I don't know about Zone 5, but I know in Zone 6 now is a great time to plant trees. I personally have the best success rate with trees I plant in early October, and there is a guy in the trees forum who is advising everyone to wait a few weeks to plant trees. There is typically more rain in October and less risk of sun-skald. Five weeks ago would have been August, widely believed to be one of the worst months to plant trees.

If you can get it done in the next few days, you may be OK. Otherwise, midSeptember is typically considered the cut-off for zone 5. The suggestion is to count back 6 weeks from your first hard frost date, as that allows sufficient root development before the soil freezes.

At this time of year, there is little need to worry about watering on a daily basis. A decent soaking after planting and then a once a week deep watering until the ground freezes is more than adequate. btw, no tree is considered established in 5 weeks - it is typically a matter of years. At least a couple of growing seasons, more if a larger/older specimen.

$2 grand is a BIG investment to risk.......for that kind of money, I'd be inclined to wait until early spring.

Hi,
You are experienced gardener, so you probably know much of what I wrote. Your question was simple, and I made the answer complicated! But I'll leave it as is in case someone else is planting trees.

first, cross post to tree forum. You'd get excellent advice there, too
second, from what nursery is your landscaper buying the trees.? If it is local they should be able to offer him and you advice about planting locally.

To clarify, if you decided to go ahead, when can the trees be installed? If you have two weeks to water them, and can soak them the day before you leave, I think they'd be ok. Idon't know if those 'gator type watering bags are actually effective for extended watering in the absence of a human with a hose or soaker
I think you can plant in zone 5 until mid October, as long as they can be watered- drenched and soaked- adequately and periodically before the ground freezes. In my experience the ground doesn't freeze until January.
The cooler weather is more hospitable to tree root growth than a spring planting followed by unexpected heat or drought in late spring and summer.
Your trees are all deciduous; that's a plus for minimizing winter damage or loss
Finally, for now, do you trust this landscaper to know how to install the trees? Just as important, you should know how to plant a tree so you tell him what you expect....
what to do with potbound roots (hard to find any nursery stock that is not seriously potbound)
dig a "saucer" around the tree to retain water ?
No amending soil, especially NO fertilizer, compost etc. Yes, you are reading this correctly
Do not mulch up to tree trunk
Imperative not to plant too deep; the flare of the trunk should be exposed. Better too high than too deep.
Might want to protect all these young trees with hardware cloth so rabbits and voles don't gnaw and girdle the bark this winter

Lots and lots of web information.
Especially good is LindA Chalker-Scott, an extension biologist and researcher who has written about the good, the bad and the ugly in the nursery industry. She debunks horticultural myths and gives advice based on research. You might want to google her and "planting trees" or some thing like that.

I have planted dozens of trees and shrubs on our half acre, many recommended by gardenweb contributors. The majority of casualities were due to root girdling that wasn't noticed or remedied by me and underwatering when I was too ignorant to know better.

Good luck,!
Marie/Idabean

This post was edited by idabean on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 17:16

october is prime tree planting time in my cold z5 MI ...

and unlike gal.. i would count back.. 6 to 8 weeks from GROUND FREEZE... which is usually mid to late dec ...

if properly soaked in ... they should not need water for the rest of the season ... and that is why Oct is one of the prime times to do it.. in our zone ... there are simply no HOT days to drag the moisture out of the soil ... especially if properly mulched ...

see link.. for ideas about proper watering ...

and if it is delivered with leaves... do not give a whit .. if they all fall off ... its fall.. that is what they are supposed to do ... and done proper.. they would deliver you an already dormant tree ... aka leafless ....

as the glorious bean noted... fall is root growing time... regardless if the tree is dormant above ....

and note.. this planting also give you 6 to 8 to 10 weeks of root growth in spring.. before the stress of putting out leaves ...

frankly.. you are so spot on ... on PROPER TIMING.. i want to puke... lol .. sorry.. its all downhill from here.. so i will end with ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

october is prime tree planting time in my cold z5 MI ...

and unlike gal.. i would count back.. 6 to 8 weeks from GROUND FREEZE... which is usually mid to late dec ...

if properly soaked in ... they should not need water for the rest of the season ... and that is why Oct is one of the prime times to do it.. in our zone ... there are simply no HOT days to drag the moisture out of the soil ... especially if properly mulched ...

see link.. for ideas about proper watering ...

and if it is delivered with leaves... do not give a whit .. if they all fall off ... its fall.. that is what they are supposed to do ... and done proper.. they would deliver you an already dormant tree ... aka leafless ....

as the glorious bean noted... fall is root growing time... regardless if the tree is dormant above ....

and note.. this planting also give you 6 to 8 to 10 weeks of root growth in spring.. before the stress of putting out leaves ...

frankly.. you are so spot on ... on PROPER TIMING.. i want to puke... lol .. sorry.. its all downhill from here.. so i will end with ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

october is prime tree planting time in my cold z5 MI ...

and unlike gal.. i would count back.. 6 to 8 weeks from GROUND FREEZE... which is usually mid to late dec ...

if properly soaked in ... they should not need water for the rest of the season ... and that is why Oct is one of the prime times to do it.. in our zone ... there are simply no HOT days to drag the moisture out of the soil ... especially if properly mulched ...

see link.. for ideas about proper watering ...

and if it is delivered with leaves... do not give a whit .. if they all fall off ... its fall.. that is what they are supposed to do ... and done proper.. they would deliver you an already dormant tree ... aka leafless ....

as the glorious bean noted... fall is root growing time... regardless if the tree is dormant above ....

and note.. this planting also give you 6 to 8 to 10 weeks of root growth in spring.. before the stress of putting out leaves ...

frankly.. you are so spot on ... on PROPER TIMING.. i want to puke... lol .. sorry.. its all downhill from here.. so i will end with ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Ken, how come you can say half as much but get three times the print space? Some trick!

I always try to water newly planted trees every day for a month once they are planted. Can you set up an automatic watering system on a timer? Considering the money you have sunk into those trees, it seems like a paid 'water person' might be a good investment. Maybe just pay a high school girl to turn the hose on the trees every other day while you are gone. Good luck and I hope your trees thrive!

I'm with Ken on this one - at this time of year, if they're 'soaked in' they should not need watering again. Daily watering seems like it could be overkill; it could drown a tree that's been really well watered after planting, in the fall.

Of course there's always the possibility we could get a week of hot, windy, dry conditions in October, but I can't recall that happening here in the past 25 years.

I admit I've killed some tiny mail order trees over those years, but not for a very long time now. And, I think those were particularly fussy varieties, like Franklinia altamaha, and they died due to lack of water in the spring and early summer.

My 2 cents - DtD (who has far too many, too big trees now)

Thanks for the input. I'm mostly concerned about the Copper Beech. It will be a 12' tree planted in a 12' hole.

I'm not sure where the landscaper would get the beech. He was getting the fruit trees from Weston Nurseries. The beech comes with a 1 year warranty. No warranty on the fruit trees. The landscaper will warranty the labor on the beech.

What Marie said. It depends on the Arborist's skill/knowledge in planting. Make sure the burlap and the basket is REMOVED from the hole. No amending the soil in the hole. If you want to add compost, add about a half inch to the surface and spread it over a wide area. Make sure the root flare of the tree is visible and at the surface level. If it looks like a telephone pole going into the ground, it's too deep. Be advised that most (90%?) nursery stock, both balled and burlap and potted trees, are planted too deep in their containers. These trees came from the south last Fall and were shipped up here in the Spring. They spent the growing season in the nursery. Make sure you view the stock and get a good look at the surface roots so that you know there are no girdling roots before the tree goes into the ground. Personally, I plant small stock and have been bare rooting every tree before planting. The research is showing that smaller trees are establishing themselves faster in the landscape than larger ones.

Just my .02

Steve

that was weird...

that was weird..

that was weird ...

in one post this time... lol

ken