Pre-Planting Site Prep

Select The Right Planting Site

• First and foremost, the plants you have selected should be appropriate for your site's hardiness zone. Some other considerations:
  • Plant your seedlings in their permanent location. We do not recommend planting in pots, as transplanting is a source of stress.
  • Never plant into frozen ground.
  • Allow enough room for your trees or shrubs to grow; take their mature size into consideration (refer to our Quick Facts). Keep in mind buried services, overhead lines, surrounding plants, and nearby objects when choosing a planting site.
  • Ensure the planting site has appropriate moisture levels and receives sufficient sunlight for your selected plants (refer to our Quick Facts).

Prepare Your Site

• Remove any grass or weeds within at least a 30-cm (12-inch) radius of where you'll be planting your tree. This helps reduce competition for light and water.
• If the soil is compacted, loosen it by rototilling, cultivating, discing, or digging with hand tools. This will improve moisture retention and make it easier for your plant to take root.
• If you are planting a large number of seedlings, you may want to prepare your site a few days before you receive them.

Pre-Planting Seedling Care

Always Handle Plants Carefully

• Your seedlings are alive and can be damaged if dropped, bent, or broken, even while still in the box.

Pick Up Your Delivery Promptly

• You can't control the temperature or conditions at the post office or your community mailbox. Bring your trees home as soon as you can.

Let Your Seedlings Thaw Completely

• Your seedlings may arrive frozen. If so, store them in a cool, dark place such as a basement or garage until they thaw. Do not place them in the fridge or freezer (this will void your guarantee).

Regulate Temperature

• Avoid drastic changes in temperature. Keep your seedlings out of direct sunlight and do not allow them to refreeze.

Keep Your Seedlings Moist

• Do not let your seedlings dry out. Keep them away from heat and blowing air, and water as needed.
  • For plugs: If the soil feels dry, pour or spray water over the bundles to keep them moist.
  • For Bareroot: If wrapped with moist shavings, follow instructions for plugs. If not, and the roots seem dry, you can submerge them in water for a few minutes or spray them to keep them moist. Do not submerge for a prolonged period (no longer than 2 hours) as roots need oxygen.

Keep Bundles Wrapped In Plastic Until Planting

• This will help regulate temperature and prevent your seedlings from drying out. This will also make it easier to transport to the planting site.

Plant Your Seedlings As Soon As Possible After They Are Thawed

• The sooner you plant them, the better your plants will do.

Can't Plant Right Away?

• Open the box and the inner bag to allow airflow.
• Stand the seedlings upright if they aren’t already.
• Store them in a cool, dark location and keep them moist (see above for tips).
• Ideally, seedlings should be planted within 7 days of receiving them or within 12 days of the ship date, whichever comes first.
• Our seedlings ship dormant, so there is some flexibility, but planting them sooner will help them thrive.

Planting Day!

• Follow the instructions above for best results (and to prevent voiding our guarantee). A few things to keep in mind:
  • Avoid planting until the risk of major frosts has passed for the season.
  • Dig your holes before you bring out your trees.
  • Ensure trees are completely thawed.
  • Plant one box of trees at a time. (Keep the others closed up in the shade.)
  • Do not lay out your trees beside your holes and let them bake in the sun before you plant them.

Planting Guide

Make sure you follow the Pre-Planting Guide to give your seedlings a good start before they even go in the ground. When you're ready to start planting, follow these simple steps for success!

1. Dig Your Hole
   • For a peat plug seedling, the hole needs to be at least big enough to accommodate the plug.
   • For a bareroot seedling, the hole needs to be big enough to be able to arrange the roots naturally in the hole. The root balls are generally larger, so bigger holes will be needed to accommodate.
   • Loose, mixed soil for a few inches in all directions is ideal.
2. Fertilize (optional)
   • Most soil contains adequate nutrients for the native plants we produce. However, you may add bone meal at the bottom of the hole to enhance root growth.
   • Take it easy on additional fertilizer. In many cases, high-nitrogen fertilizers are too much for young plants.
3. Plant
   • Remove the plastic wrap or elastic band and separate the bundle. Place the seedling in the hole with the stem standing straight up and with the root collar at ground level. Be sure that the first branches of the seedling are not covered.
     • For a peat plug seedling, ensure that the plug is not bent or curved and that there is no space between the bottom of the plug and the earth below.
     • For a bareroot seedling, ensure that the roots are spread out and arranged in a natural downward orientation, not curled around the bottom or pointing back at the surface.
4. Water And Fill The Hole
   • Moisten the soil and fill your hole back in around the roots.
   • Press firmly on the soil around the stem.
   • The roots should be completely covered.
5. Water The Area
   • Water thoroughly after planting, but do not drown your tree if the soil is poorly drained. Stop before standing puddles form.
   • Seedlings should be run through a wet-and-dry soil cycle. Allow the soil to dry down before watering again.
   • It may be 2-3 years before a tree or shrub can find moisture on its own. Until then it's up to you. Many trees and shrubs like moist soil, but none like it continuously wet.
6. Protect Your Trees From Pests
   • You may need to take special precautions to keep deer, rabbits, mice, and other pests away from your trees.

Want more? Watch this helpful video Unboxing Your TreeTime.ca Order or read more on our blog article here. Check out our YouTube Channel for more information, helpful tips, plants we meet in the wild, and behind the scenes of our operations.

Here are some examples of what you can expect from your order:

OUR GUARANTEE

If you follow the Pre-Planting and Planting Guides, we guarantee that your trees will put on new growth within 30 days of planting, or we'll give you store credit for the value of those trees (due to availability and shipping scheduling, replacement stock can not be issued in the same growing year). Contact us immediately to report damaged, unhealthy, or missing trees. For more details on our guarantee and making a claim, please visit our website.

Contact our team 1-844-873-3700 or support@treetime.ca