in a suitable location, watering it, weeding around the area and pruning when needed. For information on how to do this, follow our top tips below.
Planting your tree:
- choose your planting spot carefully by thinking about how close it is to buildings, drains, boundaries, lighting, ponds, and overhead cables, to give the tree, and its roots, space to grow
- prepare your planting site by removing long grass and weeds and digging a hole 3 to 4 times wider than the container
- carefully remove the tree from the container, keeping the soil around the roots
- set the tree in the middle of the hole and position so that the root collar (area where the roots join the stem or trunk) is level with the soil surface making sure not to bury the tree stem or trunk
- refill the hole, ensuring you firm up all the soil to remove any air gaps
- stake the tree for its first few years (with supplied bamboo cane) – to do this push the cane into the ground next to the tree but do not insert it through the root ball and gently tie the tree to the support using soft tree ties and make sure that the ties to do cut into the tree as it grows
- if you have rabbits or voles that visit your garden, you may want to attach a guard to help protect your tree.
Aftercare:
- newly planted trees need to be watered regularly, particularly in the summer months (from June to September), if they are going to grow and thrive
- watering should be done at least once a week during the summer and ideally carried in the early morning or evening
- to water your tree sustainably, use a watering can filled with harvested rainwater collected in a water butt or similar container
- keep a 1 metre diameter circle around the base of the tree free of weeds for the first three years - organic mulch can be applied around the base of the tree in early summer to help suppress weed growth. If you chose to use mulch, take care to leave a collar of 10 centimetres around the tree stem or trunk that is free of mulch as too much mulch can smoother the roots and cause decay in your tree.
- be careful if strimming around the tree as blades can damage the tree stem or trunk
- prune your tree only if necessary, during late autumn or early winter to remove dead, diseased and damaged material
Apply
Please email treestrategymailings@wirral.gov.uk to apply.