How to plant a tree the right way

How do you usually plant a tree?

You dig a deep, narrow hole and put the tree inside, right? Wrong.

 

While this is how many of us have planted trees for years, new planting techniques focus on the tree's natural development and growth pattern.

 

Up to 80 percent of a tree's roots spread out in the top metre of soil. Most of the tree's roots are shallow and they need good aeration and water. If they are trapped too far down, they can actually suffocate. Another danger of planting a tree in a hole that is too deep is that the bark gets covered with the moist soil and it, too, can suffocate and rot.

Our thanks to Stodels Nurseries for information supplied.