SiLOSSiLOS

Plant it right, or plant it twice

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sapling in a pot
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1Find the flare before you dig

The root flare is the bulge where trunk becomes roots. It needs to end up level with, or slightly above, the surrounding soil — nursery trees often arrive with extra soil piled over it from years of being potted up, so you may have to dig into the root ball itself to find it before you even measure the hole.

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2The hole is wider than you think, not deeper

Dig the hole three to five times the diameter of the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball itself — a too-deep hole just gives the tree room to settle lower over time, burying the flare you just spent ten minutes finding.

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3Mulch it like a doughnut, not a volcano

Two to three inches of mulch out to the drip line, never piled against the trunk. Bark held wet against wood is what invites rot, bark beetles and rodents — the exact opposite of what you were trying to do.

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4The watering schedule that actually matters

Water daily for the first one to two weeks, then every two to three days through week twelve, then weekly after that until the roots are established — and don't assume rain counts unless it's a real storm, over an inch in a day.

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5Establishment takes longer than the receipt suggests

A tree with a one-inch trunk caliper takes about 12 to 18 months to fully re-establish its root system; a four-inch caliper tree can take four to six years. The bigger, more impressive tree you bought is the one that needs the most patience.

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