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Tree Planting Guide

Anchor 3

 

Sapling pick-up dates (spring 2026)

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Please text Mark (845) 668-0750 with what date & time works for you to pick up your saplings from us at

5 Madeline Lane, Rosendale, NY 12472

If you would like them delivered - let us know. 

We are happy to plant them with you too, if we can schedule the time.

 

Pickup Options - 

  • At Rhinebeck Earth Day @ Thompson-Mazzarella Park Saturday 4/25 (1-3:30)

https://villageofrhinebeck.gov/announcements-public-notices/earthday2026

 

  • At our home, 5 Madeline Lane, Rosendale, NY 12472

April 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

May 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26  or be in touch

 

  • If you asked us to plant your trees on public protected land - feel free to join in planting this spring with

The Kingston Land Trust at their Earth Day Celebration Saturday 4/25 at Red Fox Ravine (2-5).  We are so proud to be planting with this great organization.  We will not be able to make it, because we are at 2 other events that day.

The KLT is leading the planting of Chestnut trees.

https://kingstonlandtrust.org/events/earth-day-celebration-0

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Tree Planting Guide

by The Giving Trees

 

Planting trees is actually fairly easy.  We will walk you through the basics.

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions. (845) 668-0750.


 

1.   Storing Tree Saplings Before Planting

  • Bare Root saplings are best kept in a dormant state until they are planted.

  • We are keeping the bulk of your saplings in a root cellar until they are picked up.

  • If you need to store them after pickup, we recommend keeping them in a refrigerator or dark cool space, like a garage or shaded woods.

  • Keep them in their plastic bag to retain moisture around the roots.  You do not want the roots to dry out.

  • If you need to store them longer than a few days, we recommend planting them in a deep pot with compost and soil and letting them grow in the sun for a month before transplanting.  This allows the roots to establish into the new soil.  You can then transplant the potted soil without removing the tree from it.

  • If you get trees from us later in the year they will be planted in pots for easy transplanting.

 

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2.   Selecting the best location for planting

 

  • Hybrid Chestnut Trees with some American genetics

Full sun/partial sun, well drained soil (no soggy roots),

soil PH 6 (4.5 - 6.5 accepted), plant 15-30 feet apart

 

  • American Persimmon Trees

Full sun needed, well drained soil (no soggy roots),

soil PH 6 (6 - 6.5 accepted), plant 15-30 feet apart

 

  • Ultra Northern Pecan Trees

Full sun/partial sun, well drained soil (no soggy roots),

soil PH 6 (5.5 - 7.0 accepted), plant 30-60 feet apart

 

  • Red Oak Trees

Full sun/partial sun, well drained soil (no soggy roots),

soil PH 6 (4.5 - 6.5 accepted), plant 30-60 feet apart

 

  • Pawpaw Trees

Full sun/partial sun/shade tolerant, well drained soil/moist wet soil (they can have wetter roots than most other trees, but cannot be sitting in a constant wetland, naturally they grow alongside streambeds)

soil PH 6 (5.5 - 7.0 accepted), plant 10-20 feet apart

 

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3.   Soaking Sapling Roots

  • It is best to soak the roots of your tree saplings in a bucket of cool water in the shade for 2-12 hours before planting (overnight is ok).

  • You can add a bit of well aged compost, mycorrhizal fungi mixture, or just some rich topsoil from a local forest to the water to introduce healthy microbes to the roots.

 

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4.   Planting - best done with a friend or two

  • Dig a big hole.  Ideally twice as deep as your longest root, and twice as wide as your roots.  This will give your sapling’s roots a chance to spread out and establish easily.

  • If you're hitting a lot of rocks or bedrock - you may want to pick a different spot because the tree will have to work hard to grow there, but it can still grow there too - because trees are resilient.

  • Trim any damaged roots, but leave as much intact as possible.

  • Hold your sapling with its roots spread out in the hole, carefully add soil back, mixing it with compost as you go.  Press down on the soil so that the roots are touching soil and there are no air gaps.

  • Pack down the soil as you go.  You can create a slope around the tree so that water does not pool at the trunk.

  • The base of the trunk should be at or above soil level.  You do not want to bury the tree too deep.

  • You can mulch around the tree with straw or woodchips to reduce weeds, but leave a bit of space against the trunk so that it does not rot.

 

 

5.   Protect your Tree

  • Deer love to eat baby trees, and even when they get a little taller, deer will push them over to eat their  thin branches or make a rubbing on the bark, which can kill a young tree.

  • You will need to protect your baby tree from deer.

  • You can make a chicken wire enclosure around your tree, plant in a fenced area, or plant in a deer protection tree tube.

  • Planting in a tree tube is easier with the help of a friend.  

  • Here are some quick youtube videos that show how to use a solid or split tree tube.

 

Solid Tree Tube       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA2jQc6xXJ0

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Split Tree Tube        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtnvVcjJyJI

 

  • We provide metal stakes with your tree tubes because they can be reused over and over again for new trees.

  • We recommend keeping the tree tube on for 5+ years to really let your tree get established before needing to fend off the deer itself.  The tree can either break the tube on its own as it grows, or you can cut it off when the trunk is getting too large for the tube.  (You will need to take the tree tube off temporarily to prune the sapling each spring - see #7 below. )

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6.   Watering and care

  • Water your saplings weekly, unless the rain does the trick.  If the soil is dry, give them more waterings in the summer time.  Mulch will help prevent the soil from drying in the sun.  Keeping the soil wet, but not waterlogged is key for the early establishment of your trees.

  • Adding well aged compost around your tree is a great way to improve the soil health.  Just be careful to leave a little space around the trunk.


 

7.   Pruning

  • There are a lot of resources on pruning trees.  We would like to offer you simple guidance to start.

  • Each year, remove the tree tube in spring, (March is ideal, before leafing), It is easier than it sounds.  The zip ties are easy to undo, and lift the tube off the stake.

  • Use sharp, clean pruning shears to snip off any branches that are dead or damaged.  Remove all of the branches EXCEPT the Leader stem, which is the healthiest, straightest upright one.  If there are two, pick one to leave.

  • Carefully put the tree tube back on.

  • You should do this each year until the sapling is sticking up out of the tree tube and growing larger branches above the tube.  Usually a few years.

  • This will ensure that the branches within the tube do not coil and knot each other, and helps get the tree growing in a straight upright shape.

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