How to Plant a Tree, Part 2: Location, Location, Location
Landscaping Decisions
An essential aspect of how to plant a tree for long-term success is choosing the right location. Whether planting a seed or a sapling, choosing the location in your yard for a new tree is a strategic decision, and it will be based on a few criteria:
The purpose for planting
The built infrastructure of your yard
The property line
The type of tree
Here, we’ll take a look at these variables in more depth to help guide you on your plans for tree planting.
Why Does It Matter Where Trees Are Planted?
Where you place a tree makes a big impact on how it will grow and interact with the surrounding environment. As trees grow and spread out, their roots and branches will reach far from the center trunk, and the taller the tree, the wider the reach. Long-term considerations about how and where your tree will grow can help avoid problems or hazards in the future, such as branches that overhang homes or driveways, foliage that obscures lampposts, or canopies that grow dangerously close to power lines. With some forethought and regular maintenance, you can be sure the trees in your yard will be there for beneficial outcomes only.
Identify the Purpose for Planting
One of the first factors that will affect where to plant trees is the purpose for which they are being planted. There are many reasons to plant a tree, and it may have to be planted in a particular location to perform its function. Some of the reasons a tree may be planted include:
Shade and cooling – The importance of the shade that trees cast can’t be understated—they reduce ambient temperatures and offer protection from the bright sun, both of which can reduce summer cooling costs. Read more on how trees cool us off in our article on how canopy trees can reduce energy use.
Privacy or ornament – Planting a tree in front of a window or along a property line is a great way to add greenery to your yard while enhancing your family’s feeling of privacy. In our article on understory trees, we go over how to choose a smaller tree species and position it.
Wildlife and ecology – Planting a native tree to support the local canopy cover and its birds, animals, and pollinators is almost always a great idea, but you should be sure that the tree will be positioned in a way that doesn’t create potential problems for you or your property.
Soil stabilizer – The roots of trees play an important role in keeping the soil in place, whether in parks or yards. They can be especially important on uneven ground, which may erode slowly or quickly depending on time and weather conditions. Check out our article on the dangers of hillside clearcutting.
Home value – In addition to, and as a result of, the various ecological and beautifying services that trees provide, healthy trees can be worth thousands of dollars, and they can increase the value of your home or property by substantial amounts, as we discuss in this article on tree appraisal.
The Built Infrastructure of Your Property
Once you know why you want to plant one or more trees, you’ll have to choose the right spot for them. While some locations may be more straightforward, like planting eastern red cedars or columnar sweetgums along a fence line or a white oak or American beech in the middle of a big backyard, other planting locations may need to be avoided due to infrastructure on your property, including:
Water lines, sewer lines, and septic tanks – Knowing where your property’s water infrastructure is when planting a tree is essential because the roots of trees will be attracted to the moisture in pipes or tanks. Read our article on how roots can work their way into even the smallest of cracks and damage water and sewer infrastructure.
Power lines and electrical boxes – Trees that grow too closely to power lines can become an obstruction, and at their worst, a fire hazard. The Nashville Electric Service offers tree trimming and planting guidelines that provide guidance on how to put the right tree in the right place. For more information, you can also check out our article about landscaping around power lines and the electric company’s right of way around utility infrastructure.
Your home’s foundation – Similarly to the water infrastructure in your yard, your home's foundation can be damaged by the roots of trees that are planted too close to the house. Root hairs can work their way into small cracks and break apart the foundation’s masonry, so it’s important to pay attention to the tree’s proximity to a house.
The house itself - Roots inching too close to a house also means that the branches will hang over the house, creating potential damage during storms. Weak and old tree limbs may be lost during wind or rain, but a weak or old tree may be at risk of falling over in an especially bad storm, so from top to bottom, a tree needs to be planted at a distance from the house equal to at least its expected mature height.
How Close to the Property Line Can I Plant a Tree?
Planting a tree too close to, or right on, the property line of your residence may cause confusion and/or tension with your neighbor if the tree reaches over into an adjacent property. According to Tennessee law, your neighbor has the right to trim your tree’s branches or roots that grow into their space if you don’t keep up with it yourself (although, by law, they can’t damage it so much that the tree dies). If a tree is growing right on the property line, it falls under a common ownership regime, with both neighbors sharing care responsibilities for the tree. The University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture has an informational reading on the legal rights and responsibilities of tree owners that may be useful in disputes or uncertainties when it comes to trees and neighbors.
Choosing a Tree to Plant
Once the purpose and location are decided on, choosing the right native species for the task is an easier decision since some tree sizes and types will be ineligible. Species may differ in shape, fall foliage color, and whether they lose their leaves in the winter or not, but their long-term lifespan should always be considered to know how they will grow in. Planning for their mature size at planting will help you avoid your trees growing too closely to other elements on your property or each other.
A Little Planning for Big Results
Good assessment of your property and forethought on the life of your trees will help you make the right landscaping decisions for your needs and desires. As trees mature and get replanted, property owners have an important role in keeping the cycle of ecosystem management moving along by making good upfront decisions when planting new trees and by partnering with certified arborists to maintain existing specimens in good health and condition over their lifetimes. A little planning upfront will pay off in decades of benefits!
When you’re making plans to plant a tree, consider buying one from us through our yearly tree sale. However, you don’t have to be a homeowner to participate in supporting Nashville’s canopy: get involved by volunteering with us! And to stay connected with the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps and get regular information on tree planting across the city, sign up for our newsletter!