How to plant a tree.

The best time to be looking at planting trees is in Spring and in Autumn as the soil is ideal both for digging and also giving your tree the best start / foot growth opportunities, especially in Autumn when the ground is still warm from the Summer months and now moist. Planting your tree during these seasons will give it time to acclimatise and root out ready for the harsher elements such as cold and frost in Winter or the Dryness and Heat of Summer.

When purchasing your tree, make sure it is correctly labelled and ideally it will guidance for planting as not all trees can be planted anywhere.

Tools you need for planting a tree:

• The tree itself.
• Spade, ideally good quality.
• A wooden stake and a hammer.
• Tree ties
• To conserve moisture; to improve the fertility, also a bag of mulch.
• Fertiliser pellets.

Start off by locating the correct position in your garden for your tree, then dig a hole the same depth as the root ball and as much as twice as wide. Next hammer a stake into the hole slightly to one side, just make sure it's straight! Take your fertiliser pellets and add some to the base of the whole that you have dug with some lose soil.
Take the tree you wish to plant and loosed some of the compact roots slightly before placing the root ball centrally in the hole. Fill in the hole with the soil and at the same time mix in more fertiliser, whilst doing so compact the soil by lightly stamping down to firm the surround area and at all times make sure that the tree is straight. With your tree tie(s) use the wooden stake to give extra support, though make sure not to tighten too much. Finally, add your mulch to the base of the tree area and then water well.