How to Buy a Healthy Tree for Landscape Planting

Springtime is the best time to plant trees, fall being the second choice. But regardless of the time of year a tree is planted, buying a healthy tree for landscape planting is vital to the tree’s survival. There are three types of tree packaging and specific things to look when buying either type to ensure that a healthy tree is being purchased for planting.

Bare Root Trees

When trees are purchased from an online dealer or via a nursery catalog, those trees are shipped in bare root state, which simply means the tree’s roots are bare. The soil is removed from the tree’s roots prior to shipping to make shipping less cumbersome and less expensive, however, it does place the tree at the greatest risk for injury.

When the roots have no soil around them, they will dry out quickly. The roots are susceptible to being broken or crushed, which can seriously impair the health of the tree.

If ordering a bare root tree from a nursery, when the tree arrives, immediately open the package and inspect the tree’s roots for damage and moisture. All roots should be intact and moist to ensure tree health. Inspect the tree trunk and branches for scraps and cuts. Even a minor scrape on a bare root tree trunk can cause the tree to die. If any damage is found, contact the nursery for return or replacement procedures.

Container Grown Trees

Trees sold commercially are often started in-ground, then transplanted into a container to finish growing into a sellable height. A healthy container grown tree should not be over four feet tall, as the container can not support healthy root growth for a tree above four feet tall. Trees that exceed four feet in height should be packaged with the balled-and-burlapped method.

When looking for a healthy container grown tree, tilt the container on its side and look at the bottom drainage hole in the container. Tree roots should be visible in the drainage hole, which will indicate the tree has developed a healthy root system.

The tree and soil should also be snug in the container, without the soil being pulled away from the container. Examine the tree’s trunk and branches for breaks, cuts and scrapes, any of which may have allowed pests or disease to enter the container grown tree at some point during its life and slowly killing the tree. A healthy tree will have bright green, upward facing leaves. Droopy, discolored leaves indicate an unhealthy tree.

Ball and Burlap

Trees packaged with the ball and burlap method have been grown in-ground and removed from the soil with a ball of soil left intact around the tree’s roots. The root and soil ball are then wrapped in burlap for shipping to the nursery or garden center.

To determine a healthy ball and burlap tree, feel the soil ball. It should feel hard and moist. If the soil inside the burlap feels loose, that indicates the tree’s roots have been allowed to dry out and are in all probability, damaged.

Starting with a healthy tree for landscape planting gives the tree the best shot at survival, looking for specific damage (or lack of) to roots, trunks and branches will help ensure a healthy tree is being bought, no matter what type of package the tree comes in.