Trees offer many benefits to residents and the local ecosystem

METRO DETROIT — Trees play an important role in our natural habitats and urban areas. With Arbor Day having taken place April 25, here are some ways you can start your tree-planting journey.

Cyndi Ross, restoration manager at Friends of the Rouge, suggests planting native tree species. She said there are species of trees that have adapted to urban areas and are more successful. At Friends of the Rouge, a nonprofit that is dedicated to the restoration of the Rouge River, they plant trees such as red maple, swamp white oak and more. A flowering tree they plant is the Eastern redbud.

“It blooms before the leaves come out so that you really get that striking pink,” Ross said about the Eastern redbud.

When planting trees for the first time, it’s important to remember where service lines and utility lines are in a yard. Ross said to always look up for lines. She said some of the smaller trees will work under conditions where power lines are high above.

Ross said the most common mistake people make when planting a tree is planting it too shallow or too high.

“You want to plant it level with the ground around it,” Ross said.

She went on to say to open the roots of the tree when it’s wrapped in burlap or in a pot.

“I wouldn’t be super aggressive, but you’re not going to harm them if you gently pull them apart a little bit, and that will help them grow outward instead of continuing in that spiral of the pot or the ball they were growing in,” Ross said.

Jennifer Lau, master gardner at English Gardens in Royal Oak, said most things are fine to plant at this time of year. However, some vegetables would not be suitable for planting until the ground gets a bit warmer.

Lau said gardening is not as hard as people think and everyone can do it.

She said residents need to have access to water for the trees they plant when they are newly established, and they need to place some mulch around them.

Trees know when winter is coming due to the decreased amount of sunlight and naturally protect themselves, Lau said. But winter also freezes the ground until around May when temperatures get warmer. People are often eager to start planting when the air temperatures get warmer.

“Well, the air temperature is warm, but it takes a minute for everything to thaw underneath,” Lau said.

One of the goals of the Friends of the Rouge is to improve water quality in the Rouge River as well as beyond the watershed. Ross said what people do on the land affects water quality because of underground sewer systems and other things. Trees can act as a natural filter for water, as they take in a lot of it in their roots. The water is transpired in the atmosphere and Ross said it stabilizes rain.

Some benefits of trees include shade and habitats for animals including pollinators. Ross said even oak trees provide a habitat for pollinators.

“People think of flowers, and that’s great, but trees provide so much,” Ross said.