How to Plant Palm Trees | Ask This Old House

This Old House landscape contractor Roger Cook heads to Miami to plant several varieties of palm trees in a front yard. (See below for shopping list, tools, and steps.)
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Shopping List for Planting Palm Trees:
- Palm tree
- Marking spray paint, used to mark the planting hole on the ground
- Bark mulch

Tools List for Planting Palm Trees:
- Tape measure
- Pointed shovel or backhoe, used to dig the planting hole

Steps for Planting Palm Trees:
1. Arrange the potted palm in the yard, then check for proper spacing and placement. If planting more than one, arrange all trees now. Don't set any trees directly beneath overhead wires.
2. Before digging, ask the utility company to check for buried cables or pipes.
3. Use marking spray paint to spray an outline onto the ground around the potted tree. Make the circular outline 12 inches larger than the pot diameter.
4. Dig the planting hole with a pointed shovel or backhoe.
5. Lay a rake handle across the hole and measure the depth of the hole. It should be slightly shallower than the height of the tree's root ball.
6. Tip the tree onto its side and pull off the plastic pot.
7. Carefully roll the tree into the hole, then stand it upright.
8. Backfill around the root ball with the soil excavated from the hole.
9. Water the tree immediately after backfilling.
10. Next, spread 2 to 3 inches of bark mulch around the base of the tree.
11. Water the tree every day for one week, every other day for the second week, and twice a week throughout the summer.

About Ask This Old House TV:
Homeowners have a virtual truckload of questions for us on smaller projects, and we're ready to answer. Ask This Old House solves the steady stream of home improvement problems faced by our viewers—and we make house calls! Ask This Old House features some familiar faces from This Old House, including Kevin O'Connor, general contractor Tom Silva, plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey, and landscape contractor Roger Cook.

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How to Plant Palm Trees | Ask This Old House
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