How do I plant a tree?

So you have decided to plant a tree. That is an underrated kind of magic. Trees give shade, they bring the birds back into a bare yard, and some of them drop fruit on you as a bonus. If you have never done it before, the process is simpler than it looks, and most of the work is in the decisions you make before the spade comes out.

Step 1. Pick the right tree for the space

You are matching a tree to your climate, your soil and the room you actually have. A towering eucalypt and a dwarf citrus are both good trees and only one of them belongs in a suburban backyard. Have a think about the mature size rather than the size it is in the pot, because that is the mistake that costs people a fence ten years later.

Take a photo of your yard on your phone and bring it in. It is a much better conversation than a description, and we can point you at something that suits your patch rather than something that suits a catalogue.

Step 2. Find the right spot

Look for good sunlight, then look down. Check what is running underground before you dig, because pipes and cables do not announce themselves and a shovel finds them the hard way.

Give the tree room as well. Away from the house, the fence and any power lines. The roots you are planting today get considerably bigger, and a tree planted too close to plumbing is a problem that arrives quietly a decade later.

Step 3. Prepare the hole

Dig a hole about twice as wide as the root ball and no deeper than the root ball is tall. The width is what matters, because that is the loosened ground the new roots will spread into. Planting too deep is the other common killer, so keep the depth honest.

If your soil is heavy clay or dry sand, work plenty of organic matter through what you dug out. Compost or a soil conditioner mixed into the backfill gives the roots something to move into instead of a wall of clay.

Step 4. Plant it

Ease the tree out of its pot and have a look at the roots. If they are circling the inside of the pot, tease them loose so they head outwards rather than continuing around in a knot. Sit the tree so the base of the trunk finishes level with the ground, not buried.

Backfill with the soil you dug out and press it in firmly enough to remove the air pockets without compacting it into concrete. Firm hands, not boots.

Step 5. Water and mulch

Water it in properly straight away. That first drink settles the soil around the roots as much as it hydrates the tree, so it is not a step to skimp on.

Then mulch in a ring around the base, keeping it back off the trunk itself. Mulch holds moisture, keeps the roots cooler through summer and stops weeds competing while the tree establishes. Piling it up against the trunk traps moisture where you do not want it, so leave a gap.

Step 6. The first year

Water regularly for the first few weeks, more often if the weather turns hot, then let the soil and the season set the schedule. Trees want a good drink and they hate sitting waterlogged.

If it looks stressed, resist the urge to fix it with fertiliser straight away. A newly planted tree is usually busy growing roots rather than leaves, and patience does more for it in the first year than feeding does.

Shop related products

Did you know we also keep tree stakes, ties, soil conditioner and bagged compost in store that do not all make it onto the website. Give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is on the shelf.

The rest sits in the garden centre, and if you are not sure what suits your soil, bring the photo in and we will sort it out at the counter.

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Cheers,
Candeece

I planted my first tree too deep and spent a year wondering why it just sat there.

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