Ultimate Tree Care Guide for the Mid-Atlantic U.S. (Infographic)

So you’d like to plant a tree in your yard. That’s awesome. We can’t have enough trees.

But before you start digging a hole, you’ll need to know a few details about how to plant your tree, how to take care of it as a seedling, and of course, which species of tree to plant.

How do I know which tree is right for me?

To whittle down the list a little, choose a native tree for your region. Native trees have adapted to weather conditions and rainfall in your area, and are more likely to survive weather extremes and drought than a tree native to a different hardiness zone. For instance, a palm tree is not a wise choice to plant in Maine. Additionally, native trees support wildlife – especially birds – more readily than non-natives.

To narrow the list further, decide why you want to plant the tree. For instance, shading a yard, or as an eye-catching specimen in the front of your home? Or perhaps both?

To narrow the list further still, does the tree you’re considering like wet soil or fast draining soil? Will it do well in a wide open area or does it prefer a little shelter?

And lastly, what is the mature height of the tree? If you have phone and utility wires running above the tree at 15 feet, that tree’s height better max out at 13 feet, or utility crews will be topping it off or carving holes through the foliage until they kill it. Similarly, you don’t want to choose a monster of a tree and plant it too close to your home. In 10-20 years, it may be towering over your roof and its roots boring into your foundation.

These considerations should narrow your list to 12-15 species, which makes your choice a lot easier. Then you can decide on shape, foliage, color and texture of bark, fruiting or non-fruiting, and other attributes. After all, you’re going to be looking at that tree for decades to come, so you better like it.

How to plant and care for a tree

Most trees fail because the landscaper didn’t plant the tree correctly or take care of it properly in its first few years. As a rule-of-thumb, the planting hole should be almost as deep as the root ball, and 2-3 times as wide. Years ago it was suggested that the hole should initially be dug deeper than this and then filled with a mixture of soil and compost, but recent research has discovered that this is actually detrimental to the tree.

The majority of early root activity – growth and nutrient absorption – occurs in the top 12 inches of the soil. Tap roots and large anchoring roots will do just fine if left to their own devices and not helped along by loose soil and too many convenient nutrients. Turns out that trees are a lot like people – they’ll eat where the food is easiest to find, and if that’s inside a small planting hole, that’s exactly where the roots will stay. Obviously, that leads to a weakly rooted tree, and come hurricane season, it may uproot and land on top of your car. So when you see that the tree is the proper height above the soil line, just put the original soil back in the hole.

When planting the tree, create a short pedestal on the bottom of the hole for the root ball to stand on. This will keep the tree from sinking in the soil. If the tree ends up planted too deeply the tree may rot, as the bark at the soil line will be consistently wet. This is especially true of grafted trees, whose graft point must remain about 2 inches above the soil line.

After the tree is planted, it requires consistent water for the first season. That is, make sure it’s deeply watered at least every 4 days, whether by you or Mother Nature. Deep watering means gallons of water – enough to thoroughly saturate the surrounding soil and the root ball below the surface.

The infographic below is the ultimate tree care guide for planting most trees, but is geared for those who live in the mid-atlantic portion of the U.S., from Virginia through New York state. It’s been provided by our friends at Growing Earth.