What is a Young Tree?
When we talk about a young tree, we're referring to a tree that is smaller in size at the time of planting. Tree size can be measured in various ways, including caliper (the diameter of the trunk) or height. A younger tree will have a smaller caliper or height when compared to older trees. Trees are available for sale in a range of sizes, from small seedlings to fully grown mature trees, each with its own pros and cons. For instance, LEAF plants young deciduous trees between 5-8ft and young evergreen trees between 2-4ft in height.
Why Choose a Young Tree?
You might be tempted to choose the most mature tree available to immediately transform your yard, create shade and increase your property value. After all, you want to see the benefits as quickly as possible. However, older and larger trees are often more expensive to purchase and often require heavy, equipment to transport and plant. They are also more susceptible to stress following planting because they lose a large portion of their roots when transplanted. As a result, older and larger trees take longer to establish in their new homes, as they must redirect most of their energy to help regrow those lost roots.
Here are three benefits to planting younger trees:
- Minimized Root Loss: Trees often experience some degree of root loss during the transplant process. Transplanting a tree often requires severing roots, and that means fewer roots to absorb water and nutrients after planting. This creates a period of stress known as transplant shock. Younger trees typically experience less transplant shock than older and large trees because they lose a smaller amount of their root system in the process.
- Faster Growth and Establishment: With a shorter transplant shock period, younger trees can reestablish strong root systems more quickly and begin allocating resources to growing their canopy (the aboveground portion of a tree) sooner than older and larger trees that must regrow many more roots.
- Cost-Effective Planting: Younger trees are less expensive and easier to plant. Not only does it cost more to plant a mature tree, the carbon footprint of doing so is much higher!
For these reasons, young trees tend to be much healthier and stronger and are ultimately the better option for your yard transformation. Embracing this approach not only beautifies neighborhoods but also creates a legacy of thriving urban forests for generations to come.
If you are interested in planting native trees and shrubs this season, apply or contact us today. Our subsidized tree planting program makes planting native species easy, fun and affordable!
Jon is an ISA certified arborist and the Residential Planting Programs Field Coordinator at LEAF
LEAF offers a subsidized Backyard Tree Planting Program for private property. The program is supported by the City of Toronto, the Regional Municipality of York, the City of Markham, the Town of Newmarket, the Regional Municipality of Durham, the Town of Ajax, the Township of Brock, the Municipality of Clarington, the City of Oshawa, the City of Pickering, the Township of Scugog, the Town of Whitby and Ontario Power Generation.