Can You Plant Trees in Winter? Survival Rate and the Best Planting Season Explained

In recent years, with the implementation of various forestry ecological projects, increased tree-planting tasks, and short project timelines, many landscaping companies have to plant large numbers of trees even in winter. So, can you plant trees in winter? Can they survive? What season is best for planting trees? What about summer and autumn? Let's find out below.

1. Trees can also be planted in winter, and they can survive if the requirements are met

Planting trees in winter has a series of advantages. First, at this time the temperature is low, the air humidity is high, and evaporation is low, so the saplings do not lose water easily during transplanting and can retain more moisture; the soil temperature is high and the humidity is high, which helps the roots form callus tissue and take root to absorb water and nutrients. Second, in winter the saplings are in a dormant state, so the roots heal better. Third, trees planted in winter sprout early the following spring and have strong roots. However, planting at this time faces the following problems:

Compared with spring planting, the range of tree species suitable for planting in winter is smaller;

Compared with spring, the planting cost is higher. Whether it is digging up the trees or digging the pits at planting time, the labor cost is relatively high; maintenance costs increase. After planting trees in winter, a certain amount of money often has to be spent in spring on secondary maintenance, such as reinforcing the water ring and reinforcing the supports. At the same time, after planting in winter, the trees must be wrapped with straw ropes or non-woven fabric, which also increases maintenance costs;

The quality of winter tree-planting projects cannot be well guaranteed, and this is especially obvious in the north. In winter in the north, the soil has already frozen. In places where machinery cannot be used, digging tree pits becomes more difficult, resulting in pits that are too small or too shallow and causing root freezing after planting.

Planting trees in winter is prone to frost damage, which affects the survival rate of the trees. During planting, sudden low temperatures are often encountered, but at that time the insulation measures for the newly planted trees have not yet been taken, so the trees may easily suffer frostbite. Second, even if insulation measures have been taken, rare low temperatures can still cause frostbite to the trees. Deciduous trees planted in winter suffer less damage, but some evergreen tree species will have their leaves frostbitten and killed at low temperatures.

2. Spring is the best time to plant trees; summer, autumn, and winter are not good for survival

The survival rate of tree planting in spring is relatively high. The main reasons: First, in spring the temperature rises, sunlight and rain increase, and the soil is moist, which is good for tree growth; second, in spring the branches and leaves of trees have not yet sprouted in large numbers, so water loss is relatively small, and the demand for water and nutrients supplied by the roots is not urgent, so even if there is damage during planting, it is easy to recover.

In winter and autumn, a large number of leaves fall and tree metabolism slows down, which is not good for survival. In summer, the temperature is high and transpiration is strong. When saplings are transplanted, their roots will be damaged, and heavy transpiration will cause the saplings to dry up and die, making survival difficult.