How to plant a tree, and not just on GEORGIA Arbor Day THE ENVIRONMENTAL GARDENER

It’s February and the cold weather makes for tough gardening. But getting out there is half the battle. To celebrate Georgia Arbor Day on Feb. 18, consider finding time to plant a tree.

There are many canopy trees that can be planted in deep shade, such as beech, northern red oak, and some hickories. These trees can be your garden’s next generation canopy.

There are some flowering trees, such as redbud, buckeye, and the south’s favorite tree, the dogwood, that tolerate a lot of shade, but like most any flowering plant they prefer just a bit of sun.

I have planted a lot of trees and have made my share of mistakes, so I am going to share two important details to remember about preparing the root ball, a crucial part of the planting process.

Number 1: Find the root flare so that you can plant the tree at the right depth. The root flare