Expert Tree Planting & Species Selection

Tree Planting Services — common questions

When is the best time to plant a tree in Maryland?

Fall is the best window here — roughly September through November. The soil is still warm enough for root growth while cooler air means less stress on the top of the tree, and winter moisture helps it establish before the first summer. Early spring is the second-best option. Midsummer planting is possible but needs committed watering.

What should I plant in Montgomery County?

Natives suited to our heavy clay soils and summer swings do best: white and red oak, red maple, tulip poplar, American hornbeam, serviceberry, bald cypress. What to avoid is as useful a question — Bradford pear, silver maple, Norway maple and Leyland cypress all cause more problems here than they are worth.

How far from the house should a tree be planted?

It depends entirely on mature size, not on the size of the tree you are buying. A large shade tree needs real distance from the foundation, the driveway, the septic field and the property line, and it needs to clear overhead lines at full height. Getting this wrong is the single most common planting mistake we see, and it is not fixable later.

Why does planting depth matter so much?

Because planting too deep is the most common way a new tree is quietly killed. The root flare — where the trunk widens into the roots — has to stay visible at the surface. Buried, it stays wet, the bark breaks down, and the tree declines over several years for reasons nobody connects back to planting day.

How much water does a newly planted tree need?

Deep, infrequent watering beats frequent light watering, because it draws roots downward. Through the first two growing seasons that generally means a thorough soak once or twice a week, adjusted for rainfall, and continuing until the ground freezes in the first fall. Established trees rarely need watering here except in drought.