Planting any tree's root ball higher than the existing soil is not really recommended. Ask yourself, what does this really accomplish? Initially, the roots are up high to avoid drowning in poorly drained soil; the tree will live long enough to get past the nursery warranty. In the long run, where do you want the roots of that tree to be growing? Only in the small area around the root ball where they can breathe in the good soil, or spread out for many dozens of feet in every direction to support the tree in high winds and gain plenty of moisture in dry weather? If the surrounding soil isn't acceptable to root growth of a particular plant, then either you need to change the soil or the plant, not the planting height.The root ball of the tree may have had soil piled on top of it before the ball was wrapped, or soil may have been stripped from it as the tree was dug up. Either way can give the impression that the tree is not planted at the right height. Always look for the base of the tree trunk to see where the trunk swells and the roots spread out. This tree base should be planted so that the roots can spread out naturally into the new soil surrounding the root ball.
If the plant is set too deep, the hole can hold too much water and the roots might drown. If the tree is placed too high, then the roots in the top half of the ball will not be able to grow out into the surrounding soil, leaving each tree on top of a mound with a few roots only developing out of the bottom of the mound. Soil piled around the base of each root ball to create a slope will allow the roots only to grow in that area, if the surrounding flat soil is unsuitable.
All forms of burlap, rope and wire baskets should also be removed - they can kill roots in the short and long run. None of them decay fast enough to be beneficial to the plant. Ropes left around the trunk will easily kill the tree. The only reason to leave any of them is to make it easier for the person to remove the dead plant.
Another related problem is that the tree trunk should never be covered up with a pile of mulch. Every tree that you see with a volcano of mulch piled against the trunk is evidence of an installer that doesn't know what they are doing. Always remove the mulch from around the tree trunk, since it harbors molds, rodents and insects that can kill the tree trunk.
White pines grow in a variety of conditions across their widespread range; they are found on dry rocky ridges and in wet sphagnum bogs. But you can't take one from the dry location and get it to necessarily grow in the wet location. Just because they are both white pines doesn't mean they are completely the same. This is also true of most other plant species - there is some natural occurring variety within each species. If you can find pines or spruces that have been growing in a wet location, you will be better off. Check for a nursery with hilly land that has trees developing in the wet valleys.
Norway spruces are more tolerant of dry sandy soil than waterlogged soil. They prefer moist soil with proper drainage. There are evergreens, several native species of Thuja, that grow in wet soil conditions. Known as white cedar or arborvitae, they grow in swampy soil and develop pretty well in normal landscape soil conditions.
Chamaecyparis thyoides is a native evergreen in eastern North America and it grows in swamps and along streams. It is hardy from Maine to Florida.
There are also deciduous needle-leafed trees like bald cypress and tamarack that grow in wetlands. They don't provide a screen in the winter when the needles fall off.
Without seeing the trees to see if they have other problems, I think they may not be the best plants for that location. If the existing trees look OK at this point, they may survive and eventually get enough roots far enough from the tree to even thrive.
E-mail questions to Jeff Rugg, Kendall County unit educator, University of Illinois Extension at jrugg@uiuc.edu.
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