How to Plant Trees

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
November 6th, 2008
Filed in Trees and Shrubs
Tags: mulch, planting, Trees and Shrubs

Planting trees involves more than digging a hole and sticking the tree in the ground. You can try that, but don’t be alarmed if, a few years later, your tree isn’t doing so well. There are a lot of myths about tree planting that lead people to do silly things when they plant trees.

Tree Planting Myths

The tree needs a really deep hole.
This is one of the worst gardening myths. A tree does NOT need a deep hole. In fact, trees and shrubs do better when they are “planted high.” The soil under the plants tends to settle over time. Plants with their crowns above the soil will do better in the long run than those that are planted too deep.

The crown of the plant is the place where the root meets the shoot (or stem).

A newly planted tree needs lots of mulch around it.
I talked about mulching a bit in an earlier post. Apparently, I neglected to mention the number one rule of mulching. DO NOT MOUND THE MULCH. When you drive by a yard and every tree has a two foot mound of mulch around it, the yard does neat and tidy. However, resist the urge to go home and do this to your trees. Additionally, do not mound mulch around newly planted trees. A little bit of mulch will help keep the water in. If you mound mulch around the tree trunk, the mulch will keep the area around the trunk too moist–and ripe for bacterial growth.

You need to amend the soil in which you are planting the tree with compost and stuff. Not really. My soil science class at Purdue taught me some valuable information about the way water moves through the soil. If two very different soils are stacked one on top of the other, water can have a difficult time moving through the soil. Either the soil will drain very quickly, too quickly, or it will not drain at all. For your tree to be happiest in the long run, choose a tree that will be happy in the soil that you already have. Then dig your hole, chop up the soil a bit and plant the tree.

Newly planted trees always need to be staked. If a tree is planted and cared for properly, it most likely does not need to be staked. B and B trees (balled and burlapped) sometimes have a harder time if they are not staked. Bare-root trees or trees from containers should hold up just fine without staking, as long as they are not planted in a very wet or windy area. Wet soil + Wind = Trees falling over.

How to Plant a Tree

Planting a tree is deceptively simple, once you have chosen a location and purchased a tree that will thrive in the soil, sun and weather conditions of the spot. Follow these steps to plant a tree that will stay happy and healthy.

1. Dig a hole that is three times as wide, but only 3/4 as deep as the tree’s root ball.
2. Remove any burlap or remove the tree from the container and put the tree in the hole.
3. Cover up the roots, and replace the soil in the hole.
4. Make sure that the soil line is a couple of inches below the junction between the tree trunk and beginning of tree roots.
5. Water the tree!

Planting trees is actually easy. Planting trees correctly will go a long way toward ensuring their health and happiness in the long run.