How to Plant a Tree

While planting a tree isn’t rocket science, there are myths and “old wive’s tales” about the right way to plant a tree that can actually doom it before it starts growing. The size of the hole, the depth the tree is planted, and whether it is mulched all influence long-term tree health. Give your tree a leg up by following these steps.

What You’ll Need

Spade or shovel

Wheelbarrow

Watering can

Mulch

Tree

Instant Green Thumb

If it hasn’t rained lately or your soil is particularly hard, water the area where you’ll be planting the tree the night before digging the hole. It will be much easier to dig!

Step-by-Step

1 Use a shovel or marking paint to mark the area for the hole. The planting hole should be twice as wide as the tree’s rootball.

2 Dig the planting hole. This hole should be just as deep as the rootball—no deeper! If you sharpen the spade before digging, this step will go faster.

3 Set the tree in the planting hole to check the depth. If the top of the rootball is lower than the soil line around the edge of the planting hole, add some soil back into the hole, pull the tree out of the pot, and replace the tree in the hole. You never want the crown of the tree (where the tree trunk meets the tree roots) to be below the soil line.

4 Fill in around the tree with the same soil that you removed from the planting hole. Do not add fertilizer or new topsoil. Water will move more easily and the tree will root properly if the soil in the planting hole and around the planting hole are the same.

5 Mulch around the tree, taking care to pull the mulch away from the tree trunk. Do not create a mulch “volcano” around the tree (by piling mulch up high around the trunk)—that just encourages insects and creatures that snack on tree bark to take up residence next to your delicious young tree.

6 Water the tree. Plan to water newly planted trees every three days (every other day if it is hot and dry). New trees don’t need to be staked unless they’re in areas prone to heavy rains and frequent winds. It can take a couple of years for newly planted trees to root all the way into the surrounding soil, so continue to monitor your tree for signs that it needs water.

Success Tip

Have you heard the saying “Plant ‘em high”? Well, that refers to trees. Trees will settle a bit after planting. Always make sure that you finish the job with the top of the tree’s rootball about three inches above the soil line. If you plant a tree too deep, the place where the tree trunk and the tree roots meet can rot, which will kill the tree.