Spring is a great time to add a tree to your home or farm. Trees add beauty, wildlife value and wind protection to our homes and farms. Trees also clean the air, reduce heating and cooling costs, and add value to your home.

Planting a tree is a significant investment in money, resources, and time. Proper selection is key to achieving your planting goals.

There are many trees to choose from, but you can’t go wrong with a native tree from Forrest Keeling. Our patented RPM technology helps trees grow, flower and fruit twice as fast as other trees on the market. The all-natural RPM method also yields unmatched survivability in the back yard or on the back forty. All these benefits come from RPM’s unsurpassed lateral root mass development.

While fall planting is best, you can plant your tree any time the soil is workable. The six key steps to proper tree planting are:

1. Give ’em room! Choose your tree’s location based on its ultimate mature size and its sun and water needs. Dig the hole slightly larger than the root ball.
2. Ready your tree. Lay the tree on its side, tap or roll the container and gently remove the root ball. Score the root ball and cut any long or circling roots.
3. Prepare the soil. Loosen the soil for the new roots. Add amendments if needed.
4. Stand up straight! Position your tree in its planting hole and make sure it’s upright and straight. Tilt the root ball and add soil underneath to stabilize.
5. Get a good start. Backfill with loosened soil, adding water as you go. Firm the soil to eliminate any air pockets.
6. The grand finale! Add three to four inches of hardwood mulch around the tree but away from the trunk. This helps maintain proper soil moisture and temperature and reduces weeds.

So, what are you waiting for? Come out to Forrest Keeling ‘where the best trees begin’. Our Garden Store is just south of Elsberry on scenic Hwy 79 and about 45 minutes north of St. Louis. We’re open from 8:00a to 4:00p Monday through Saturday. You’ll find the perfect native tree for your yard.

For our video on how to plant a tree, scan this QR code, go to the Forrest Keeling website, https://fknursery.com/howtoplantatree/ or our YouTube channel, https://youtu.be/CvCM3hrbf5s.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 30th, 2023 at 4:39 pm and is filed under May 2023. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.