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Planting a tree is a wonderful experience, and helps enhance the beauty of the earth we live on. But care and forethought should be exercised in advance to help insure that each tree can reach its full potential.

In general, it’s best to try to plant young trees if you can. It’s certainly possible to plant a mature tree, but it’s very difficult to do for the average homeowner, and very expensive to pay for if you hire someone to do it for you. If it is necessary to have a mature tree for any reason, then it may justify the expense. But otherwise planting smaller trees that can grow into your home landscaping design may be your best solution.

The best time of year to plant trees is the springtime. The second-best time of year is late fall or even winter. You may choose to plant a young tree during the summer, but if so, then be sure to use one of the new wilt-proof sprays that help the leaves avoid moisture loss until the roots get well established. And if you are planting a tree that is taller than 6 ft., try to make sure that it’s moved with a burlap root ball to protect the roots.

Preparing the soil is extremely important for both tree and shrub planting. Generally speaking, it’s good to dig a hole about 2 ft. deep and about a foot wider in each direction than the full spread of the trees roots. Then make sure that the soil at the bottom of the whole is loosened quite a bit and is mixed with peat, loam, and fertilizer, before placing the tree in the hole. If for any reason you come across a layer of hard clay or building rubble as you dig your hole, be sure to remove a good portion of a that material and substitute in its place good soil that will promote growth for the tree right away. If you fail to do this, a new tree will most often not be able to get the nutrients that it needs and stands a good chance of dying.

A lot of people overuse manure as they feel that a lot ot it will benefit the tree. However manure should only be used sparingly on the top of the tree hole and not around the roots, as it can actually burn the tree instead.

For planting seedlings that are not balled in burlap, it’s a good idea to protect it before planting by giving it a mud bath, or puddling it. This protects the roots from exposure to the air before planting. When you have dug the hole to the proper depth for the seedling, fill the hole with water to allow the soil to settle at the bottom. Once the water is drained, then put the tree in position and apply the soil and settle at around the tree’s roots. Be sure to work the soil in closely to the roots, and don’t allow air pocket’s to develop in the hole. When the hole is two thirds full, pack it with soil tightly again and fill with water. Then go ahead and fill the soil up to ground level afterward.

Planting a balled tree root is somewhat easier because the root ball is being held in place by the burlap. So dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball and plant immediately. If the ground is dry when planting, fill the hole with water and let it soak in well before you actually insert the tree. Once the tree is in position, cut the top of the burlap and roll it back a few inches. It will eventually rot away into the soil that way.

After the first year, cultivate the tree as much as you can and keep weeds away by applying straw or mulch in both the spring and fall. This will also help keep moisture in the ground as well.

By following the guidelines listed here in this article you should be able to plant any tree correctly and successfully, and enjoy it’s beauty for years to come.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including home improvement. You can find free landscaping ideas and front yard landscaping ideas by visiting our Home Improvement website.

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How do you create flower garden ideas? Let me count the ways.

Take garden tours. There is no substitute for actually seeing gardens in the flesh. I routinely take one or two tours every spring and summer just to see what I don’t like.

Read magazines. These dead-tree monthlies are full of pictures of great gardens. How else do you think they market their products ? I go to a bookstore and browse the racks. No, I don’t subscribe to any because (quite frankly) I get most of my raw information from the Net. But I do get some interesting design ideas from magazines.

Check out books. If you flip through pages of garden design books, (while you’re in the bookstore) you’re going to see tons of examples of great gardens. In fact, many of these gardens are unreal they are so perfect but you’ll get great ideas.

Let me quickly tell you that pictures in magazines and books are often “staged”. I mean that the magazines hire professional photographers and crews to “improve” the look of the garden. Extra flowers are brought in and tucked in to make the garden appear fuller. A bit of garden whimsy is added here - a potted plant is tucked there and suddenly.. what was a good garden becomes just a little more special in the eyes of the camera. For the next shot, flowers are moved, statuary adjusted and once again, the look of the garden changes. And you get a great looking garden magazine picture.

The internet is a tough place to find pictures of great looking gardens. I tend to write about individual plants (the how-to of plants) but am moving towards design items (I wrote a paper book on Perennial Garden Design) and incorporating more real pictures in my website. One of the practical problems of course is that most of our garden photography is on slides and it takes a lot of work to transfer these to digital images. But this is about getting you good flower garden ideas not about the problems of garden writers.

Sign up for my newsletter. You’ll find I routinely talk about design or about parts of design in abstract terms. I can’t solve your design problems but I do try to give ideas. Also sign up for my blog at http://doug-greens-gardening.blogspot.com/, you’ll find I talk more about garden design over there as I run into elements of light and space in my own gardens.

Doug Green award winning garden author has written 7 books and answers questions in his free gardening newsletter at http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/gardeningnewsletter.html.

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Evergreen trees and shrubs are generally more expensive than their counterparts, although many feel that they are well worth the extra expense not only for their year-round beauty, but also their reliability and longevity. Evergreens can range all the way from broadleaved shrubs like rhododendron to the tall pines and spruces that many people think of as simply “evergreens”.

Perhaps the most common of evergreen trees is the pine. It’s noted for its long, soft needles and its rapid growth. In fact, they often attain 60 to 80 ft. maturity very quickly.Red pine is popular as well and useful for creating textured backgrounds and windbreaks. The Ponderosa pine is a more compact tree that is often used for wind protection and ornamental purposes. The Austrian or black pine, with its spreading branches is very commonly used in the Midwest.

Perhaps the most widely planted evergreen that is used for a windbreak is the Norway spruce tree. It grows very fast, it’s very hardy, has short dark green needles, and is shaped like a pyramid. The Black Hills spruce tree is also very tough and resistant to drought. It grows much slower than the Norway spruce but can still achieve a height of 40 ft. in time.

White spruce on the other hand, can mature close to 60 to 70 ft. in height and is often used in landscaping designs. Colorado blue spruce is generally hardy, however it does suffer some in extreme heat and drought conditions.

Red Cedar is perhaps the most popular of the evergreen Cedar trees. It’s often used as an ornamental tree for both hedges and windbreaks. It tends to be very tough and hardy, and takes winter very well.

Perhaps the best overall Evergreen tree for windbreaks and screening is the Douglas fir tree. It’s hardy and drought resistant, grows fast, has a pyramid shape, and looks great in most landscape designs. The Balsam fir, which is also known as the Christmas tree, is well-known for its fragrance and unique appearance. On the other hand, the white fir tree has an attractive silver color instead.

The Juniper family of Evergreen trees is often used in planting, with the tall types such as the upright Juniper being used as a textured background, and the spreading types like the Pfitzer juniper being used for groundcover and edgings.

Yew, has thick glossy needles and upward reaching branches, and can be used as both a shrub and a tree. In fact, they can even grow well in sun and shade, making it one of the most versatile evergreens.

Evergreens as a whole can be adversely affected by hot, dry weather conditions and need to be watered every couple of weeks or so at this time. Be sure to water it enough so that the moisture will reach deep into the ground at least 6 in. or so. Applying a layer of mulch in dry weather can also help protect against moisture loss during this period.

It’s a good idea to prune evergreens in the late spring just before the new buds appear. And in the late fall give them a good deep watering to help prevent the branches drying out and cracking under the weight of snow or the force of wind during the winter.

As you can see, there are a lot of varieties of evergreen trees that accomplish many different tasks in a home landscaping design. Hopefully this article will help you choose the one that will work best for your home and help you care for it properly too.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including home improvement. You can find free landscaping ideas and front yard landscaping ideas by visiting our Home Improvement website.

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