General Planting Information

Here is a power point presentation of an example of hard area and street tree planting: Tree Planting Guide

To watch a video of how to plant in a garden environment, please see the Barcham Trees Planting Guide Video.

Or if you would prefer an illustrated version, please download and print the new Planting Guide which is listed below.

Treat your Trees with care

• Don’t allow the trees to be thrown around on site
• Store trees out of drying winds and under shade to protect against freezing or over heating

Give your trees the best start...

• Plant trees when soils are moist and free from frost
• Cultivated soils will generally provide a better medium for root development and plant growth
• Dig the planting pit to the correct depth - we recommend up to two times the size of the container that is being planted.
• This ensures that the pit is wide enough for the roots to spread
• Once the pit has been dug, the hole should then be back filled so that the top of the pit is flush with the top of the container
• We recommend you to ’saucer’ the top of your pit to catch over-head watering

Weeds are your trees worst enemies!

• Weeds compete for water and nutrients in the rooting zone of young plants, restricting their growth
• Tall weeds, especially bracken, can collapse and smother young trees
• If using chemicals to weed young trees remember to protect the trees from spray drift
• Maintain a 1 metre diameter weed free spot around the tree, we recommend using bark mulch to help with this in soft landscape situations.

Watering is key .....

• The best thing you can do for a tree is give it the best start by planting it correctly, however it is equally essential that once planted you follow up with an aftercare programme.
• The key to any aftercare programme is watering.
• Regular watering should be commenced early in the year when the weather becomes drier and the tree starts to come into leaf and continue until leaf fall in the autumn.
• It is difficult to determine the exact amount to water trees, as this will vary depend upon the site and weather conditions specific to where the tree is planted.
• Thus sadly it is important to use some common sense in this area and monitor the conditions and act accordingly.
• Newly planted trees should be watered at least 2-3 times a week in the summer time, with at least a full watering can of water.
• Applying water from the top of the planting pit, i.e. using a watering can and rose, is advisable as this allows the water to percolate through the soil slowly and enables the tree to make the most of it.

For further pointers regarding planting, please see the planting section of the FAQ's section.