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« on: February 20, 2024, 12:17:03 PM »
This is what I do, and it works well for me: I dig only a shallow hole, 3 - 4 inches deep, and then try to chop the dirt up a little, and amend with some good soil mix. Then, I water both the potted tree and the hole, soaking them both. Then wait about 15 minutes, and place the rootball on top of you natural soil and dirt mix. Have it where it sits several inches above the surrounding soil. The idea is to create a mound. Then, add native soil and potting mix around the sides of the rootball, finishing off your mound. Water like crazy. Add some pine bark mulch around it, not touching the trunk. Add more soil and mulch over the course of days and weeks, as some is washed away by rain and irrigation. Just don't burry it too deep, and you can make its work.
After planting a tree, I water it daily (unless ample rainfall) for several weeks. Then, goto to every other day for a few more weeks, and then 2 x per week or so unless raining a bit. Do not fertilize for at least 3 - 4 weeks, so your roots will grow out into the new media. N impedes new root growth. It's fine to go even longer, the soil will have enough of what it needs for a while. I usually wait months before fertilizing a newly planted tree.
Also, don't expect to see much growth for a while. The work will be done below ground before above. Your season on this tree is likely toast, and I wouldn't let it hold anything this year anyway. Planted a 45 g mango last spring. It dropped all fruit, but is rocking this season.