Question From: G. Steck - Madison Heights, Michigan, United States
Q: A few weeks ago you mentioned care for newly planted trees and mentiond the size as being a caliper. A caliper is a precision measuring device used by model makers, inspectors skilled tradesmen and etc. It is not a measurement but is used for measureing objects especially diameters as in a tree diameter. Can you be more specific and provide an answer about watering a tree with a given diameter? Thank you. I love your column and read it every week.
A: Galen, commercial growers use caliper as a form of measurement.I pulled this answer off the internet at http://www.itrees.com/faq. Single stem trees are measured by caliper. The caliper of a tree is measured by the thickness (diameter) of the trunk measured 6 inches above ground, so a 2" caliper tree means that the trunk is 2 inches across. The height ranges depending on the tree. Typically, a 2" shade tree is going to be much taller than a 2" ornamental tree, because their height now is relative to their mature height. Hopefully this will be helpful. Arborist suggest 10 gallons of water per week per 1 inch caliper or width of the trunk measured at six inches above the rootball. Best And Happy Yardening, Nancy
