A Guide to Planning, Planting and Looking After Your Trees

Please read the notes carefully for lots of information on planning and planting your trees.

Marking out:

Mark out your site well so you know exactly where you'll be planting and where trees are once they are planted. It is easy to strim or mow young trees by mistake as they can be surprisingly difficult to see in long grass.

Use stakes or sticks to mark the rows or areas of trees you plan to plant before you start. You can paint the tops white or in a bright colour or tie tape or ribbon to them to make them easy to see.

Storing your trees:

You should plant your trees within a day or two of receiving them if possible.
The trees are bare-rooted – they travel in bags without soil. They are easy to handle and very tough. Don't let the roots dry out and keep them well wrapped in their bags. If the roots look dry splash a little water in to dampen them and wrap them up well again.
The trees are between 40 cm and a metre tall depending on the species. The majority of the trees will be 40-60 cm.
Don't panic if your planting takes longer than planned, or if you need to re-schedule your planting. Keep the trees in a cool, dark place away from sun and frost and they will store in the bags for a week or so very well.
If you need to store trees for longer you can heel them in. Dig a trench or use a flower bed, loosen the soil and set the trees in so that the roots are well covered with soil. Ensure the soil is slightly damp but do not water the trees if there is a threat of frost. Do not tread them in hard, a loose covering of soil will do well, and they are easy to lift out for planting at any stage before the spring.

Planting your trees:

You do not need to dig big holes for each tree. If you have time to go out and dig each spot in advance it'll certainly make the planting easier but if the ground is reasonably clear you can slot or notch plant them: Open a slot in the ground with your spade deep enough for the roots and gently slide the tree in and tread the slot closed around it.

Take care to plant trees at the right depth. You will be able to see a soil mark on the trees at the top of the root collar where they have been lifted from the nursery beds - use this as a guide to help you get the right depth for planting. Ensure that all of the roots are below the ground when planted.

Do make sure to tread in the soil around the trees well so they are firmly in the ground with no air pockets around the roots. Hold the tip of the tree gently to keep it upright and tread all around it with your boot. You want the tree to start life nice and straight, so take care at this stage to get the tree standing upright and not at a wonky angle.

A professional tree planter will plant about 1,000 trees in a day. We find that most people can plant between 50 and 100 trees easily in a day on unprepared ground.

Planting a small woodland area or field copse:

You do not need to put in formal rows of trees though it is easier to keep track of them if you do. You can vary the following spacings to suit yourself and you can plant in small random groups or groves if you like. In any woodland habitat it is beneficial to have some open spaces and some variation in planting density.

For standard woodland planting put your rows 2m apart.
Then space your trees along the rows at between 1.5m and 3.5m depending on your requirements. We recommend 2m spacings for most purposes.
At 1.5m spacings, your woodland will be denser, and your trees will grow straighter and more quickly than at wider spacings. You will need to thin or coppice some trees at between 5 and 15 years to make space and let in light. You should have less weeding to worry about as the trees will shade out the weeds more quickly.
At 3.5m spacings, you will have more weeding to do initially, and your trees will grow more branches and spread out rather than shooting straight up to the light. You will not need to do so much thinning, though you may need to coppice or thin some trees later on.

Planting a hedge:

Hedge Packs will contain a mix of mostly hawthorn, with rowan, hazel, oak and birch mixed through with blackthorn also if supplies allow.
Oak and birch are sent to grown up tall as standard trees over your main thorn hedge below. Rowan and other diverse species can be allowed grow as mini standards if you like. If you prefer they can all be kept trimmed down to the height of the hedge. Set an oak or birch tree every 5m in your hedge.
To make a simple hedge you can put 2 plants per metre in a line, but you need to plant two rows of trees close together to make a proper stock-proof hedge.
For a stock-proof hedge, set trees in a double row 12 inches wide with between 2 and 8 plants per metre. We recommend 4-5 plants per metre.
Stagger the planting along the rows so that you end up with a zig-zag line.

Planting a shelter belt:

If you are planting a shelter belt your pack(s) will contain a mix of hedge and woodland trees - alder, birch, oak, rowan, hawthorn and scots pine. The hedge trees will create a low shelter with the taller trees creating a taller windbreak over time.
A traditional shelter belt is two lines of trees set 2m apart with trees 1.5 or 2 metres apart along the rows.
Stagger the planting so that each row fills the gaps in the previous row.

Planting parkland trees or small groups of trees onto pasture:

Set your trees a good distance apart - at least 10m-15m between trees. This will encourage them to put out plenty of branches to create wide areas of shade and shelter in future.
If you are setting small groups of trees (5 - 15 trees approx) ensure you leave at least 10-15m or more between groups and plant them with 1-2m spacings between trees.
Parkland planting is best with random planting so that you have a natural looking landscape of scattered trees. You can focus more trees on wetter, exposed or poorer areas and leave your best areas of grass open for grazing.
Every tree or group of trees will need protection, especially from cattle. Tube guards will not stand up to cattle rubbing and pushing so you will need to put up proper post and rail or wire guards with plenty of barbed wire to protect the trees. Ensure that guards are tall and wide enough to prevent livestock from reaching over or through to eat trees and so that the trees have room to grow. We recommend 2m x 2m for a proper parkland guard.
Groups of trees can be more easily protected with posts and barb as a ring fence - remember to set the fence at least 1.5-2m back from the trees.

Planting for Water Quality:

Remember that planting near rivers, streams, drains and ditches needs to be done carefully to create a positive impact on water quality and local biodiversity.
Any significant planting of belts or woodlands should be set back at least 20m from rivers and streams. Belts of trees can be set closer to drains and ditches but take care to leave enough room (5m at least) to access the ditches for maintenance.
Smaller numbers of trees can be set closer to streams, rivers, drains and ditches. You want to create a scattered pattern of light and shade across the water so that you never shade more than 50% of the length you are planting.
Plant individual trees and small groups of trees in a random fashion to create a natural look and a variation of open and shaded areas.
Alder does best at the waterside and can be cut to grow again as coppice if it gets too big or is leaning too much over the water.
If you are planting in an SAC near a river or stream, or if you are unsure of any riparian or ditch planting please seek advice by emailing info@treesontheland.com.

Tree guards, stakes and fencing:

We do not supply guards, stakes or fencing with the trees.
If you are planting trees in a safe place where no farm animals or wild animals are likely to get at them, you do not need fencing or tree guards. Mark them out well so you know where they are and let them get on with growing.
Staking the trees themselves is not necessary, they are hardy young trees. They should establish a strong root system over the first few years while they are still small and will grow up straight without the need for support. Adding stakes and ties can interfere with growth and is a lot of hard work and expense for no real gain.
Tall tube tree guards are occasionally useful but they will not protect trees against cattle, sheep or horses rubbing and pushing them. They must be very well staked not to fall over and take the tree with them and must be removed when the tree starts to grow out of them as they can stifle growth and cause kinks in an otherwise straight tree. If you have deer about, a tall 1.8m guard with two strong stakes will protect the trees.
Spiral rabbit guards are good if you have short grass and lots of rabbits. Usually one spiral can be cut into two and wrapped around the bottom of the tree without a stake to protect the first 50 or 60cm of the tree.
If you have put in new fencing remember to set back your planting as the trees will eventually ruin your fence or the fence will ruin your trees. Either way, you'll have trouble untangling them so best to leave plenty of space. If you have livestock remember to set your fence back at least 1.5m (ideally 2m) from the trees to prevent animals from reaching over or through the fence - you’ll be surprised how far they can reach!
For cattle, a single or double line of barbed wire or electric fence will do well - remember to set trees at least 1.5m-2m back from any fencing.

Mulching:

You do not need to worry about adding compost, fertiliser or mulch to your trees or planting holes. The trees will put down good roots to reach nutrients and water in the ground - too much goodness at planting can encourage the trees to use the nutrients you have provided near the surface rather than finding their own sources deeper down.

Mulching with cardboard, hessian mats, woodchip, straw etc. can help to keep weeds down in the early years. Mulching will keep down weed and grass competition and result in faster-growing trees initially, but it can be a disadvantage where you have pests like rabbits, hares and deer - do read the notes below about the benefits of weeds and grasses sheltering young trees.

Weeding:

Brambles, nettles, thistles and other common weeds all deter grazing and browsing animals and others who may trample or eat your trees (rabbits, hares, deer etc.). They are a cost-effective alternative to barbed wire and plastic tree guards and will protect and shelter your trees if you let them.

Weeds and grasses will compete with young trees for nutrients and light and the trees will grow more slowly on account of this during the first few years. Under the ground however they will be establishing strong roots which will serve them well in future and they will make use of the valuable shelter provided by the weeds. After a couple of years, the trees will put roots below the grass/weed layer and you will find they take off and grow up fast, quickly shading out the worst of the weeds.

In general we advise a session once or twice a year to push or pull and trample any tall weeds that are falling or hanging over the trees as these can cause trees to lean or fork. This is also a good opportunity to take a head count and note any failures.

If you would like very neat trees you can mow along your paths and edges and do plenty of hand weeding. You can also spread woodchip, straw, cardboard or compost as mulch around the trees which will keep off the weeds for a year or so. Beware of too much mulch - it encourages roots close to the surface to look for easy nutrients and it can temporarily take nutrients out of the soil while it is being broken down causing trees to struggle.

It is easy to spend a lot of money and energy on mulching and weeding – remember that if you can see every tree you have planted, then so can rabbits and deer and other troublemakers. Rabbits particularly hate to push through tall wet grass and prefer to graze short lawns, so they will be put off by grass and weeds hiding your trees.

We advise not to use weedkiller or glyphosate sprays to kill weeds around the trees. Killing the weeds exposes the soil and the trees to wind, drought and other weather and leaves them clear for browsing animals to see. Glyphosate damages mycorrhizal fungi in soil and deters other important soil organisms and earthworms which contribute to strong and resilient tree and woodland establishment. While the trees may do well after spraying in terms of height growth, due to reduced competition for nutrients, they are more vulnerable to young windblow on account of their immature root systems. Young tree or woodland habitats will likely be colonised by other plants, wildflowers and wildlife - spraying takes away much of the material for this and will slow the overall natural establishment of the area.