STARKVILLE — Members of the Starkville Town and Country Garden Club heeled in 1,000 oak trees at the J3 Ranch on Wednesday with the help of Alex Ballard of the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

“The trees were donated to us by Deborah Fitzgerald of Oktibbeha County Soil & Water,” said Christie Lawrence, co-chair of the garden club’s Conservation and Environment Committee. “Deborah knew we were working with the City of Starkville to plant trees for the new arboretum at Cornerstone Park and that we also wanted to have a tree giveaway on national Arbor Day and Earth Day in April; so, she called and offered them to us when they arrived. She gave us five types of oaks (Shumard Oak, Nuttall Oak, Overcup Oak, Swamp Oak, and Swamp White Oak) in bundles of 200.”

The trees were bare root; therefore, they needed to be stabilized quickly in soil until they could be planted. Lawrence reached out to Alex Ballard, the Urban & Community Forestry Coordinator for the Mississippi Forestry Commission, for technical assistance to temporarily planting trees that will be planted permanently in a month or two. Ballard explained the technique of “heeling in” plants, which means to bury their roots in soil for storage prior to planting.

Lawrence picked up five bundles of 200 oak trees from Fitzgerald on Monday and soaked the trees in water until they could be heeled in on Wednesday.

With instructions and assistance from Ballard and large pots donated from Twigs Nursery, garden club members Melanie McNeel, Kathryn Davis, Joan Hamilton, Christie Lawrence, Patty Hosch, and Beverly Jones heeled in the trees in pots of soil provided by the J3 Ranch. The 1,000 oak trees were grouped by type under the shade of a large cedar tree and then thoroughly watered.

Some of the trees will be given to the City of Starkville for the new arboretum, some will be given to Habitat for Humanity for their new housing development, and the others will be given away on Earth Day, April 22.

“It may seem crazy to plant 1,000 trees temporarily, but trees are an important aspect of garden club,” said Lawrence. “We are an affiliate of The Garden Clubs of Mississippi, which emphasizes planting, promoting, and protecting plants and trees in our communities, and of the National Garden Clubs. The National Garden Clubs have designated April as PLANT AMERICA month to incorporate the celebration of Arbor Day, which falls on the last Friday of April and Earth Day which falls on April 22 yearly.”

PLANT AMERICA projects enhance public areas, honor our veterans with Blue Star landscaping projects, educate children and adults about the joys of gardening and create pride through local, city, and county projects. For more information about PLANT AMERICA, please visit gardenclub.org/plant-america.