“Don’t plant your tree/shrub too deeply in the ground” is something I repeat daily, because it’s the reason so many plants under-perform or die.

I realized from a discussion with a customer that his logic for planting deeply made sense.  He said after a newly planted tree blew over he thought placing several inches of dirt on top of the root ball would help keep it from blowing over.  And he’s right, the tree will be less likely to blow over, however it will likely die if planted this way.  A better option is to stake newly planted trees if there is risk of them blowing over.

CAUTION!   leaving a tree tightly staked for too long can cause the tree trunk to become weak and unable to hold the weight of the tree when un-staked.  Please read our Staking Trees blog for more info on this.

I frequently write about the proper way to plant a tree/shrub in the newsletter to help get the word out and the cashiers are now distributing planting instructions when a plant purchase is made. We want to do everything we can to help your plants bring you years of enjoyment.