How should I plant my tree?

After you have opened its box and unwrapped the tree completely, place it in a shady spot and water it really well the night before planting. When you are ready to plant carefully slide the tree out of its pot.

If your tree is still dormant and has no leaves at all, shake off some of the soil so that the roots are spread out instead of tightly wrapped around the root-ball. If your tree is a deciduous type of tree and has leaves left on it, take a sharp knife and cut one inch deep at three or four spots around the root-ball, from top to bottom. If your tree is an evergreen needle-tree (a conifer) the roots are finer and should not be disturbed. Palms and other exotic trees should also not be disturbed when planting.

Place your tree in the center of the hole so that it will be in the same depth as it was in the pot. The soil underneath the tree should be firmed down and not soft or your tree will sink after planting. Put about two-thirds of the soil back around the roots, pressing it down gently so you don’t leave any air-spaces. Then, fill the hole to the top with water and let all the water drain away and now replace the rest of the soil. Don’t pile any extra around the trunk – keep the top of the root-ball less than one inch below the final soil level.

To learn more about how you should perfectly plant your specimen, check out our planting guides here: https://www.thetreecenter.com/guides/