We will NOT plant trees in raised beds for reasons that I won’t bore you with, but have you ever seen a “raised bed” in the woods? Such raised beds have absolutely nothing to do with aesthetics or improved planting techniques and everything to do with cutting labor costs and increasing profits.

We transport every single plant in a covered trailer or truck bed. This prevents rapid evapotranspiration, which is a kind of dehydration which will cause most plants to perpetually struggle or die after planting (and after the contractor has left & collected pay). Notice the number of landscaper trucks that you see with nursery stock exposed to winds, tree limbs dragging on the street. While many offer a warranty on their plants, somebody will pay for that dead plant. This is typically the next customer, not the contractor.

When we plant a tree or shrub, we dig a huge hole, completely remove the burlap from the root ball, pull apart the roots, soak it in a bucket, and then plant it at the correct height. Adding native soil (NO amendments) back into the hole in rises and watering it the whole time, we also add a root growth hormone which reduces stress and increases root growth. Then, we mulch the entire backfilled hole which increases growth commensurately. We usually leave watering rings behind that you will need to fill and allow the water to slowly and deeply trickle into the soil. After all of this, you will have a tree which will flourish forever. We approach planting flowers in essentially the same manner as trees, but without quite the same amount of sweat.