Here at iTrees.com, we take tree orders all year long even during the offseason. We plant trees May through November, which does surprise some of our customers. We get a lot of inquiries asking if summer or fall are "ok times" to plant trees or not. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant is right now!
In all seriousness, summer and fall are a great time for tree planting. Regarding the trees’ health, it matters more so when the trees are dug out of the ground rather than when they are planted. To reduce stress on the trees, all trees should only be dug out of the ground when they are in dormancy. So either spring before they "leaf-out" or fall when they start to lose their leaves. But they can be planted at any time as long as they are properly watered. Our availability is dependent on the nursery and what they’re able to grow and when they’re able to dig. Spring Grove Nursery’s guideline’s for digging will dictate what and when we can plant.
iTrees.com will begin the planting season in spring and depending on the weather we will start to plant trees in mid-May. We continue to plant trees all throughout the summer and well into fall, up until the ground begins to freeze. This is usually right around Thanksgiving time, but just like the beginning of our planting season in spring, the end of our planting season is also dependent on the weather. Last year, we planted through the first week of December before the ground froze and we had to call it off for the year.
The nursery will do a spring dig and a fall dig. In spring, they’ll dig deciduous trees, such as Maples, Oaks, Elms, and Crabapples, just to name a few, before the trees have “leafed-out” and they’ll dig Evergreens after they’ve finished pushing their new growth (by the way, the smell of Spruce and Pines at that time of year is AMAZING). After the trees are dug they’re then placed in our holding-yard for rest of the year and put on irrigation until they’re ready to be loaded on the truck for delivery and installation.
For fall digging, the nursery will wait for the trees to enter dormancy before they dig and at that time whatever’s not in our holding-yard and needs to be dug will be done so on a dig-to-order basis. The nursery has a strict set of guidelines for digging, assuring that when your tree is planted, it’s the best time to plant for your tree’s health.
We had the pleasure of planting all throughout fall this year. Early fall is quite different from late fall, where it may be chilly in the morning but the sun still warms things up in the afternoons. You can check out the differences in the videos below from October to November (the first video was filmed in October and the other two are from November).
Our Crew Manager, Kyle Bromberek used his drone to film a chilly November day in the life of iTrees.com— beginning at the nursery loading the trees all the way to completing planting at the job site, planting in the snow!
At one of our last jobs this November, the iTrees.com crew planted 24 trees at this home which added privacy, shade, beauty and much more to the already beautiful landscape!
We have had a wonderful fall planting season and we're so happy to share these videos with you. We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!
One more note, regardless of the season, the most important thing to remember is properly caring for your newly planted tree, this will assure a healthy tree for decades to come. Spring, summer and fall your tree will still need to be watered, according to our tree care instructions. Something that is a big help to our customers is our Treegator’s, they really simplify the watering process, worry-free watering! Also, for some trees going into winter, tree wrapping is essential, so if you have a newly planted Maple, for example, it’s a great idea to use DeWitt Tree Wrap, to wrap the trunk and protect it from frost crack and sunscald in the winter months. Learn more about these tree care options at the resources linked below.
Helpful Resources:
Check Out the Tree Wrap Video Demonstration
Purchase Treegator® Jr. Pro Slow Release 15 gal. Watering Bag
Learn more about how ordering a tree online works here → https://itrees.com/how-it-works
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