Tree Planting and Management

Tree Planting and Management

Things to consider for tree planting projects (big or small)


  • Place

Do you control the land and/or have permission to plant? How is it currently used, by people and nature (what will happen/grow there and nearby without tree planting)? Think about underground services, as well as what you can see


  • Purpose

Ornamental? Fruit? Legacy planting (for future generations)? For nature? Screening? Stock proofing? Shade?


  • Type of planting

Individual trees? Groups of trees? Woodland? Hedgerow? What impact will it have?


  • Involvement

Personal or community engagement? Personal, contractor, and/or volunteer planted/maintained?


  • Soil condition and types

Soil conditions can be variable, but trees usually adapt without additives, although they don’t like compaction. Likely soil type for area can be checked on LandIS. (The Arboricultural Association's webinar Guidance on Soil Assessment for Trees is a fascinating insight into soil analysis for professionals.)


  • Species

This will depend on all the above, but to get started, look around at trees nearby which are thriving and interest you. There are many online resources to help you choose, some of which are listed and linked below. These include Barcham's online Tree Finder where you can search for inspiration by shape, eventual height and other characteristics, as well as their more traditional Time for Trees publication (now available in pdf form to download for free).


  • Budget

Personal project, or can your scheme qualify for free trees or a grant to subsidise or fund tree planting?


  • Tree stock size

Smaller trees are usually cheaper to buy, plant and maintain, as well as being less carbon intensive. Larger trees cost more but provide some instant impact to the landscape.


  • Provenance

Who grows/supplies what locally? How do they ensure their tree stock is healthy (ask them)?


  • Tree protection/support

Young trees require some support in their younger years, and they can also be damaged by people (including trampling and strimming/mowing), pests or livestock. Depending on the type and location of planting, you may need to consider: fencing, stakes and ties, or stakes and shelters (tree guards). The Arboricultural Association's short video Young Tree Aftercare - Bark Damage shows the importance of tree protection including a mulched area (and the need for maintenance to include adjustment/removal of ties and stakes).


  • Planting techniques

This depends on tree size and type of planting, but the smaller the tree, the smaller the pit (much easier!). Large trees may require an auger or excavator, and may require larger machinery to transport stock. Supplement the RHS webpage "How to plant a tree" with the Gardeners World equivalent which illustrate the basics, including size of (square) hole required.


  • Timing

Certain tree stock can only be planted whilst they’re dormant in the winter months (usually November- March). Others can be planted in summer, though they are likely require more intensive watering regimes.


  • Aftercare and maintenance

This is important to ensure trees establish, and is usually quite simple: weed/mulch, water, support, protect, ENJOY!

Refreshing mulch around young trees planted in grass is demonstrated in the Arboricultural Association's video Young Tree Aftercare - Mulch.


The Haynes Tree Owners' Workshop Manual is is a comprehensive guide to selecting, planting and maintaining trees, and focuses on finding the right tree for the right place and how to give it the right care.

links are in this column

This column contains a short introduction to the link.

Highway Tree Management:

Operations Note 51

(Forestry Commission)

Examples of good practice tree and highway management with respect to trees growing within the curtilage of the highway.

Published 19 July 2019

Managing Trees on Development Sites

(Barrell Tree Consultancy)

Site Guidance Notes (SGN) produced by Barrell Tree Consultancy to help manage trees effectively on development sites. Each of the 12 SGNs deals with specific issues that can arise during development. Free to download.

A key tenet of the Tree Warden network is to encourage the planting of "the right tree for the right place", where each tree has the best chance to thrive, and to be appreciated. Tree Species Selection for Green Infrastructure: A Guide for Specifiers includes information for over 280 species on their use-potential, size and crown characteristics, natural habitat, environmental tolerance, ornamental qualities, potential issues to be aware of, and notable varieties. Use it to inform choice of which tree species to plant where in an urban setting (street, garden or park).

A free copy of the guide and its companion database can be downloaded from the link.

Issue 1.3 / 2019

Which Species to Plant

(The Woodland Trust)

Another source to help decide which tree is best to plant where and for what purpose. Includes a downloadable comprehensive guide to 31 native tree species explaining soil preferences, average height, unique qualities and more.

The Ultimate Size and Spread of Trees Commonly Grown in Towns (2012)

(Arboricultural Advisory and Information Service)

"Published information on the ultimate sizes of commonly planted amenity trees reflects performance in open grown positions. This Note reports sizes of trees growing in urban conditions. If the data are used when selecting trees for urban situations the need for future expensive pruning and early felling can be reduced."

Part of the legacy of the Tree Advice Trust now hosted on the Arboricultural Association's website here.

Trees for Smaller Gardens

(Royal Horticultural Society)

"There are many trees widely available for smaller gardens, in all shapes and sizes, evergreen and deciduous. Given that many of us have limited space in which to garden, it becomes important that any trees chosen are right for their surroundings, in terms of proportion as well as for their decorative value."
A useful checklist of practical considerations for choosing which tree, and suggestions for trees which suit smaller spaces.


Also: Flowering cherry trees for small gardens (RHS, revised February 2020)

Barchams

(tree growers used by WSCC)

If you're thinking of donating a tree to be planted in West Sussex public highway land, Barchams is currently who WSCC expects to source it from. Even if you're not, the website is a great source of information, from its Guides to help you choose, plant and care for any tree, to its Tree Finder feature that lets you search for a tree by its characteristics, and a carbon calculator that includes not only how much carbon a tree can be expected to store in its lifetime but a way to estimate one's own carbon footprint.

Phytosensor Toolkit

(choosing plants, including trees, to fight pollution)

Research by Goldsmiths, University of London, resulted in "a citizen’s toolkit for planting air quality gardens” that was published in 2018. Trees included in the toolkit "designed to equip people with the knowledge and inspiration to plant gardens that can improve air quality and enhance the urban realm" are:

  • Amelanchier lamarckii (page 27)
  • Betula pendula (silver birch, page 29)
  • Pinus mugo (dwarf mountain pine, page 39 - other pines mentioned)
  • Taxus baccata (common yew, page 44)

as well as common ivy (Hedera helix, page 35) and other plants.

Trees Love Care (TLC) Campaign

(The Tree Council)

Annual campaign runs from late March to late September to highlight the need for better care for all trees, in order to ensure their survival and increase the number reaching maturity. Useful, simple resource sheets for tree planning, planting and maintenance, including in drought and wet/windy weather, with a particular focus on trees planted within 3-5 years of planting.

(Successor to the Tree Care Campaign which run up to and including 2022.)

Tree Risk Management

(see text for links)

more info. to follow


VALID Tree Risk-Benefit Management Strategy

an approach you might see used in professional reporting or wish to compare with other report formats; includes an Obvious Tree Risk Features guide.

Agroforestry

(see text for links)

Agroforestry Research Trust

"educational and research organisation, founded in 1992 as a registered charity, to educate and conduct research into all aspects of agroforestry"


Soil Association

"Simply put, agroforestry means combining agriculture and trees."


Wakelyns

Suffolk organic agroforestry, food, horticulture hub.


See also Knepp Estate in Rewilding /natural regeneration .


Rewilding / natural regeneration

(see text for links)

Knepp Estate

At Dial Post, near Horsham, RH13 8NQ

Lots of articles online, including this one in the Guardian from 15th June 2018.

Links checked: 4th April 2023

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