Plant Your Trees in Fall, The Ideal Time for Success

Autumn is the time to plant a tree: air temperatures have cooled, but the soil remains warm, encouraging root growth, while decreasing daylight tells the plant to stop producing top growth. The mechanics of planting a tree are standard: dig a hole, put the tree in the hole (root end down) and backfill the hole. Just how each step is done, however, will determine the long-term survival of the tree. New trees may be sold as bare-root, container grown or balled-and-burlapped. Trees purchased through the mail typically arrive as a bare-root stock. Garden centers often sell smaller trees in plastic containers filled with a soilless mix. 

Balled-and-burlapped trees are larger, field-grown specimens. They are dug and the rootball is wrapped in burlap, which is then tied around the base of the trunk. Sometimes balled-and-burlapped trees have a metal cage around the burlap. All of the burlap, caging and twine must be removed for long-lived success, even if this has to be done after the tree is placed into the hole.

The planting hole should be dug only as deep as the root ball or bottom of the container, but two to three times as wide. Most trees do not grow taproots, so the roots will grow in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil, spreading out in all directions. Planting depth is the most critical part of the planting process. Roots belong below ground, and all bark should be above it. Look at the tree to find the point where the bottom of the trunk flares out. This basal flare should always be exposed and not buried in the soil. Many trees are killed each year by planting them too deeply. Don’t let your new tree become one of them. 

Remove the plant from the container and examine the roots. Loosen them slightly by gently pulling them apart. If the roots are circling the inside of the container, coax them apart and give them a trim. Bare-root trees should be placed atop a cone of soil mounded on the bottom of the planting hole before spreading out the roots. Loosen the soil in the hole and water well to prepare the hole for the placement of the tree. 

Set the tree’s basal flare slightly above the soil line to account for any settling. Backfill the hole with existing soil. Create a ring or berm of soil about a foot away from the trunk to hold water and let it soak into the root area. Mulch outside of the berm to retain moisture. Never place mulch against the bark, or rot can happen. Water right after planting and then weekly, if no natural precipitation occurs, for at least one year during fall, spring and winter. Do not add water if the ground is frozen.  

No staking is necessary or advised. Trees can be fertilized once a year in the spring. If the tree is planted within a fertilized lawn, it will usually receive adequate nutrients from lawn fertilizer applications, so additional sources of nutrients may not be needed. 

If you have questions about fall plantings or on other gardening topics, contact the UConn Home & Garden Education Center at 877-486-6271, visit www.ladybug.uconn.edu or contact your local Cooperative Extension center. 

Carol Quish writes from the UConn Home & Garden Education Center.