The planting season for trees starts as soon as they begin to drop their leaves in the autumn and ends when the new buds begin to swell in the early spring. Exceptions to this include a number of specific circumstances:

• Planting does not take place if the ground is very frozen.

• Planting does not take place if there is a lot of snow.

• Planting does not take place if the ground is so saturated that water collects in the planting hole.

• Planting does not take place if there is a risk of structural deterioration of the soil.

After the planting hole has been prepared and any soil improvement carried out, the tree can be planted. The trunk of the tree should be wrapped in jute, after which the tree can be lifted using a sling around the root ball and trunk or a root hook. The tree should be placed in the planting hole with the top of the root ball around five to ten centimetres above ground level. This is because the soil in the planting hole will sink a little, particularly in the case of heavy trees. The tree will sink with it and will end up standing lower than the planting height.

Once the tree has been placed in the planting hole, aeration first needs to be installed, particularly in the case of paved soil and soil with a lot of organic material, such as peat. This aeration is necessary to ensure oxygen reaches the roots. Once the aeration has been installed, the planting hole can be filled.

1. The planting hole is first filled a third of the way up and this soil is pressed down. Make sure that no organic materials, such as sods, end up in the planting hole, as these materials remove oxygen.
2. The planting hole is then filled three quarters of the way up and the wire attached to the root ball is detached at the top. If there is a wire close to the trunk, there is a risk that the tree will be pinched at this point when it begins to get thicker.
3. The planting hole can then be filled completely and pressed down again. Never remove the wire around the top of the root ball before the tree is placed in the planting hole, as the risk of the root ball collapsing is too high.