Plant a Tree

Trees are living things, with good points, flaws and quirks. When considering a tree to plant, find out how tall the tree gets, how fast it grows, how long it lives, how dense its shade is, how vulnerable it is to disease and insects, and whether the tree has a messy habit of dropping seeds, fruit or branches.

Think too about how large a tree to buy. Young, small trees are sold in plastic pots. More mature trees are sold balled-and-burlapped (B and B), with the root ball wrapped in burlap and secured with rope or a metal basket. Container-grown trees become established faster, because, unlike Band B's, their roots aren't disturbed by being dug from the ground.

Here's a tree type guide.

Ask your local utility to mark buried cables before digging a spot for your tree. In many communities, one call takes care of all utilities.

If it's not rained much lately, make digging easier by soaking the tree planting area deeply the day before you plant. Let the water soak in for an hour or so and then test by digging in. Water more if needed.

When you load your tree at the garden center, secure it firmly so the tree's trunk isn't jarred or gashed. If you're traveling more than a few miles, cover the tree leaves with a tarp to minimize drying.

At home, ease the tree into a wheelbarrow or garden cart and roll it to the planting area. Set the tree-laden wheelbarrow where it will be out of your way as you dig.

Water the root ball so it's damp but not dripping.

Your goal is to get the tree into the hole with minimal trauma to the tree. You're of course wearing gloves, protective eyewear and sturdy boots.

First, roll the tree to the edge of the hole, tip the wheelbarrow carefully and and slide the tree onto the ground. What you do next depends on how the root ball is contained:

• Container-grown: Tip the container on its side and slide the tree out of the container and onto a tarp or old sheet. Don't yank on the tree trunk; if you can't slide it out easily, slice the container with a utility knife. Then set the tree upright and use a utility knife to slice vertically through the root ball to encourage the roots to grow outward. Lower the tree-holding tarp into the hole and gently remove it from under the tree. Center the tree in the hole.
• B and B: If the root ball is in a metal cage, tip the tree to one side and use a wire cutter to cut the cage from under the root ball — leave the cage intact on the side to hold the root ball together. Open the top of the burlap so you have something to hang onto and lower the tree into the hole. Center it, and then cut away the rest of the cage or twine. Cut away as much burlap as you can while keeping the root ball intact — you don't have to remove it from under the root ball.

The top of the tree root ball must be even with the surrounding ground; to check, lay a measuring tape or pole across the hole. If it's not, gently tip the tree to one side and add or remove soil from under the root ball. It's better to have it a little too high than a little too low.

Fill the tree hole halfway with the soil you removed and then water it to settle the soil. Don't add any fertilizer or amendments such as peat or compost to the hole. Fill the hole to the top and water again. If the soil settles below the top of the hole, add more soil.

Build a low ring of soil around the edge of the hole, to create a basin that holds water. Water the tree deeply for the first few weeks if there's no rain. How often depends on your soil type (water sand more often than clay), and how windy and warm the weather is. Overwatering is more harmful than underwatering, so if in doubt, don't water.

To hold moisture in the soil and discourage weed seeds from sprouting, cover the tree planting hole with a layer of mulch about 3 inches deep. Keep the mulch 2 inches away from the tree trunk. You have a lot of mulch choices, such as bark mulch, pine needles, cocoa hulls or weed-free grass clippings.