Planting

The 30-second rule

A tree should be planted in about thirty seconds: hole, seedling, backfill, water. If it takes much longer, the root ball is drying out.

The method

spacing   matched to mature canopy width
depth     root collar sits at soil level
mulch     2–3 inches, not touching the trunk
season    we plant with the rain, not against it

Survival math

We target 85% survival at year one and 70% at year three. Every plot is rechecked, and every gap is replanted free.