When you're making necessary purchases with your Treecard, you're planting trees and investing in the environment at no extra cost to you 🌳💚 But if you want to get your hands dirty & start planting on your own too 🌱, here's the 10 tips you should keep in mind 🤗🌲

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1. Give your trees space 👐

For each tree, dig a hole at least twice as wide as the root ball and roughly as deep as the tree planting pots before transplanting.

Leave at least ten feet between small trees, twenty feet between medium trees, and thirty to fifty feet between large trees.

2. Check the drainage 💦

Fill the planting hole with water and check the drainage. Most trees need well-drained soil to prevent root rot.

3. Avoid pruning if possible 🙅

Pruning the leaves can stunt root growth, so do so sparingly and only if absolutely necessary.

4. Remove any debris from the roots 🗑

If the root ball is in a burlap bag, remove it so the roots can grow freely and water can circulate easily. Throw away any other debris such as wire, pieces of plastic, packaging, or twine.

5. Don’t plant your trees too deep 👀

When you plant a tree in the planting hole, make sure the root system is either flush with or slightly above ground level. Planting your trees too deep can hinder their chances of survival.

6. Fill the planting hole 🕳

Use the same soil that came out of the hole, making sure there are no air pockets, and use water to settle the soil. Avoid packing down the soil manually, as this may damage the roots.

Consult an arborist about whether your tree needs a stake or not (this depends on the type of tree). If it does, the stake must be removed after one year.

7. Add organic mulch 🪵

Mulching helps keep the young tree healthy by maintaining the soil moist, keeping the temperature steady, and preventing weeds from growing. As it decomposes, it adds nutrients to the soil. Leaf litter, pine bark, and wood chips all make good mulch.

Spread the mulch all around the base of the tree without touching the trunk, otherwise, it will rot.

8. Water your tree 💧

A newly planted sapling should be watered regularly for the first two years. Make sure your tree babies get six to eight gallons of water per trunk diameter inch per week.

If your tree trunk’s diameter is 3 inches, for example, your tree would need roughly 21 gallons of water per week.

9. Protect your tree ⧚

Consider using wire fencing to prevent damage from animals and humans that might kill your tree.

10. Don’t fertilize your tree (yet) 🌱

Avoid fertilizing during the tree’s first growing season as the nitrogen could burn the roots and slow growth. Start adding fertilizer from your tree’s second spring.