The Transplanting of Oud Seedlings to the Permanent Ground

When the oud seedling reaches its strength in the nursery, a decisive stage comes in its course: the move from the protected container of the nursery to its permanent place in the open ground. This moment is among the most delicate stages of cultivation, because the plant moves suddenly from a managed environment to wider, less protected conditions. In this article we present a general educational overview of the transplanting of oud seedlings — when, how, and what is observed to reduce the shock of the transplanting — in descriptive, reserved language, without claiming an engineering expertise in the farms.

1. When is the seedling transplanted?

The first question raised in the transplanting of the seedlings is the question of timing, and it has two faces: the maturity of the seedling itself, and the suitability of the season. As for the seedling, its transplanting is spoken of generally when it reaches a sufficient measure of strength and firmness, such that it has formed a root and stem mass that tolerates the move, not while it is still tender and fragile. And we avoid here mentioning a specific age in months, because that varies with the difference of the species, the conditions of the nursery, and the speed of growth, and any number we assert may mislead. The descriptive criterion is simpler and safer: the seedling is transplanted when it appears strong enough, not before that.

And this stage comes in the wake of a previous stage of care to which we devoted an independent article about the production of oud seedlings in the nurseries, since it is said generally that the seedling is prepared physiologically before its transplanting so that the move is not a sudden shock. The transplanting is not an isolated event, but an extension of a care that began from the seed, and a fruit of a previous raising in a protected environment.

As for the season, it is spoken of as a helping factor, not an arithmetic condition. And it is mentioned often that the beginning of the rainy season may be a suitable time for transplanting, because the availability of natural water then lightens for the seedling the burden of acclimatization and helps it to fix its roots. But we put this forward as a circulated consideration, not an absolute rule, for the conditions differ from one region to another, and estimating the most suitable date is the affair of the agricultural specialist acquainted with the climate of the location. And all this talk is part of the cultivation of oud trees with its integrated system in which no stage is separated from what precedes it.

2. Preparing the site

Before the seedling is moved to the ground, the preparation of the site in which it will settle is spoken of. And the general idea is that the seedling arrive at an environment prepared to receive it, not at a neglected land, so it finds a loose soil that allows its roots to extend, and a place cleared of what may crowd it of weeds or competing roots. This prior preparation is mentioned as a reasonable practice that eases for the plant its beginnings.

And the preparation of the site is closely connected to the nature of the soil, which is a subject standing on its own to which we devoted an independent article about the soil suitable for cultivating oud that addresses what is circulated about its need for a good drainage that prevents the retention of water around the roots. And it suffices us here to remind that the place in which the seedling is planted is preferably one in which this aspect was observed beforehand, because remedying the soil after planting is harder than preparing it before it.

And we avoid in this section mentioning any numerical details about the dimensions of the site or its area or its treatments, because they differ with the difference of the species, the soil, and the location, and are among the fine points of the agricultural work that the specialist estimates on the ground. What matters conceptually is that the good preparation of the site lightens for the seedling the burden of acclimatization, and makes its transplanting a move to a welcoming environment, not to a harsh, sudden circumstance.

3. Digging and planting

When the time of planting comes, the taking of the seedling out of its container with care and its lowering into its prepared place is spoken of. And the general principle whose mention recurs is gentleness with the roots: that the seedling be moved with its soil mass around its roots as much as possible, without the soil being shaken off it in a shaking that bares the roots and cuts off their accustomed connection. The bare, exposed root is more susceptible to drying and shock than the root surrounded by its original soil.

And we deliberately avoid here mentioning dimensions in centimeters for the hole or the depth of planting, because these are among the details that vary with the difference of the size of the seedling, the species, and the soil, and any number we cite may be understood as a general rule when it is not so. The descriptive principle suffices us: that the place be spacious for the roots of the seedling without cramming them nor an excessive burying of its stem, such that the plant settles in a position close to its position in the nursery.

And after the lowering of the seedling, the returning of the soil around it gently and its fixing in a quiet fixing that holds the roots without a violent pressing that chokes them is mentioned generally. Then comes the first irrigation as a step accompanying the planting that helps the adhesion of the soil to the roots and the expulsion of the air voids around them. And all these are general descriptions of circulated practices, not a technical recipe we issue, and their detailing on the ground is the affair of the people of specialization.

4. Reducing the shock of transplanting

The description "transplant shock" is applied to what may befall the plant of stress when it moves suddenly from a protected environment to an open environment. The seedling that was accustomed to the shade of the nursery, its humidity, and its regular care finds itself in the ground before a stronger sun, a drier air, and roots that must re-fix themselves. And reducing this shock is the aim around which most of the precautions of transplanting revolve.

And among the most circulated in this door: choosing a gentle timing for the transplanting away from the peak of the heat, gentleness with the roots as preceded, providing a measure of temporary shade for the seedling in its first days to lighten for it the burden of the direct sun, and following up on its irrigation in this sensitive period until it settles. And each of these is a qualitative precaution mentioned as a reasonable practice, not specific amounts nor time schedules we assert.

And the comprehensive idea is that the seedling in its first days after transplanting is at its weakest, so the more the transformation is lightened for it and made gradual as much as possible, the more its recovery is hoped for. But the success of the recovery in the end depends on many intertwined factors — the species, the soil, the climate, the state of the seedling, and the experience of the one carrying out the cultivation — and therefore we avoid mentioning any rate of success or survival, because that exceeds what befits a supplier to assert.

5. The care after transplanting

The task of transplanting does not end merely with the planting of the seedling, but a stage of care begins at it no less important than the transplanting itself. The new plant in its place needs a follow-up until its establishment and its resumption of growth are ascertained. And the monitoring of its state in the first weeks, and the reassurance that it has not been stricken with a wilting or a stress that calls for intervention, is spoken of generally.

And irrigation comes at the forefront of what is mentioned of care, especially in the periods of aridity when the rains do not suffice the need of the recent seedling. And this aspect — the irrigation of oud trees and their water need — is a subject standing on its own with its detail, and we will devote to it an independent axis within this guide about the irrigation of oud trees and link it here when it is completed. And alongside the irrigation, the protection of the young seedling from what may crowd it of weeds or tamper with it of animals is mentioned, and its protection likewise from what may afflict it of pests in its tender stage, and this last is a subject to which we will devote an independent axis about the pests of oud trees that we link here later.

And we affirm that this care is general descriptions, not a technical program, for the dates of irrigation and its amounts, the methods of protection, and the diagnosis of what may befall the seedling, all are among the fine points of the agricultural work that the specialist estimates according to the location and the season. As for us, we content ourselves with pointing out that what is after transplanting is a stage that needs vigilance and follow-up, and that the recent seedling is a trust of care that is not left to itself upon its planting.

6. The distance and the distribution

When the seedlings are transplanted to the ground they are not planted randomly crowded, but their distribution with distances between them that allow each tree its space of light, air, and soil when it grows is observed. The tree that appears today a small seedling will become tomorrow one of a root mass and a crown that needs its area, and the early crowding may be reflected later on the growth of the trees and their competition for the resources.

And the distance between the trees is a subject standing on its own with its considerations that differ with the difference of the species and the system of cultivation, and we will devote to it an independent axis within this guide about the distance between oud trees that we link here when it is completed. And we avoid in this place mentioning any numbers for the distances, because they are among the details that the agricultural specialist estimates according to the conditions, and it suffices us to alert that the studied distribution is part of the planning that accompanies the transplanting, not a step separate from it.

7. The conclusion

The transplanting of oud seedlings is a delicate step in the course of cultivation, in which the plant moves from the protection of the nursery to the expanse of the ground. And we have seen that its essence revolves around consistent qualitative meanings: that the seedling be transplanted when it strengthens, in a suitable season as much as possible, to a prepared site, with a gentleness that preserves its roots, then cared for after that until it establishes. And we repeated in every section that we describe the general scene and do not set a technical guide, and that the detailing of all this numerically — of age, dates, dimensions, and rates — its reference is the agricultural specialists and the extension services in each country, not a supplier describing the stage from afar. This is why we refer whoever desires an actual cultivation to the people of specialization, and content ourselves with what befits us: the cultivation of oud trees in its general picture that connects its stages one to another.

As for the buyer, the conclusion is closer and simpler: that he know that oud is the fruit of a long journey that begins from a seed, a seedling, a transplanting, a care, and years of growth, and that all this is part of the value of the piece that reaches him. And for whoever wants to distinguish the authentic oud and choose with confidence, we have set a practical guide in how to choose authentic Indonesian oud that helps him to choose.