Planting Trees and Shrubs: Choosing, Siting, and Getting Them Off to a Strong Start

Why Trees and Shrubs Matter

A tree is a long-term investment in your landscape and your future. Beyond the immediate pleasure of shade on a hot summer day or privacy from neighbors, trees add real value. Shade from a well-placed tree can reduce your home's cooling costs by up to one-third. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, helping address climate change. The USDA Forest Service estimates that just one newly planted tree can capture 76,000 gallons of rainfall and save about 500 dollars in stormwater management costs over its 40-year life span, reducing pollution that would otherwise flow into local waterways.

Shrubs deserve equal billing. A strategically planted shrub creates a living fence for privacy, provides wildlife habitat and food for birds, reduces winter heating costs when sited as a windbreak, adds four-season interest through flowers, fruit, foliage, and bark, and increases curb appeal and property value. Whether you are planting for function or beauty, getting your trees and shrubs off to the right start determines whether they will thrive for decades or struggle from the outset.

Choosing the Right Tree or Shrub

Before you step into a nursery, know what you are looking for.

Select a Species Adapted to Your Site

Use all available resources to build a list of trees and shrubs well-suited to your region and property. Cooperative extension offices, local master gardeners, parks departments, and online resources will help you identify trees adapted to your hardiness zone, soil type, and climate. Look at mature trees in your neighborhood and ask their owners about performance and maintenance.

Key factors to weigh:

Mature size and shape. Do not underestimate how much trees grow. Consult the plant tag or do research before buying; know the expected mature height, width, and growth rate. An old Chinese proverb states, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." That wisdom reflects how long trees take to reach their potential. Planting a shrub that grows to 12 feet in a space meant for 4 feet leads to constant pruning or removal, neither ideal. Site trees where they have room to mature without damaging foundations, siding, windows, or utilities overhead.
Deciduous or evergreen. Evergreens provide year-round structure and screening; deciduous trees offer seasonal interest and shade without summer shadiness in mild months.
Adaptation to your soil and water. Is your soil clay, sandy, or loamy? Does the site stay moist or run dry? A tree chosen for the right conditions will thrive; one fighting against its environment will languish.
Urban tolerance. If you live in a city or near roads, choose trees proven tough in urban conditions. Reflected heat, air pollution, compacted soil, and variable moisture are challenges. Excellent urban trees include the Kentucky coffee tree (Gymnocladus dioicus), black gum or black tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), willow oak (Quercus phellos), London plane tree (Platanus x acerifolia), and silver linden (Tilia tomentosa).
Pest and disease issues. Research common problems in your region. Before the anthracnose epidemic, flowering dogwood lined southern streets; now disease resistance matters when choosing dogwood cultivars.

Examine the Plant You Buy

Once you narrow your list, visit local nurseries and look carefully at individual plants.

Signs of health:

The plant has a balanced branopy with branches extending evenly in all directions.
Foliage color is uniform throughout the plant (except for new growth, which is lighter).
The plant shows vigorous new growth: soft, green tissue with tiny new leaves spaced evenly along the stems.
Avoid trees with broken branches, wounds on the trunk, yellowing or brown-edged foliage, visible insects, or obvious disease.

For container-grown plants: Slide the pot off gently and inspect the root ball. Roots should fill the container snugly without circling tightly or appearing pot-bound. The root ball should hold together after unpotting.

For bare-root plants (available in late fall through early spring): Select dormant plants with pliable branches, swollen buds, green wood beneath the bark, and a well-developed fibrous root system. Avoid plants with dried-out buds, dead twigs, or withered roots.

For balled-and-burlapped (B&B) plants: The ball should be solid and the rootball large enough to support the top growth. Look for healthy branches and foliage.

Transportation and handling: Always hold plants by the container or root ball, never by the trunk or branches. Protect the foliage with plastic or burlap during transport to prevent wind damage.

Types of Stock and Trade-Offs

Bare-root trees and shrubs are the most economical and easiest to transport. They are available mainly from late fall through early spring and are limited to deciduous plants and dormant evergreens. Because 90 percent of a tree's roots are typically damaged when it is dug from a nursery field, bare-root specimens recover more slowly than container or B&B plants, but the cost savings are significant.

Standards and patio trees are a specialized option for ornamental effect: plants like lilac, rose of Sharon, or smokebush grafted onto a single trunk, creating a small tree with a branchless trunk topped by a crown of foliage or flowers. They are often grown in containers and require regular pruning to maintain shape. Hardy standards can remain outdoors year-round in warm zones (9 to 10); in colder climates, they are often moved into a protected garage or basement for winter.

Balled-and-burlapped (B&B) plants are grown in the ground, dug with a soil ball attached, and wrapped in burlap. Annual root-pruning in the nursery develops a compact root system with abundant feeder roots, making B&B plants excellent transplants. They are available throughout the growing season but are heavier and more expensive than bare-root stock.

Container-grown trees and shrubs are convenient and available year-round. Their roots are protected by the pot and less likely to be injured in handling. If they outgrow their containers regularly at the nursery, they develop strong root systems. However, trees left in containers too long often become root-bound, and root-bound plants are slow to establish after planting.

Siting: Mature Size and Urban Challenges

Location is destiny for a tree. Once planted, it is far easier to move a tree from a nursery than from your yard.

Research the mature dimensions and observe the planting site. Measure the space available. Does the tree's mature spread fit without encroaching on your house, driveway, or a neighbor's property? Walk the site at different times of day to gauge sun exposure: more than six hours of direct sun is "full sun," three to six hours is "part sun," and less than three is "shade." Dig a test hole 12 to 18 inches deep and fill it with water. If it drains within an hour, drainage is good; if water still pools after 24 hours, you have a drainage problem and should plant on a mound, in a raised bed, or elsewhere.

Watch for obstacles. Call your local "Call Before You Dig" service (in the US, dial 811) to locate underground utilities. Check for overhead power lines and phone wires. Trees grow, and a tree under a power line will eventually require risky removal or topping.

Consider urban conditions if applicable. Urban trees must tolerate heat reflected from pavement and buildings, air pollution, compacted and often infertile soil, variable moisture (wet after storms, drought between), and root competition from adjacent trees. Kentucky coffee tree, black gum, swamp white oak, willow oak, and London plane tree all excel in these conditions.

Choose trees suited to your hardiness zone. Consult USDA hardiness zone maps to ensure your choices are hardy where you live. If you garden in a challenging microclimate (a frost pocket, a windy ridge, a hot south-facing wall), search for trees and shrubs rated for zones one or two hardier than your zone, or observe what thrives in established gardens nearby.

Planting: Step by Step with Current Best Practices

Modern tree planting borrows from nature. In a forest, trees and shrubs thrive in undisturbed native soil without compost, fertilizer, or other additives. This principle has transformed planting recommendations over the past decade.

Before You Plant: Prepare the Hole

Call before you dig. Contact your local "Call Before You Dig" number (811 in the US) to locate underground utilities.

Dig a wide, shallow hole. Make the planting hole at least two to three times wider than the root ball, and as much as five times wider if you are planting in heavy or compacted clay. Slope the sides outward at a shallow angle (imagine a saucer, not a pit) and rough them up with the edge of your spade, especially in clay soils where smooth sides can become slicked and impenetrable to roots.

Dig to the correct depth. This is critical. Dig the hole only as deep as the distance from the trunk flare (explained below) to the bottom of the root ball, or shallower. If you dig too deep, the tree will sink after planting and end up buried deeper than it should be. You want the root ball to rest on undisturbed soil so the ground below will not settle after planting.

Exception for clay soil: In heavy clay, dig the hole slightly shallower so the trunk flare will sit 2 to 4 inches above surrounding grade. This helps prevent water from pooling around the base.

Find the Trunk Flare

The trunk flare is where the base of the trunk gradually widens and the main roots begin to flare outward. This is one of the most important features to identify.

Look at any mature tree in your landscape and you will see the trunk flare clearly. Young trees have a flare too, but it is often buried by soil during container or B&B handling. This is a major cause of failure. Trees planted too deep slowly suffocate (roots need oxygen), may develop girdling roots that choke the tree as it grows, and are more susceptible to disease.

To find the flare on your new tree: If it is in a container, carefully remove it. If it is B&B, pull away the soil at the base of the root ball by hand until you see where the trunk begins to widen. You may need to wash away soil to see it clearly (especially with B&B plants). Once you locate the flare, position it so it will be right at the soil surface when the hole is filled, or slightly above in heavy soils. A long-handled tool like a garden rake laid across the hole helps you visualize where the soil line will be.

Handle and Prepare the Root Ball

For container-grown plants: Gently remove the plant from its pot, taking care not to break or crumble the root ball. Examine the roots. If they are circling around the outside of the ball, these circling roots must be pruned or they will continue circling in the ground and eventually strangle the tree as it grows. Use a sharp knife to slice vertically into the ball an inch or two deep in three or four spots around the sides and in an X pattern across the bottom.

For B&B plants: Carefully handle the root ball so it does not break apart. Once the tree is positioned in the hole, remove all twine around the ball. Cut away at least the top third (or all, if synthetic) of the burlap so it does not protrude above the soil line; burlap left above ground wicks moisture away from the plant. If the root ball is enclosed in a wire basket, cut away at least the top half; remove more if you can without the ball falling apart.

For bare-root plants: Before planting, inspect the roots and prune any that are damaged, kinked, or circling. Soak the roots in water for up to 24 hours to rehydrate them. You may even gently wash away some soil to examine the roots more closely. Within the planting hole, create a small mound of soil at the center and spread the roots over it without bending or breaking them.

Important: Modern practice includes examining and correcting circling roots before planting, even though this involves some root disturbance. Arborists and landscapers have observed too many trees and shrubs eventually strangled by circling roots that were never corrected at planting time. This newer technique yields healthier long-term outcomes than the older approach of minimal root disturbance.

Set the Tree in the Hole

Check that the trunk flare will end up at the correct height when the hole is filled. Do not hold the tree by its trunk. If the root ball is heavy, slide it onto a tarp and drag it carefully into the hole using a wooden plank as a ramp. Once the tree is in place, walk around it and view from all directions to ensure the trunk is straight. Reposition if necessary; it is nearly impossible to adjust after backfilling.

Backfill with Native Soil Only

This is where modern practice diverges sharply from older advice. Do not add compost, peat moss, or other soil amendments to the backfill.

Why? When you create a pocket of rich, fluffy amended soil in a planting hole surrounded by compacted native soil, tree roots are reluctant to leave the comfortable zone. They stay within the amended area and fail to penetrate the surrounding soil where the tree must be rooted to thrive long-term. In clay soils especially, an amended hole can become a bowl that holds water like a bathtub, and the roots rot from waterlogging. Additionally, trees will do better if they acclimate to the actual soil conditions where they must live.

Use only the native soil that came out of the hole. Use what you dug.

Fill the hole about halfway with native soil, breaking up large clumps with your shovel and taking care not to damage roots.
Add 5 to 10 gallons of water to the hole and let it drain, settling the soil and removing air pockets.
Add the remaining backfill soil.
Firm the soil gently with your hands (not your feet), as foot-packing can compact soil and restrict root growth.
Create a low berm (a raised ring) around the outer edge of the planting hole to hold water for irrigation.
Add another 5 to 10 gallons of water and let it drain.

Exception: If your native soil is very poor (extremely compacted, sandy with no organic matter, or depleted), you may mix in up to one-third compost, but only if you amend the entire planting bed, not just the hole. This prevents the "bowl effect."

Do not fertilize at planting time. Fertilizer can injure tender new roots. A healthy tree in decent soil does not need fertilizer to establish; it is the access to native soil and careful watering that matters.

Stake Only When Necessary

Most trees do not need staking. The natural movement of an unstaked tree helps it develop a sturdy trunk and a robust root system as it must anchor itself against wind.

Do not stake if: Your tree has a trunk diameter smaller than 2 inches and is not on a slope or in an extremely windy location; the root ball is solid; and the trunk is straight.

Do stake if: The tree is planted on a slope, is sited in a very windy location, or has a trunk larger than 2 inches and the root ball is crumbling or unstable.

If you stake, use proper technique:

Drive two stakes on opposite sides of the tree, just outside the root ball.
Attach flexible ties (such as 3-inch-wide nylon webbing straps) to the lower half of the trunk. Flexible ties allow some trunk movement, which is important for healthy development.
Attach the ties to the stakes with heavy-gauge wire.
Leave enough slack for the trunk to sway slightly in the wind.
Remove stakes and ties as soon as the tree is established, usually after one season of growth.

Leaving stakes and ties on for years is a common mistake that can girdle and kill a tree.

Mulch Properly

Spread organic mulch such as wood chips or shredded bark 2 to 4 inches deep over the root zone to conserve moisture and suppress weeds. But do not make a "mulch volcano."

Keep the mulch at least 6 inches away from the trunk. Piling mulch against the trunk creates moist conditions that invite rot and disease. Some gardeners plant shade-tolerant ground covers under the tree instead of mulch to protect the trunk from lawn mower and string-trimmer damage, which also works well.

Aftercare: Watering and the First Years

The first year after planting is critical. Trees are still establishing new roots and cannot yet tap into deep soil moisture.

Watering

Frequency and amount: Water deeply and regularly through the first growing season. The frequency depends on soil type, temperature, rainfall, and whether it is bare-root, container, or B&B stock. Container and B&B trees, which have lost many roots, need more frequent watering than bare-root trees.

A simple practice: use a moisture meter (inexpensive at garden centers) to check soil moisture in both the root ball and the backfill soil a couple of times per week. When you water, add enough water to soak the entire depth of the root ball, not just a light sprinkling at the top. Then let the top 2 to 3 inches of soil dry out before watering again.

Gator bags and irrigation: Gator bags (large, water-holding sleeves that drip water slowly at ground level) are excellent for newly planted trees, especially during dry falls. They reduce the burden of remembering to water and ensure consistent moisture. Fill them a few times per week.

In subsequent years: Once roots are established and growing into the surrounding soil (usually by year two), most trees need supplemental water only during drought. Exceptions are trees in sandy soils, which dry out quickly, and trees in containers or raised beds, which stay drier than in-ground plantings.

Pruning, Mulching, and General Care

First season pruning: Remove only broken or dead branches. Avoid pruning for shape; excessive pruning reduces total growth at a time when the tree is already stressed from transplanting.

Mulch maintenance: After the first year, some gardeners annually refresh mulch. If you do, remove old mulch first and compost it, then apply a fresh 2- to 3-inch layer. Never allow mulch to pile against the trunk. "Volcano mulching" (piling mulch higher year after year around the trunk) is a leading cause of tree death; it smothers the root flare and creates conditions for rot and disease.

Ongoing watering: In years two and beyond, most established trees in a landscape setting need no supplemental water except during drought. Check soil moisture during dry periods; if the top 3 to 4 inches are dry, water deeply.

Fertilizer: Trees growing in decent soil do not need fertilizer. If a tree is growing slowly or shows pale foliage after it has been established for a full season, a soil test can identify any deficiency worth addressing. In most cases, boosting organic matter in the soil (via mulch or compost) solves slow growth.

Tags and trunk guards: Remove any tags, labels, or plastic tree guards from the trunk at planting time or soon after. Left on long-term, they can girdle and kill the tree.

Shrub Planting Notes

The same principles apply when planting shrubs. Multi-stemmed shrubs do not have a distinct trunk flare like trees, but they have a "crown" where the stems and roots meet. Position this crown right at the soil surface or slightly above, with the root ball resting on undisturbed soil. Follow the same guidelines for hole width, backfilling, and mulching. Staking is rarely necessary for shrubs unless they are very tall and whip-like or are planted in a windy location.