Forster Nurseries - Wetaskiwin, Alberta Phone: (780) 352-6900   Care for Your Potted and Caliper Trees: Watering Tips for Trees and Shrubs Trees are sometimes lost or stunted because of poor soil conditions and/or lack of water. It can take a new tree up to 3 years to fully redevelop roots lost in transplanting. During this time, trees are particularly vulnerable to drought. Tips: Make a donutlike depression a few inches deep and 2-3 feet from the trunk so water will not run off. (The donut prevents puddling around the tree trunk, where excess water could cause rot.) Water deeply and mark a calendar the days you water. Small trees require as much as 5 gallons of water per week, every week there is less than 1" of rainfall. Large trees installed with a spade require regular weekly watering, and use about 10-15 gallons of water per week during the warm summer season. Remember to keep watering your trees in the fall, but do not overwater, as they need time to go dormant for the winter. Newly planted trees need regular watering for 3 years after they have been transplanted.   Staked Trees and Tree Stakes If we have installed your tree and it has been staked, please leave the stakes in place for the first year, in most cases. If left longer, the hose on the trunk should be moved to a different position. Leaving the stakes on for more than the suggested one year can cause weakness in the trunk. If we have installed the trees with metal stakes, we retain ownership and will remove them after an appropriate interval.   Please ask one of our staff if you have any further questions.