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Transfering Trees from pots to the ground for planting advice

#1 · 23rd July 2024, 6:57 pm

I've moved to a bungalow, and have a beautiful, big, small leaf acer in a big pot,we want to put it in the ground, it's previous spot was a north facing fence and has thrived, our new garden is north facing to, do I need to add any specific soil or is it OK to just put in the ground please?

#2 · 30th July 2024, 9:54 am

Hi @joanie

Thanks for getting in touch. this is a question I get asked a lot by beginner gardeners.

When it comes to transplanting trees out of pots into the ground, the best rules to follow are:

Water the pot well the day before transplanting
Dig a hole that's 1.5x the size of the pot
Avoid adding compost to the hole (it will simply make the new tree too lazy to establish new roots)
Try and lift and plant either in the morning or dusk and avoid full sun.
Water well once transplanted twice a week for the first month or more in heat waves.

You may also like to read my tree-planting guide here and or watch the video below. Do let us know how you get on!