Torrey Pines Landscape Tips featured in San Diego Home and Garden EClub

We are pleased to report that our blog on tree care was picked up by San Diego Home and Garden Lifestyle's EClub this month. Visit their website to sign up:  http://www.sdhg.net/
Here is the article.....
Torrey Pines Landscape Company has been planting trees in the San Diego area since 1983. We want to ensure that the trees we plant not only survive, but thrive. Here’s the process we generally follow:

1.Timing. Generally autumn or early spring are ideal. Palms and tropicals are ideally planted in the summer. Deciduous trees plant best when they are dormant in the cooler months.

2.Choose the right tree for the right area. Research with Sunset's Western Garden Book or a landscape design company.

3.Select a healthy specimen. Avoid ones with scarred trunks and broken or cracked limbs.

4.Successful planting relies on digging a hole that is the proper depth (the crown of the root ball should sit an inch above the surrounding ground) and width (2.5 times the width of the root ball).

5.The backfill depends on the type of tree that's planted. An avocado tree does better with only natural backfill whereas a magnolia prefers a blend of soil that was excavated with added amendments.

6.The first year of any transplanted tree’s life is critical. It will need regular slow, deep watering until the roots are established. Use aeration tubes, especially for larger specimens, for deep watering and feeding.

7.Check the warranty and reputation of your tree installer.

8.A wonderful reference book is Ornamental Trees for Mediterranean Climates by Steve Brigham, with photographs by Don Walker.