Best time to plant a tree? Probably now

Planting a tree is one of the best things you can do to help the planet, and these days it’s gotten easier. There’s a better understanding now of what trees need, includingwhen they should generally be planted (the fall)

hy plant trees? It’s wellknown that treesmitigate global warming by taking in and storing carbon dioxide. Their shade can cool things down in summer. As windbreaks, they can slow heat loss. Their beauty and delicious fruits and nuts are other perks.

Experts used to recommend planting trees in spring. But that’s changed formost species.

With spring planting, there’s a danger that stems can start to grow before the roots are established in the ground. Fall planting helps avoid that. Stems can’t grow until they have experienced a winter’s worth of cold. Roots, on the other hand, grow whenever the soil temperature is above about 40 degrees, so they can still make use of summer’s lingering heat in the ground.

Best techniques are also the easiest

Smaller nursery trees establish more quickly in their new homes than larger ones, and usually outgrow them.

But you don’t need to dig as deep as conventional wisdom has held. New research shows that tree roots take hold best in a cone-shaped planting hole only 2 to 3 times the diameter of the root ball, and no deeper than necessary to stand. the plant at the same levelW as it stood at the nursery. Or higher, if a mound is needed for improved drainage. The shallow hole sets plants on a firm base of undisturbed soil that won’t settle with time.

The practice of dumping gravel or some other coarse material into the bottom of the planting hole to help drain away excess water is another dated notion. What results is the opposite of what was intended. A “perched” water table forms above the layer of gravel; it doesn’t drain until the upper layer becomes saturated.

Yet another myth that can be laid to rest is the recommendation to mix plenty of compost or other organic materials into the soil from the planting hole. The idea was to create a fluffy, rich substrate for the developing roots. But if you were a young root growing in such a place, would you ever want to leave? No. Spread compost and other

LEE REICH VIA AP This undated photo shows Japanese and sugar maple trees in Bryn Mawr, Penn. Trees benefit our planet in so many ways, as well as providing us humans with beauty, food and shade.