Planting your tree

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• The best two planting periods of the year are during April/May, and October/November.

• I strongly discourage planting your tree outside of these two planting windows, as harsh winters and hot summers can often impact the health of your tree when it’s freshly planted and most vulnerable.

• Using a shovel, remove the top layer of grass from the surface of the soil where you plan to plant your Century Tree seedling. Discard this grass.

• Dig a hole twice as deep and twice as wide as the root ball of your seedling. Reserve the “native soil” that you’re digging up in your wheel barrow.

• Mix one or two bags of garden soil with the native soil in your wheelbarrow. Use a shovel to make sure the soils are fully integrated together.

• Backfill your hole with a few scoops of your new soil mixture. Use the shovel handle to pack the soil mixture by poking the handle downward into the soil — the idea is to pack the soil so the seedling won’t settle as much once water is added.

• Turn to your seedling, and thump the container several times along the sides and bottom using your hand or a block of wood. This will separate the roots from the container walls and make the root ball easier to remove.

• Use scissors or a knife to cut the twine that ties the gray Root Cap to the container. Remove both the twine and the Root Cap.

• Spread the fingers of your non-dominant hand and place them palm- down on top of the container, with the stem of the tree nestled between your third and fourth fingers. This hand will be “catching” the root ball and tree once you remove it from the container.

• Using your dominant hand, flip the container upside down. The root ball should drop gently into your other hand.

• Toss the container aside and use both hands to gently lower the root ball into the planting hole, placing it onto the packed soil mixture.

• VERY IMPORTANT: THE AMOUNT OF PACKED SOIL MIXTURE SHOULD ALLOW THE ROOT BALL TO SIT AT THE CORRECT HEIGHT.

Check the location of the top of the root ball relative to the soil surface around the hole. (Is it higher or lower than the ground around it?) You want to make sure the top of the root ball is slightly ABOVE the surface of the surrounding ground. If your root ball is too low, you might need to remove it, set it carefully aside, and add more of your soil mixture to the base of the hole, repacking to create a higher base for your seedling. Continue this until your root ball is slightly higher than the ground around it.

• Once the soil mixture is packed high enough for your root ball to sit at the correct height, place the root ball in the hole and add scoops of your soil mixture around the sides. Pack it down with the shovel handle, being careful NOT to damage the root ball in the process.

• Continue adding and packing soil mixture around the sides of the root ball until your hole has been refilled.

• Turn on your garden hose until a slow trickle of water is achieved. Water the soil around the root ball until it is completely saturated and muddy. Use the shovel handle to continue packing down the wet soil while you water the area. Once this is completed, turn off the faucet and move the garden hose away.

• Do a final check to make sure your tree’s stem is straight and vertical in the planting hole. Tilt the root ball as needed in the wet soil to make sure the stem is aligned vertically, and be sure that there’s a good seal between the soil mixture and the sides of the root ball.

• Once you’ve planted your tree, add a two-inch thick layer of hardwood mulch on top of the muddy soil in the planting hole. Create a mulch circle around the tree stem that’s roughly 18-24 inches in diameter. The mulch helps conserve the soil’s moisture, adds nutrients back to the soil, and discourages grass from growing around your planted tree, competing for valuable nutrients.