Planting a tree takes under an hour. Getting the hole wrong takes five years to show up as a dead tree. Most trees sold at nurseries and big-box stores die within two years of planting, and the majority of those failures trace back to the planting hole itself — too deep, too narrow, or too much organic matter in the backfill.
This guide covers the mechanics of planting a balled-and-burlapped (B&B) or container-grown tree correctly, drawn from university Extension recommendations rather than nursery marketing.
