Planting Trees and Native Illinois Plants

Planting trees or flowers and plants is a great way to connect with nature and add beauty to any landscape, but that’s not all.

New trees or shrubs can improve the air and water quality, provide shade, and even lower your energy costs and raise your property value.

Although planting is a pretty straightforward process, you may have questions about how and when to plant trees or native plants. Let’s take a look at each one.

Trees

The best time to plant a tree in Illinois is in the spring or autumn. It’s important to plant during optimal times to get the trees acclimated to the soil and ensure their long existence.

Remember that trees are not annual or perennial, even though they may come in similar containers. When you remove it from the container, you’ll want to find the root flare – the wider section at the base of the trunk – and use that scale to determine how far to dig. Typically, you want to dig only up to the height of the root ball, but at least twice as wide.

Spread out the roots just before planting, and re-fill the hole with the same soil that you just dug up. Then, just continue to water the tree and enjoy it’s growing beauty for years to come!

Native plants

You may have read about native plants or just heard about them in passing. That’s because they are gaining popularity for gardeners and landscapers everywhere.

Planting native plants is unique because they originated here in Illinois. Because they have already been enriched by our soils and climate, they are far more tolerant to the seasonal changes and able to fight off diseases better. Furthermore, native plants possess a natural immunity, so you shouldn’t have to use pesticides or fertilizers.

One thing some plants are not immune to however, are being food for local deer. When hungry, deer will eat most plants. Fortunately, there are some deer-resistant species that the animal will avoid. These include butterfly bush, boxwood, forsythia, lavender, and peony, among others.

Putting new trees or native plants in the ground are not only great for the environment, but it makes for a worthwhile hobby and can lead to much aesthetic beauty on your property. For more information, visit our website or call 815-849-5209.

Woodhaven Lakes Association

509 LaMoille Rd

Sublette, IL

61367