{"id":75,"date":"2022-02-14T09:19:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T14:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/?p=75"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:15:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:15:53","slug":"how-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-properly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/2022\/02\/how-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-properly\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Plant Trees and Shrubs Properly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I know it sounds pretty simple, but it is probably the thing that is most often done improperly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It sounds pretty simple, but it is probably the thing that is most often done improperly.&nbsp; I will even say that I don\u2019t do it exactly like it the experts recommend.&nbsp; However, if you take a little time at planting, you can help insure a happy healthy tree or shrub for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The first thing to consider is the trees mature size.&nbsp; How big will it be when fully grown?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8211;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When large trees are planted in small spaces they require much more intensive management and usually don\u2019t live as long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planting Procedures<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Site Selection (what do we need to consider?), and Soil Testing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Root Spacing &#8211; Figure out DBH at 7, 15, or 25 and multiply by 2.25 to determine rooting area<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The entire rooting area should be tilled (not usually going to happen)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Making the planting hole.&nbsp; The hole should be 3 times larger than the root ball with a soil pedestal, and slanted sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">5.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Planting Depth should be no greater than what it was in the pot or in the nursery and most often it is better to plant too shallow than too deep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">6.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Break up root ball and loosen roots.&nbsp; Look for roots that are twisting or growing inward.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">**Do not add too many soil amendments to the planting hole, use them as mulches after planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">**Never apply fertilizer in the planting hole<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">**Water rings should be larger than the root ball and removed 2<sup>nd<\/sup> year<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">**Mulch should be 2x larger than planting hole<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">**Additional planting (flowering annuals) should be delayed until the tree is established (3-7 years)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I know it sounds pretty simple, but it is probably the thing that is most often done improperly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions\/298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/gardener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}