It would be great if we could just poke a small sapling into the ground and watch it grow into a majestic, shade-providing asset to our property. It takes a little more than that to make sure a tree grows up healthy and strong — but not much more! Check out these 7 simple steps to planting a healthy tree: 

1. Choose a variety of tree suitable to your local climate. Make sure you are planting a tree that is viable for your part of the state. Check with a local arborist to see what trees do well in your area.

2. Dig the hole no deeper than the root ball of the tree and twice as wide. Digging too deep of a hole causes the roots to work harder to find water and nutrients. Give the roots a strong base to grow. 

3. Fill the empty hole up with water and monitor the drain rate. If your hole has a slow drain over a 24-36 hour period, it's probably not a good location, as it will drown out tree roots.

4. Plant a little bit high. Planting the root collar just above natural grade helps give roots some room to naturally find their way. Planting too deep will compact roots and is a leading cause of early tree death. 

5. Make sure there are no foreign materials in the root ball, such as burlap. Gently remove any foreign materials. If the burlap is stuck around the root ball and can't be removed, make small slits allowing roots to grow out. 

6. Gently backfill the hole with the same soil you took out of the hole. Tightly compacting during refill can damage smaller fine roots. 

7. Prune new trees as little as possible. Remove only those areas of the tree that are broken and look exceptionally unhealthy. Removing healthy portions of canopy can significantly stunt the growth of a new tree.

Now is the best time to plant new trees in your landscaping while they are still dormant and have plenty of moisture. We're offering 10% off the material cost of our Ball and Burlap Trees now through April 30, 2020! Give us a call at 828-684-8050 to take advantage of this special spring deal.