A guy at the nursery said he'd rather plant a tree in the fall, but my boss always says spring is best

Tara Taylor · 2026-03-18T20:15:09.501781+00:00

I was picking up some bare root maples last weekend at the Green Thumb nursery in Springfield, and the guy helping me load up started talking about planting times. He said he's been doing this for thirty years and he swears by fall planting for almost everything, especially oaks and maples. His point was that the soil is still warm, the roots have time to grow before winter, and the tree isn't trying to push new leaves at the same time. But my boss, who runs our crew, is a die-hard spring planter. He says it gives the tree a full growing season right away to get strong before its first winter, and you avoid any risk of frost heave on new plantings. I've seen both ways work, honestly. We planted a row of redbuds in late October two years ago and they all leafed out fine the next April. But I also get my boss's worry about a bad early freeze. What's the general feeling here? Do you stick to one season or change it up based on the species?

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A guy at the nursery said he'd rather plant a tree in the fall, but my boss always says spring is best | Arborists - Pinecone Attack