Sunset red maple - use watering bag?

Question: I just purchased a sunset red maple which the nursery will be planting in my yard in about a week. The salesman told me I should use this water bag to water the tree, as it does a much better job than a hose. He said if you run the water too fast, it will disrupt the soil around the tree. (Really? I've run the hose on tiny shoots in my vegetable garden and they grew fine.) And if you run it too slow, it will, of course, take a long time to water. What's the scoop? Is this a useful product or just a gimmick? Also, this bag is made of plastic, and being the tree-hugging (joke intended), earth loving guy that I am, I am trying to use as little plastic as possible. I have the receipt and the packaging is unopened, so I can return it if I want to. Also, can you provide instructions on how often to water this tree?

responder: Answered by theHome and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 28, 2024, 11:46 AM EDT
response: Making sure that the tree is well planted and cared for afterwards is important for establishment and long term success. While I know you won't be doing the actual planting, it's worth reading through our page on planting: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/planting-tree-or-shrub/, particularly in relation to planting depth- you want to be able to see the root flare before it goes into the ground/mulch. (Mulch should be no deeper than 2-4 inches and kept pulled back from contact with the trunk).  The water bags are not a gimmick, but are useful for people who won't/can't  water their trees for some reason.  Here is our page on Watering Trees and Shrubs:  https://extension.umd.edu/resource/watering-trees-and-shrubs/  Keeping an eye on your new tree and watering when needed is important for the first 24 months of establishment. Unpredictable/changing climate conditions makes this even more important as the last few years have had periods of prolonged drought, heat-stress as well as deluges of rain.  Red maples are gorgeous native trees.  The Marylander's Plant Trees program offers a $25 off coupon for select native trees at participating nurseries. It may be too late to use the coupon but it wouldn't hurt to ask.... or get another tree! You can find the link for it within this page about halfway down:  https://extension.umd.edu/resource/planting-trees-our-changing-climate/   Christine

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 28, 2024, 12:33 PM EDT
response: My yard is clay soil. I just read about the test for drainage, but from past experience with similar experiments I have done, I think it will fail the test. How will the red maple fair in this soil and in direct sunlight all day?

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 28, 2024, 12:45 PM EDT
response: I'm reading on the internet that it needs Soil Type Sandy, clay, well-drained

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 28, 2024, 12:48 PM EDT
response: I'm looking to replace a Norway maple that died at 60 years old. I want something that will provide shade to my home in the summer and block the wind in the winter. I prefer a fast growing tree. What do you recommend?  Sounds like the red maple is not going to thrive in my clay soil.

responder: Answered by theHome and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 28, 2024, 1:21 PM EDT
response: Clay in soil is not a bad thing and most of our soils central in Maryland (Piedmont region) have a good amount of clay, which helps it hold moisture.  Go ahead and do the test for drainage. It's likely that you are fine.   The natural habitat for our native Red Maples includes moist and wet conditions including swamps, as well as "uplands, rocky hillsides and dunes" so they can do well in all conditions. They like full to part sun. I have a line of six mature (30 year old) Acer rubrum up my driveway- the area where they are planted gets a lot of water. The biggest issue to watch for is girdling roots, to which they are prone but can be common with trees that have circling root within the pot/root ball. They can develop over time as well but if you can see the root flare where the roots radiate out you can (in future years) clip any young ones that begin to cross others. We have a Maryland Grows blog post from earlier this year that does a great job of explaining this:  https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2024/01/12/free-the-flare-maintain-visible-root-flare-for-tree-health/   Christine

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 29, 2024, 1:14 PM EDT
response: After reading this material, I don't think I'm ready for this tree. I have not had the soil tested. I think takes a couple weeks to get test results from University Of Delaware. I've used them to test my vegetable bed. I also do not have time before the tree arrives to:  improve the soil over as much of the future root area as possible.  Although I guess I could ask them to delay delivery.  I'd have to buy a garden fork and aerate the ground. The area where the tree should be planted is all grass, so it sounds like that's bad too. I think I have until tomorrow to get a refund on the tree. I'll check the results of the soil drainage test this evening at 6:30 pm.

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 29, 2024, 1:40 PM EDT
response: As you may recall from the vegetable bed testing, laboratory soil testing, like from the University of Delaware, won't be evaluating drainage, but will provide a report on nutrient levels, acidity (pH), and organic matter percentage. These won't prevent the tree from being planted, but can inform you as to any fertilizer that might be needed (not likely, as most soils are not markedly deficient in any key nutrients) or any minor adjustments to pH that would help a maple thrive. (Again, adjusting pH is usually not needed, especially for locally-native tree species.)  The soil "improvement," if it's needed at all (again, clay is fine, and what Red Maple in the wild here often grows in), will take place at the time of planting, and while it could take place any amount of time beforehand, that is not necessary. All improvement would entail is potentially adding some organic matter (compost or good-quality topsoil at most) to the soil removed from the planting hole and blending it together. The reason either source of organic matter is used is because it helps clay soil resist compaction and improve drainage. If you will be mulching around the base of the tree, that is also organic matter that will decay into more compost that improves the root zone soil texture gradually over time. (If you prefer to grow decorative groundcovers around its base instead, that too is fine and still beneficial.)  Lawn grasses will eventually be out-competed by a healthy tree, since the roots and shade it casts will deprive it of resources, but that is some years down the road, even with as fast as Red Maple can grow. Any fertilizer used on the lawn will also benefit the tree, but as the tree grows, avoid putting any lime down on the area of lawn that might still remain in its root zone, since lime raises pH and maples prefer a lower pH.  Red Maples are very commonly used in all sorts of landscaping (around homes, commercial settings, and as street trees, the latter of which are among the most stressful locations), where they usually do well, even if close to or surrounded by turfgrass. They are also frequently used in stormwater swales, where the root zone can flood by one or more feet of water during heavy rain events, which might not fully drain away for several days, and they do just fine. As Christine mentioned, the key for long-term health for any tree species is to make sure that root flare is situated at the soil surface, rather than being buried under a few inches of soil and/or mulch. Even if you decide to plant a different tree in this or another location, this will be an important step for planting it properly. Not all nursery/landscaping installers are trained well enough to be aware of this, so that's why she shared the web page that you can look over, to see if they check on root flare depth instead of just planting the tree at the depth it was growing in the pot or root ball.  Late summer (now) into mid-autumn is an excellent time to plant trees (even better than spring in most cases), but if you don't feel ready for it, that's fine. One adage in the horticulture industry, when we're asked about the best time to plant, is that someone should plant when they're ready (including ready to take care of the plant once it's in the ground, mainly through monitoring it for watering needs). The Marylanders Plant Trees rebate program has been in place for many years now, so that will likely still be available into the foreseeable future if you either postpone this planting or add other native trees in the future.  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 29, 2024, 3:33 PM EDT
response: It sounds like the red maple can handle the conditions in my yard. I'm going to move forward based on your input. Thank you.

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 29, 2024, 3:34 PM EDT
response: You're welcome.

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 29, 2024, 6:44 PM EDT
response: Results of Test for soil drainage (percolation): The ground is quite difficult to dig, so I used a hole I already had: measuring approximately 14.5 inches deep and an oval shape 24 inches long and 12 inches wide. After 8 hours, there was 5 inches of water remaining. Is that sufficient drainage?

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 30, 2024, 10:18 AM EDT
response: As Iowa State University notes in their soil drainage web page, a 1-3 inch per hour drainage rate is fine for most plants (that would include the Red Maple, which is likely fine with even less than that, given its tolerance for wet habitats). Poor drainage would be around less than an inch per hour, which would mean you would have had at about 6.5 inches of water left if you had filled-up the hole at the beginning. However, this is contingent on how you performed the test, since the test hole needs to be filled twice, once to saturate the soil, and a second time to see how saturated soil drains. You can learn more on the linked page above plus University of Kentucky's Soil Percolation page.  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 30, 2024, 10:58 AM EDT
response: I filled it at 2 pm Wednesday, filled it again Thursday at 10:30 am and checked it Thursday at 6:30 pm.

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 30, 2024, 11:44 AM EDT
response: That might suffice, but generally, as the publications we linked to noted, the drain-test hole is refilled immediately after it drains the first time, which helps to insure it's fully saturated and doesn't start to dry out again before the hole is filled the second time. Still, since Red Maple can grow in swampy areas that definitely have worse drainage (taking days to fully drain when flooded), than the area you're describing should be fine for normal growth.  Miri

responder: The Question Asker Replied August 30, 2024, 11:54 AM EDT
response: The test states: "Fill it with water. The next day, fill the hole with water again."

responder: Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension. For timely gardening information and tips, subscribe to our Maryland Grows blog and quarterly newsletter. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Replied August 30, 2024, 11:59 AM EDT
response: Okay. Other University pages say to refill it as soon as the first filling drains away fully. In either case, the soil sounds suitable as far as drainage rate goes with regards to the preferences of Red Maple.  Miri