Tree Planting Where You Live

We talk a lot about tree planting here. In case you missed it, the following two posts are good places to start reading:

Planting Trees for Your Home and the Planet

Using Environmental Landscaping at Your House

Now, we all know trees are good. Trees can help guard against weather elements, improve air quality, create nice aesthetics, and lots more. However, the wrong tree or a tree planted incorrectly won’t help you or your home all that much – worse, you’ve just wasted a tree seedling or seed. To get the most out of tree planting follow these tips:

Look around your neighborhood and city – which trees thrive best? Which trees are plentiful? Trees that are local to the area almost always work better than imported trees. In fact, if you plant trees from other areas they can even create pollen issues and introduce problems into the local environment.

If possible aim for low maintenance trees. Trees that don’t need much care or water to thrive will usually do well, even if say, you go on an extended vacation.

Plant in the right place. If your goal is energy conservation, plant trees according to American Forests’ recommendations – they have a handy image you can follow (plus more tips).

Consider the canopy. A little seedling may not look like much, but eventually this tree will not only grow up, but out. Do you really need a massive canopy knocking into your home?

Consider the roots. Like the canopy, roots will spread and can even uproot sidewalks and gardens. Check with the right tree in the right place before planting to learn about roots and planting depths.

Learn more:

How to plant a tree

Care for a Tree

Types of trees