Gardening tips for December: Plant bare-root trees

Nurseries still sell bare root trees – we explain how to plant them

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Bare rooted tree
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Plenty of nurseries still grow their young trees in the open ground and sell them bare-root. When they arrive, usually beautifully bound, unwrap them carefully and assess their dimensions before digging the holes to suit, one at a time, keeping the topsoil on one side and the subsoil on the other. Try it for size, then place a cone of soil in the bottom, resting the spread roots on top before building up the rest of the soil in layers, firming as you backfill. Any stake goes on the windward side, with the tie 1in below the top.

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Country Life
Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

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