I take spacing more seriously with regards to distance from buildings than other trees. Most of the time I want the canopies to overlap some so I'd plant a little less than half the anticipated mature size for something like a street planting. The closer you plant the more narrow growing they will be, just like in a forest but that may not be the ideal size for your situation. If you want to reforest, plant closer. If you want big trees to spread out like in a park and reach their maximum potential size then plant farther apart.

So for some landscapes or some kind of exhibit I would understand those planting distances but like I said it depends on what you want.

i agree on buildings...

otherwise ... trees planted too close together ... will kill the weak ones... they will take care of it all for you ....

when planting .... mow the area ... and use credit/roundup to kill a 3 foot circle .... a week later.. plant the tree in the middle ... mulch the 3 foot area.. or continue the credit for a couple years ..... weed/competition reduction is probably more important than anything ... this avoids the need to worry about mowing... if you miss a 3 foot circle ....

ken

Ken,

Do you use roundup to keep down vegetation around trees AFTER planting? Don't you risk killing the trees by using it?

If roundup is safe to use around trees, my life is about to become much easier! Let me ask you another question.

A few weeks ago, Spruce talked about planting bald cypresses close together so a person could lie down and see the spires against the sky. This led me to plant 3 bald cypresses 12-15 feet apart in an open area close to the Bay (spires, sky and water). I used roundup in advance so each tree is in it's own little circle, with a moat and mulch.

After I finished, I decided the area needed at least one more bald cypress. I also decided that the area around the trees should be relatively free of grass, except for a grass path through the grove that continues to a newly planted stand of beach plums and native switch grass.

But - to implement this plan, I would have to dig up a large area of thick grass - very labor intensive and time-consuming. I have the 4th bald cypress, but haven't planted it yet.

Your post caused me to wonder if there is an alternative to digging up the grass. If I use roundup to clear the grass between the bald cypresses, and some roundup drifts onto the trees, this won't kill them?

Many thanks,
Pam

You should be safe with the roundup.
I use it around trees although I try not to. It makes me nervous but not really for any good reason. If the grassy weeds to too tough to pull out, I spray them with roundup.

quirkyquercus and dibbit:

Your answers caused me to have more questions. The program won't let me post another question unless I change the subject so I'm putting these questions into a single post.

quirkyquercus: Thanks for clarifying the difference in spacing for specimen trees v. trees to form a canopy. In most places, I do want overlapping canopies. Your answer led me to have another question,

You wrote, "If I want the canopies to overlap, I'd plant a little less than half the anticipated mature size..."

Q: If the mature width is 50 feet, you might plant approximately 20 feet apart, give or take a little? Is my understanding correct?

If so, I want to move a few trees planted within the past week or two - IF another move won't hurt them (they are Autumn Blaze maples).

dibbit:

Grass is not important. At the cottage where I used to live, I had grass paths between beds. The less grass, the less time spent mowing.

I'd like to reforest the property using different trees and plantings, depending on the characteristics of an area. The property has several areas that are very different - a sand beach and dunes; a big open field; a protected area that overlooks a cove; a shallow pond that we are laboring to clean out and make healthier. The 'pond' is actually a ditch abandoned by VDOT for decades, the culvert got clogged up, a narrow ditch became a wide, shallow mosquito filled swale or 'pond' into which the summer people threw their trash and old appliances.

Some areas are hard to access because they are so overgrown. These areas are wildlife heavena so I probably won't do much except make a path, try to keep the invasive stuff under control.

I understand that public gardens may do things for short-term impact. What struck me here was that this garden used groves of dawn redwoods at the entrance to their main building. They can't cut these trees down in a few years because they planted them too close. I concluded that they didn't plant the redwoods too close, that the redwoods are okay being planted this close.

We Virginians love our trees. If a botanical garden destroyed healthy trees because they didn't plan properly, they would be committing organizational suicide.

I am using surveyer's tape as a reminder about newly planted trees that will need to be watered more often. Thanks for the tip about bamboo stakes and the 5 gallon bucket. I can do that - it's an improvement over my technique.

Take care,
Pam