When is the BEST time to plant trees?

March through December is an excellent time and very acceptable time to plant trees. Since our trees have up to 100% of their roots included, they can be safely planted throughout the year.

All of our trees are grown above ground in the tree bags, so the ground soil temperatures are actually cooler in the heat of summer and the soil is warmer in the colder months.

Our root-pruned trees can be safely planted almost any time of the year, as long as the ground is not deeply frozen and they are properly planted with proper soil preparation and kept hydrated regularly.

The root-pruned trees arrive with up to 100% of their roots included and are fully prepared to grow and survive. Proper planting with soil amendments (good top soil, organic compost and fertilizer), location, and watering are the most important factors.

How to Plant Trees

Planting trees is not difficult, and we are often asked how to properly plant trees by industry pros all of the time. The planting process is very important to do properly for the future health and survivability of the trees.

Medium drained soil is generally best for trees. Amending (mixing) clay soils 25% – 30% thoroughly with a lighter compost or organic matter under and around the rootball to lighten up the soil and add air and water porosity is very important. Roots need oxygen to breathe and grow. Sitting water around a tree’s root system is very detrimental to a tree.

The size of the planting hole is determined by the size of the rootball. Dig the hole at least 8-10 inches wider and 2 inches deeper than the rootball. Remember that tree roots generally grow horizontally in the top 12″-15″ of the soil. This added space around the rootball is primarily where the mixed or ‘amended’ soil goes to add nutrients for the tree.

Wet the empty hole. Remove (cut off) the tree bag, and keep the tree rootball well watered before placing the tree in the hole. By doing this you are placing a moist rootball into moist soil to lessen the planting shock. Taller trees over 6′ will need staking to prevent from blowing over in high winds.

The planting depth of the tree is also critical. Never plant a tree too deep! If you plant the tree at the same soil depth as you see on top of the rootball (or better yet, slightly higher) and you will be fine. The goal is to keep the root flare (where the tree trunk base widens at the roots) above the soil.

Adding 2″ layer of mulch above the soil in a 36″ circle or larger around the tree trunk above the rootball helps retain moisture and keeps the hot sun or wind from drying out the soil. Be sure to not pile mulch up around the tree trunk.

Watering a newly planted tree is critical to the tree’s survival. We recommend watering a 2′ radius (4′ circumference) with a hose around the tree as needed every other day for the first 45 – 60 days. Depending on the time of year and weather, each tree should take 2 minutes of a shower spray directly to the soil around a 4′ circumference base of the tree.

Remember, the tree rootball has many hundreds of tender feeder roots in a well drained organic mix, so it will absorb the water quickly on hot or windy days, but it also drains quickly and must be replenished regularly.

What are air root-pruned trees?

Air root-pruning occurs when a tree seedling’s root tips come into contact with either the holes in a specially designed air root-pruning pot… or the fabric sides of a root-pruning tree bag which stops the root tip ends from growing thus encouraging even more numerous secondary and lateral roots to take over and grow.

This means that now you have far more healthy feeder roots to support the growth and survivability of the tree.

We start and continue to grow all of our thousands of trees above ground in the special ‘patented’ pots and tree bags that truly shock most industry veterans when they see the number of healthy roots that are included with each tree.

After one growing season, our larger tree seedlings are then re-potted into larger 7, 10, or 15 gallon root-pruning tree bags which then continue the root-pruning process until it grows into a much larger tree several years later.

This unique growing method encourages each root tip to then be replaced by many others… offering ‘exponentially’ far more roots… thus creating a very healthy root base with ‘many hundreds, or thousands’ of healthy white feeder roots producing a very robust tree ready to take off and adapt quickly when planted in your planting site.

Yes, it is more labor intensive for us, but our trees and customers benefit significantly. We do most of the hard work… for you.

It is important to understand that these specially designed and ‘patented’ pots and tree bags are fully designed to prevent circling or girdling roots… that smooth wall pots do not.

How easy are your trees to plant?

Our trees are significantly lighter, and easier to lift, and plant. They are grown in a custom growing mix which encourages more drainage and better root growth.

Our trees with root-pruned systems have up to 100% of their many feeder roots included and quickly start growing in their new environment within a couple of weeks. It is important to water the root ball and a 4′ circumference every other day in hot weather until the tree is well established for 45 – 60 days.

It is also important to remember that the tree was grown in a well-drained custom mix so you want to make sure that you water the root ball… plus the surrounding soil well every two days to give the roots something to reach for.

How large are your 10 & 15 gallon trees vs. 2″ or 2.5″ caliper B&B trees?

Our 1 1/2″ to 2″ caliper tree’s root systems will typically outperform larger 2 1/2″ caliper B&B trees in just one to two years after proper planting and watering because our trees have up to 100% of their roots included.

Think about it. You are buying a healthy tree with up to 100% of its roots, that is lighter and easier to plant, and will experience little-to-no transplant shock, because it has close to 100% of its tender feeder roots included. Whereas, the typical B&B tree lost up to 85%-90% of its roots when dug from the ground.

We specialize in growing trees that thrive and survive.

What is the difference between your air root-pruned trees and the standard B&B trees?

The traditional nursery grower plants their seedlings in the ground, which is certainly a great place to grow trees.

However, the challenge is in properly harvesting those trees from the ground… while also including all of the root system.

According to horticulture scientists, up to 85% – 90% of the fine feeder roots are cut off when B&B deciduous trees are dug from the ground.

Not only does this leave the B&B tree highly stressed, it has 85%-90% fewer roots to feed itself and the tree is under significant duress for 4 – 5 years trying to overcome this loss while now also trying to grow, and survive.

Root-pruned trees grown in the proper containers or tree bags offer up to 100% of the roots, plus a far more developed root system with literally thousands of fine feeder roots ready to take off and grow when planted… with little-to-no transplant shock to the tree!

It is very important to distinguish between root-pruning pots and regular smooth sided plastic pots (smooth sided plastic pots Do Not prune roots), and can create circling or girdling roots. Real air root-pruned trees have a beautiful and very fibrous root system second-to-none!

Do you charge for delivery?

Many of our customers are large wholesale buyers who buy their trees in bulk, and bring their own equipment (and labor) to select, wrap & load up their tree purchases.

All deliveries require careful hand selection to meet our customer’s requirements, and a lot of time and special handling of the trees from the field to be wrapped, loaded, and protected. Then we drive to deliver our trees to the customer’s location.

Many of our trees are 8′ – 12′ tall and require a truck and special handling and covers to protect the trees during transit.

We are very happy to deliver our trees to you, but there are transportation costs plus the labor and time (hours) it takes us away from looking after tending our many thousands of trees still in production as well as our other customers who also need our attention.

We do our very best to keep everyone happy!

Are you growers, or resellers?

We are dedicated growers and grow over 90% of our trees from propagated seedlings, so we literally know every tree and its growth history. Many nurseries and garden centers are resellers and are selling someone else’s product with limited knowledge of the growth and health history of the trees.

Our healthy and hard-to-find trees with amazing root systems are very reasonably priced after we spend the 2-5 years of extra effort, time, and special attention to grow very healthy trees for you, our customer. At Brandywine Trees you are buying direct from the grower!