Unrelenting drought can lead to devastating wildfires. While during a drought is not an ideal time to plant a new tree, landowners will ultimately need to reforest the area with drought-hardy loblolly pines. In the meantime, landowners can plant bareroot or containerized hardwood trees. This work should begin the following year after a wildfire.
It’s a good idea to plant a mixture of bareroot and containerized hardwoods. Bareroot seedlings generally cost less, but have a higher mortality rate. Containerized trees tend to be more expensive and, as such, their care warrants more effort to help them survive.
Both bareroot and containerized seedlings can be planted during fall, spring and winter. Fall plantings are preferable because cooling temperatures and increasing rain chances will allow the tree a chance to get its roots established before next summer.
- Be sure to plant trees that are suitable for your land and region.
- Plant along the contour of your property. Don’t create any straight lines of disturbed soil because water will follow that groove.
- Rather than plant all your trees at once, spread your investment out into multiple plantings over the years.
- Plant several different species of native hardwoods as well as drought hardy loblolly pine.
- Reforesting land that’s been burned over generally requires hand planting because of all the protruding stumps and standing dead trees, also known as snags.
- Be sure the number of trees you plant is manageable. If the state is in a drought, it will take extra work and watering to get new trees established.