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The planting of a tree is the best thing done to make the world a better place. I don’t care where you live, planting a tree can only make it better but knowing when to plant it ensures your investment survives to provide you, wildlife and the neighborhood the great pleasure that only a tree can give.
When purchasing a tree they can come in three distinct ways, bare-root, potted or balled and bagged. If the tree is bare-root it most likely came to you by mail-order from such a place as the National Arbor Day Society or Stark Brother’s which has a great selection of fruit trees as well as shade, ornamental and nut trees. Buying by mail-order leaves all the guess work out. They send you the dormant tree at the proper planting time for your area, usually fall or spring. A dormant tree is considered by some more likely to survive transplanting but with diligent care the others can also grow fine.
As soon as the tree arrives instructions tell you to allow it to soak for a few hours in water before planting. This relieves some of the stress the tree may have experienced in shipping. Check for broken branches and prune any away. Then you should prepare the planting hole assuming you’ve decided where you want it. Remember, placement is just as important as what kind of tree and when to plant it.
With a potted tree bought from a nursery these, unfortunately, are available at all times of the year. Being in a pot for an extended amount of time could be hard on a tree. Before purchasing any gently pull it out of the container. If it pops out with ease and looks root-bound you might want to look for another one. But if the rest of it looks healthy even the root-bound tree can be a fine choice if you score the roots with a sharp knife and loosen the roots a good bit before planting. This encourages the roots to seek out new territory establishing the tree once safely planted.
In the same category of potted trees is the tree wrapped in burlap, the balled and bagged tree as some call it. These trees have been dug with enough of the original planting medium to make a nice, big and at times pretty darn heavy root ball. Once these are transplanted the tree should barely feel any difference to where it had been growing before it was so rudely uprooted. It is supposed to be the least traumatic for the tree to be balled and bagged. Only the tree can tell you for certain if in fact it does well.
Spring time is the best, I have found, for planting trees no matter the method they were brought to you, although autumn is preferred by some folks. They like to think the tree can establish itself well before going dormant and winter sets in. Nice in theory but it never works well for me living in a place where there is barely an autumn before the snow starts flying. I found that evergreen trees, Scotch and white Pines, Colorado Blue Spruce and Arborvitae, among others, all do great when planted in the fall. Evergreens never really go dormant (some, like my Blue Rug Junipers, grow continually through the winter). But as autumn is the time of year, at least where I live, when the weather cools substantially, planting evergreen trees then works well. There is less moisture evaporation through leaves, or needles in this case, and less stress due to too bright a sun shining down on them. Autumn usually has a good amount of rainfall too, which helps a good deal.
Trees planted in the spring have an abundant amount of time to grow their roots, branches and leaves all spring and summer and into the autumn before it has to brace itself for the winter. All this makes the tree stronger and a stronger healthier tree will survive the rigors of winter far better.
In the tropics where nothing goes dormant and everything grows double time planting is best done in the early morning hours before the sun is out. Temporary shading helps too. Providing a good amount of water is essential to eliminate wilting and stress.
In temperate and all other areas and if all else fails, check your good quality garden centers for the time when they first start receiving shipments of trees in the spring and check landscapers for their planting schedules. That will tell you definitively when it is the best time in your specific area to plant a tree. Experts are experts for a reason, you know.
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Author Bio Box: Glory Lennon
 To find more on gardening visit
http://www.helium.com/user/show/32782.
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