Toffee AppleTree - Cercidiphyllum japonicum 'Katsura'

Planting Advice:

• Select an appropriate spot with enough space to allow your Katsura tree to grow. Slightly acidic soils will promote better leaf colour.
• Dig a hole twice the width of the roots, forking over the bottom to loosen the soil, then add some good quality fertiliser, compost, or well-rotted manure. We've found that a square hole is better than a round one as the new roots, once they reach the edges tend to grow in a circle round the circumference of the hole whereas when they reach the corners of a square hole, they find it easier to grow through.
• Plant at the same depth as the tree was in its pot.
• For all trees, use our Tree Planting Kits – including stakes, rubber ties and Mycorrhizal fungi, which is proven to aid tree growth and development.
• Push 40cm of each stake into the soil next to each tree. Make a figure of eight around both the trunk and stake with a tie and fasten it off. Spread Mycorrhizal granules in contact with the roots when planting.
• Holding the tree upright in position with one hand, slowly backfill the hole with soil, so the soil falls back around the roots.
• Compact the soil around the plant with your heel to ensure good contact around the roots and water in well.
• Mulch around the base of the plant with a collar, compost, gravel, bark etc. 

Aftercare Advice:

• Best in full sun to grow well, in well-drained, fertile, and slightly acid soils.
• Established trees are largely trouble free.
• Apply a balanced fertiliser such as fish blood and bone in late February.
• Keep plants well-watered for at least 4 years and remove all competing vegetation.
• A mulch of well-rotted compost around the base of the tree will help to retain moisture. 

Pruning Advice:

• There is no real need to prune the toffee apple tree as it does not respond well to hard pruning - just trim back any branches that have been damaged by frosts in late spring.