October is a fine time to plant a tree or shrub. “The air has cooled off, but the soil is still pretty warm,” said Spencer Campbell, Plant Clinic manager at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. That means ...

It seems pretty simple to plant a tree. Dig a hole. Drop in a tree. Fill the hole. Add water. Go back inside and have a beer. What could go wrong? Yet year after year, we see trees planted incorrectly ...

I received some bare root trees and shrubs as a gift and would like to know how to plant and care for them. — Jerry Rosen, Skokie That sounds like a great gift, just ahead of the growing season. Bare ...

Before planting your tree, soak the root ball and remove excess soil and artificially high roots. Howard Garrett / Special Contributor Continuing our discussion of tree planting, it’s time to put the ...

We don’t often think about the roots of trees until there is a problem. A forester friend of mine called it a “fencepost mentality.” Being underground, they are often out of sight out of mind. However ...

Whether you want to plant trees for environmental reasons or just to spruce up your yard, a good way to start is by researching the specific needs of the trees in mind. Some need more water, some less ...

Sometimes plants need tough love. If you pop a plant from its pot and just plop it into the ground, it is unlikely to develop well-shaped roots. Roots that have curled around like a garden hose coiled ...

Make sure you have community support. Plan for decades of growth. By Malia Wollan “You can’t just go and cut concrete and put a tree in the ground,” says Rose Tileston, who is 32 and works on urban ...