Did I Make A Huge Mistake?

Hi guys,

I am new to planting bare root trees. I just planted 11 dormant fruit trees last week. I laid down cardboard and put 8" of wood chips in a massive area to make my food forest. I moved all wood chips and dug the holes, careful not to mix the chips and soil. HOWEVER, I did bury the grass clumps on top of the roots with the dirt for backfill. I thought it would be good fertilizer as it decomposed but now I am worried it's going to burn the roots in the process.

It's been about a week since planting. Do I need to dig them all back up and remove the grass clumps?

Hi Tyler, welcome to Permies!

I would not worry about the grass decomposition burning roots. I planted a bunch of bare root trees last fall & this spring and also did the same thing, and my trees are doing fine. Nitrogen burn concerns really only need to be addressed with certain amendments such as fresh chicken manure for example, and composting animal manures like the chicken manure example will alleviate risks for nitrogen burn. I believe your trees will be fine. Have fun tending to your new trees and good luck!

Awesome, that's relieving. Thanks James!

I started reading about anaerobic issues and panicked because I remembered laying the sod directly on top of some of the bare roots as I buried the hole back up with dirt.

They will probably be just fine. It's easy to second guess yourself with planting even small things, much less a big investment such as trees. The stress of digging them up would be way worse. I planted six apple trees about a month ago and now I'm all worried they are too close together, even though they are semi-dwarf. See? Fretting over your plants comes with the territory!

Tyler Headrytch wrote:I started reading about anaerobic issues and panicked because I remembered laying the sod directly on top of some of the bare roots as I buried the hole back up with dirt.

Anaerobic conditions can be problematic when they are persistent. Brief and temporary conditions generally have little negative impact with lasting results. Here in tennessee soils can go anaerobic during late winter and early spring when it rains a lot, soils are saturated, and trees and most grasses & forbs are dormant and not drinking any water out of the ground. So rain doesn't instantly make for anaerobic conditions, because raindrops pick up and absorb quite a bit of oxygen falling from the sky. Interestingly, actively growing plants often have a nice growth spurt after a rain shower. Ever notice how a rain shower seems to make garden plants perk up compared to watering them from the faucet? The boost of oxygen brought into a soil from the rainwater is part of that growth response.

No need to panic, I think your trees and soil will be ok. If you suspect anaerobic conditions, they will reveal themselves with a putrid and foul sewer like odor.

Carol Denton wrote:They will probably be just fine. It's easy to second guess yourself with planting even small things, much less a big investment such as trees. The stress of digging them up would be way worse. I planted six apple trees about a month ago and now I'm all worried they are too close together, even though they are semi-dwarf. See? Fretting over your plants comes with the territory!

Carol, if you haven't read this, you might check it out:
https://www.amazon.com/Grow-Little-Fruit-Tree-Easy-Harvest/dp/1612120547

She is very successful with super close and cluster  plantings.