Tree Planting
Right Tree, Right Place — Professionally Planted to Last a Lifetime
Choose the right species, plant it the right way, and your tree will outlive you. Choose badly and you'll be paying us to take it back out in ten years. Carpenters Tree Care advises on, supplies and plants trees across London and Surrey — privacy screens, garden specimens, replacement trees and woodland establishment.
★ 5-star rated on Google · 10+ years experience · Free, no-obligation estimates
10+ yrs
Experience
1,200+
Trees Planted
£10M
Insured
Included
Aftercare
Same Week
Free Quote
Everything You Need to Know
About Tree Planting
What It Is
Tree planting includes species selection, soil and site assessment, supply of nursery stock, ground preparation, planting to British Standard 8545, staking, irrigation, mulching and aftercare advice. We plant single garden specimens, multi-tree privacy screens, woodland blocks and replacement trees to discharge planning conditions.
Who It's For
Homeowners replacing a felled tree or screening a new view. Property developers discharging Section 197 planning conditions. Schools and community groups creating outdoor learning environments. Estate owners replacing storm losses or establishing new avenues. Anyone who has been told to 'plant something' and doesn't know where to start.
When You Need It
Bare-root planting season runs November to March. Containerised stock can be planted year-round but establishes best between October and April. Avoid planting during prolonged drought or when ground is frozen. We assess timing as part of every quote.
Why Professional Help Matters
Around 30% of newly planted trees in UK gardens die within five years. Almost all of those deaths are avoidable — wrong species for the soil, planted too deep, staked incorrectly, no watering plan, no protection. Professional planting addresses every one of those failure modes.
Why Most DIY Tree Planting Fails
Planting too deep is the single most common cause of new tree death. The root flare must be at or just above soil level — not buried under 6 inches of mulch.
Wrong species for the location: thirsty trees on shallow chalk, large-canopy trees in tight gardens, surface-rooting trees over drains, brittle species in exposed sites.
Cheap nursery stock with circling roots, j-rooted seedlings or pot-bound containers will never establish a sound root plate, no matter how well it's planted.
Inadequate watering in the first two summers kills more trees in London than any disease. Newly planted trees need 30–50 litres a week through dry spells.
Wrong stakes, badly tied: trees that have been over-staked grow weak, narrow stems with poor wind tolerance. Trees that aren't staked enough rock out the developing root system.
How We Deliver
Tree Planting
Site & Soil Assessment
We visit, assess soil type, drainage, light, available space, services below ground and overhead, and discuss your goals.
Species Selection
We recommend species matched to the site and your aims — privacy, wildlife, blossom, shade, autumn colour or low-maintenance.
Nursery Sourcing
We source quality, well-formed stock from reputable nurseries. You see the trees before they're planted.
Planting to BS 8545
Pit prepared correctly, root flare at finished ground level, backfilled with native soil, mulched, staked and tied per British Standard.
Aftercare Plan
Written watering schedule, mulch refresh dates, formative pruning timetable. We can return for follow-up visits if you'd prefer hands-off management.
Why Clients Choose Us
for Tree Planting
Right Species, First Time
We won't sell you a tree that will fail. We recommend species that will thrive on your specific site.
Quality Nursery Stock
We source from reputable wholesale nurseries — not cheap roadside stock with bad root systems.
BS 8545 Planting Standard
Pit size, depth, backfill, staking and irrigation all to current British Standard for tree planting and establishment.
Plant After Stump Grinding
We can grind out the old stump, replace the rooting volume with topsoil and plant the new tree in one visit.
Aftercare Included
Written aftercare plan provided with every job. Optional return visits for watering, mulch refresh and formative pruning.
Replacement Tree Cover
If a tree we have supplied and planted dies within 12 months from establishment failure, we replace it free.
Choosing the Right Tree for Your London or Surrey Garden
The first question we ask is 'what do you want the tree to do?' Privacy screening, blossom display, autumn colour, wildlife habitat, shade, low maintenance — these all push the choice in different directions. There is no single 'best tree'.
For privacy screening, fast-growing options like hornbeam, beech, photinia and pleached lime hedges deliver in 3–5 years. Avoid Leylandii in tight London gardens — it overshoots its welcome and creates High Hedges Act disputes with neighbours.
For small London gardens (under 10m wide), look at amelanchier, crab apple, ornamental cherry, magnolia, Japanese maple, multi-stem birch or rowan. These give year-round interest without ever outgrowing the space or threatening foundations.
On clay soils with shallow foundations — most of north Surrey and south London — avoid high water-demand species like willow, oak, poplar and elm within 1.5x mature height of any building. Choose lower-demand species like field maple, birch, rowan, hawthorn, holly or hornbeam.
For wildlife and biodiversity, native species support the most insect, bird and mammal life: oak, hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, holly, rowan, field maple, alder, willow and birch. A small native mix dramatically out-performs an exotic specimen for biodiversity.
Tree planting often follows stump grinding. We grind the old stump, remove the chip, refill the void with imported topsoil, then plant the new tree in fresh substrate well away from the residual root system of the previous tree.
Aftercare is what determines whether a planted tree lives or dies. The first two summers are critical: 30–50 litres per week during dry spells, mulch maintained at 50–75mm thickness over the root zone but kept clear of the stem, ties checked and loosened as the trunk thickens, and stakes removed after 2–3 years.
We offer ongoing aftercare contracts for clients who would rather not manage the watering and pruning themselves — particularly useful for second homes, landlords and clients with multiple new trees on commercial sites.
Frequently Asked
Questions
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Tree Planting?
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