- Keep roots moist after purchase. You may soak roots in water for 24 hours prior to planting.
- Choose a location with good drainage and six or more hours of direct sun. Keep away from invasive roots of other trees and shrubs.
- Dig a hole deep enough to hold the roots without bending, and twice as wide as the root ball. Wider is better than deep. Too deep a hole may result in future sinkage.
- If gophers are a problem, use a gopher basket.
- Amend the soil to increase drainage, but do not over amend. The roots will need to live in the “real world”. A ratio of 25 to 50 % good quality planting compost to native soil is about right. Rough up the sides of the hole.
- Soak the hole with water.
- Carefully place tree in hole. Fill with amended soil. Tamp gently to eliminate air pockets. Soil level should be halfway between the roots and the graft. (The graft union should be 2”-4” above the soil.)
- Make basin with remaining soil to hold water.
- Keep your new tree well watered throughout its first year.
- Keep mulch away from the immediate trunk area.
- Enjoy your new tree
