Mark out your site well so you know exactly where you'll be planting and where trees are once they are planted. It is easy to strim or mow young trees by mistake as they can be surprisingly difficult to see in long grass. This is very important for community projects where gardening or mowing contractors can easily damage trees if they are unaware of them in long grass. Mark them very clearly with strong stakes and rope or wire to ensure planted areas and young hedges are visible.

Use thin stakes or sticks to mark the rows or areas of trees you plan to plant before you start. You can paint the tops white or in a bright colour or tie tape or ribbon to them to make them easy to see.

Setting back from services infrastructure, roads and boundaries is really important. You don't want your trees to become a nuisance as they grow. Setting back will give you extra space around your trees for access and will preserve important features such as old hedges or walls.

• Keep back 10 metres from power lines and phone cables and do not plant directly beneath them. It is your responsibility to check relevant set backs for higher voltage power lines with the ESB.

• Check that you won't be planting over any underground drains, water pipes, sewage infrastructure, electric or telephone cables or gas pipes. Keep back at least 6m from these.

• Keep back 20m from inhabited buildings or where this isn’t possible use common sense to avoid trees growing too big and close to houses/buildings.

• Keep back 5 metres from small roads and tracks and 10 meters from main roads.

• Keep back 2 - 10 metres from fence lines, walls and other boundaries.

• Keep back 3 - 5 metres from hedges and ditches. If you are planting a new hedge or restoring an existing hedge this does not apply.

Our tree planting schemes are not intended for establishing large areas of woodland or forestry. You should not be planting any area of woodland or closely planted trees of greater than 0.1 Ha or 1/4 Acre.

If you plan to plant any area greater than 0.1 Ha or 1/4 of an Acre you must let us know. There are additional checks and application procedures that we must carry out to ensure that your planting is appropriate and your trees establish successfully.

You may plant several scattered plots of less than 0.1 Ha or 1/4 acre, and low-density amenity or landscape type planting is acceptable, however if you want to put in a larger block of woodland do write this in your application notes on the form or send an email to info@treesontheland.com with details and we will guide you through the process.

It is really important that you do not plant trees in places where they will have a negative impact on special or protected habitats and landscapes and resident flora and fauna. In many cases tree planting is beneficial for the local environment and for biodiversity support, however in other cases planting trees can damage existing rare habitats and cause permanent habitat change.

You must not plant on unenclosed land, moorland, wetland, heathland, bog or unimproved or minimally improved pasture or old meadow that has never been ploughed or seeded.

You must not plant on land falling within an SAC, SPA, SSSI or NHA or any other designation. Please email for advice before making an application if your site falls within these areas.

Scrub: It is tempting to think that tidying or removing a rough area of scrub and replacing it with newly planted trees is a good thing. However this is very much like throwing out the baby with the bathwater - scrub is part of the natural process where fallow or unmanaged ground progresses to weeds and shrubs and then later to trees - it is incredibly valuable for wildlife and the natural regeneration of trees. Avoid interfering with scrub and do not select scrubby areas for tree planting, they are best left alone.

Watercourses and ponds / lakes: You must leave an unplanted buffer of 20 meters along ponds, streams and rivers and other waterways. Trees can be planted in small numbers as individual scattered trees and small groups within this area as long as there is an even balance of light and shade so that the water is not more than 50% shaded along its length.

• The trees are bare-rooted – they travel in bags without soil. They are easy to handle and very tough.

• The trees are between 20 cm and a metre tall depending on species. The majority of the trees will be 40-60 cm.

• You may be surprised at how small the trees are when you receive them. They will not have leaves and will be like small twigs with root. Don’t worry that they are so small and young. A tree planted at this size will very often settle in and outgrow a much larger tree within a few years.

• You will receive details for your tree delivery well in advance so you have good time to prepare.

• You should plant your trees within a day or two of receiving them if possible.

• The trees are bare-rooted – they travel in bags without soil. They are easy to handle and very tough. Don't let the roots dry out and keep them well wrapped in their bags. If the roots look dry splash a little water in to dampen them and wrap them up well again.

• Don't panic if your planting takes longer than planned, or if you need to re-schedule your planting. Keep the trees in a cool, dark place away from sun and frost and they will store in the bags for a week or so very well.

• If you need to store trees for longer you can heel them in. Dig a trench or use a flower bed, loosen the soil and set the trees in so that the roots are well covered with soil. Ensure the soil is slightly damp but do not water the trees if there is a threat of frost. Do not tread them in hard, a loose covering of soil will do well and they are easy to lift out for planting at any stage before the spring.

Make sure everyone is wearing sturdy boots or wellies, warm clothes and gloves.

A good supply of hot drinks, cake and sandwiches go a long way to keeping a tree planting team happy.

Remember to take a few photos on the day. The best are usually group shots of the planting team with their spades ready for action.

Please take pictures of the planted trees when they are done or as they are being planted and send them in to us by email for our records.

You do not need to dig big holes for each tree. If you have time to go out and dig over each spot in advance it'll certainly make the planting easier, but if the ground is reasonably clear you can slot or notch plant.

Slot or Notch Planting: Open a slot or a T shape in the ground with your spade deep enough for the roots and gently slide the roots in so that the root collar is level with the ground and tread the slot closed around it really well to avoid any air pockets below the ground.

Pit Planting: Dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball on the tree and loosen the soil in the bottom. Spread the roots out well and hold the top of the tree straight while you gently back fill the soil around the roots until level with the root collar. Tread the soil down well all around to push out air pockets and firm the tree in well.

The root collar is the place at the top of the roots and the bottom of the stem where you will see a soil mark where the tree has been lifted from the nursery bed. This is the correct level for the tree to be replanted.

A professional tree planter will plant about 1,000 trees in a day. We find that most people can plant between 50 and 100 trees easily in a day on unprepared ground.

You do not need to worry about adding compost, fertiliser or mulch to your trees or planting holes. The trees will put down good roots to reach nutrients and water deeper in the ground - too much goodness at planting can encourage the trees to use surface nutrients you have provided rather than finding their own sources deeper down.

If you do want to add compost, make sure it is very well rotted. Either dig it into the soil in the planting pit or scatter it around the stem after planting to wash in with the rain.

Make sure that any mulches, fertilisers or composts added to the ground around trees are put in a ring around the stem not touching the stem. Mulches that are in contact with the stem will heat up as they rot down and create pockets of mould and fungus which can damage tree bark and overall tree health.

You will not need to do major ground preparations to plant the small whips that we provide. They can be planted by hand with a spade.

We advocate for low impact planting work that disturbs the soils and ground flora as little as possible during the planting process.

If you have a lot of grass and weed growth in the planting area, it is helpful to mow or strim down the area to make getting a spade into the ground easier than pushing through a lot of vegetation.

For larger scale farm hedge or shelter belt planting work, if the ground is very compacted or stony, it is sometimes helpful to run a subsoiler or single plough along the planting line to open the ground.

The most important thing is that planting areas are well marked with stakes if they are not fenced - this is to prevent damage when mowing, topping or strimming. It is very easy for contract mowers or groundskeepers to cut young trees if they cannot see them in long grass during the first growing season.

Woodland Packs will contain a mix of oak, birch, hazel, scots pine, alder, rowan and hawthorn. Crab apple, wild cherry, spindle and guelder rose will be added in small numbers if supplies allow.

If you have wet or exposed ground or have asked for particular species, this will have been taken into account in your mix.

Very roughly 50 trees will cover about 1/20th of an acre of ground set at 2m spacings on rows 2m apart.

You do not need to put in formal rows of trees though it is easier to keep track of them if you do. You can vary the following spacings to suit yourself and you can plant in small random groups or groves if you like.

In any woodland habitat it is beneficial to have some open spaces and some variation in planting density.

For standard woodland planting put your rows 2m apart. Then space your trees along the rows at between 1.5m and 3.5m depending on your requirements. We recommend 2m spacings for most purposes.

At 1.5m spacings your woodland will be denser and your trees will grow straighter and more quickly than at wider spacings. You will need to thin or coppice some trees at between 5 and 15 years to make space and let in light. You should have less weeding to worry about as the trees will shade out the weeds more quickly.

At 3.5m spacings you will have more weeding to do initially and your trees will grow more branches and spread out rather than shooting straight up to the light. You will not need to do so much thinning, though you may need to coppice or thin some trees later on.

Coppice Packs will contain a mix of alder, birch, hazel, oak, hawthorn and rowan. Crab apple spindle and guelder rose will be added in small numbers if supplies allow.

Coppice trees are cut regularly to the ground to regrow as multi-stem trees. Coppicing is a great way to manage trees for firewood production and for green woodworking materials as well as being beneficial for wild flora and fauna.

If you have wet or exposed ground or have asked for particular species, this will have been taken into account in your mix.

You can plant coppice in much the same way as you would plant a woodland but with a little more space for the trees. Please see woodland notes above.

Plant in rows 2m-3m apart and then set plants between 1.5 and 3 metres apart on the rows.

Consider leaving some trees uncoppiced and letting them grow up tall and straight as standard maiden trees. You will then have some taller timber trees growing amongst a productive understorey of coppice.

Hedge Packs will contain a mix of mostly hawthorn, hazel, oak, birch and rowan. Blackthorn, crab apple, spindle, guelder rose and other native species will be added in small numbers if supplies allow.

Hedge Standards: Oak and birch are sent to grown up tall as standard trees over your main hedge - you will have enough trees to plant one standard tree every 5 metres. This means that in future years you can thin the standards to 10 or 20 metres apart; you'll be able to select the best trees to keep from those that have grown up above the hedge. Other trees such as alder, scots pine, rowan and crab apple can also be used as standards. If you do not want standard trees in your hedge, you can let us know and we will keep to the lower growing shrubby varieties only in your hedge mix.

If you have wet or exposed ground or have asked for particular species, this will have been taken into account in your mix. For wet ground we may send alder trees as standard trees instead of birch.

To make a simple hedge you can put 2 plants per metre in a line, but you need to plant two rows of trees close together to make a proper stock-proof hedge.

For a stock-proof hedge set trees in a double row 10 - 12 inches wide with between 2 and 8 plants per metre. We recommend 4-5 plants per metre.

Stagger the planting along the rows so that you end up with a zig-zag line.

You can set your standard trees in a central third line between the two main lines of thorn and hazel - this is a clever way to ensure they get space and are easy to see in the mix.

Shelter Belt Packs will contain a mix of hedge and woodland trees - alder, birch, oak, rowan, hawthorn and scots pine. Crab apple, hazel, wild cherry, spindle and guelder rose will be added in small numbers if supplies allow.

A simple shelter belt is usually made up of two lines of trees planted as a staggered double row. A single row of trees spaced 1m apart can also be effective if space is short. Belts of 3 rows or more can be planted for more effective shelter.

Trees can be planted as close as 1m and up to 5m apart. In general for double row belts we recommend spacing the rows 2m apart and the trees 2m apart on each line. Stagger the planting so that each row fills the gaps in the previous row.

Planting trees to improve water quality: Trees can help to interrupt and slow down the flow of surface water and nutrients into streams, drains, rivers, ponds, lakes and the sea. Trees can also play a role in absorbing excess nutrients and prevent them from entering watercourses.

For any kind of forestry or woodland planting of trees in blocks and especially areas of over 0.1Ha or 1/4 acre, planting should be set back 20m or more from the edge of the water to create a buffer area that is unplanted.

Smaller numbers of trees can be planted closer to the water to improve water quality and to help prevent erosion of banks. These should be set in small groups or as scattered individual trees planted in an informal manner. The most important thing is to avoid creating heavy shade along the whole length or area of water, you do not want to create a tunnel of trees shading the water. Aim for a maximum of 50% shading so that here is a balance of light and shade reaching the water.

Apple trees should be spaced between 5 and 10 metres apart depending on the expected size of the mature tree.

You do not need to put stakes in for the young trees supplied. They should establish good roots and grow up straight.

It is very important that fruit trees don't get rubbed, trampled or eaten by livestock and that they are protected from rabbits and voles.

If you do have livestock it is worth investing in strong parkland type guards for apple trees which give the trees plenty of space to grow and will protect them for many years.

Voles can do a fair amount of damage to young fruit trees tunnelling around the roots and chewing the bark. A simple vole guard can be made by cutting an eight inch length of spiral rabbit guard and wrapping it around the very bottom of the tree.

You do not need to do major ground preparations for fruit trees. Plant them as you would any tree. You can slot plant them or dig a hole twice the size of the root ball. Be sure to tread in the soil all around the tree to firm it in well and push out any air pockets under the roots.

If the soil is very poor you can add a spade full of well rotted compost mixed into the soil in the hole or scattered in a wide circle around the tree and not touching the stem.

We do not supply guards, stakes or fencing with the trees.

If you are planting trees in a safe place where no farm animals or wild animals are likely to get at them you do not need fencing or tree guards. Mark them out well so you know where they are and let them get on with growing. This is particularly important for community projects where mowing contractors can easily damage trees in long grass if they are unaware of them. Strong stakes and wire or rope can be used to mark out planted areas and young hedges clearly.

Staking the trees themselves is not necessary, they are hardy young trees. They should establish a strong root system over the first few years while they are still small and will grow up straight without the need for support.

Staking these small trees will do more harm than good causing the tree to vibrate in the wind against the restriction of the tie and loosen the root systems and damage bark.

Tall tube tree guards are occasionally useful but they will not protect trees against cattle, sheep or horses rubbing and pushing them. They must be very well staked not to fall over and take the tree with them and must be removed when the tree starts to grow out of them as they can stifle growth and cause kinks in an otherwise straight tree.

Spiral rabbit guards are great if you have short grass and lots of rabbits. Usually one spiral can be cut into two and wrapped around the bottom of the tree without a stake or with just a small stick to keep it straight.

If you have put in new fencing remember to set back your planting by at least 2m as the trees will eventually ruin your fence or the fence will ruin your trees. Either way you'll have trouble untangling them so best to leave plenty of space.

Brambles, nettles, thistles and other common weeds all deter grazing and browsing animals and others who may trample or eat your trees. They are a cost effective alternative to barbed wire and plastic tree guards and will protect and shelter your trees if you let them.

Weeds and grasses will compete with young trees for nutrients and light and the trees will grow more slowly on account of this during the first few years. Under the ground however they will be establishing strong roots which will serve them well in future and they will make use of the valuable shelter provided by the weeds. After a couple of years the trees will put roots below the grass/weed layer and you will find they take off and grow up fast, quickly shading out the worst of the weeds.

In general we advise a session once or twice a year to push or pull and trample any tall weeds that are falling or hanging over the trees as these can cause trees to lean or fork. This is also a good opportunity to take a head count and note any failures.

If you would like very neat trees you can mow along your paths and edges and do plenty of hand weeding. You can also spread woodchip, straw, cardboard or compost as mulch around the trees which will keep off the weeds for a year or so. Beware too much mulch - it encourages roots close to the surface looking for easy nutrients and it can temporarily take nutrients out of the soil while it is being broken down and cause trees to struggle.

It is easy to spend a lot of money and energy on mulching and weeding – remember that if you can see every tree you have planted then so can rabbits and deer and other troublemakers. Rabbits particularly hate to push through tall wet grass and prefer to graze short lawns, so they will be put off by grass and weeds hiding your trees.

We advise not to use weedkiller or glyphosate sprays to kill weeds around the trees. Killing the weeds exposes the soil and the trees to wind, drought and other weather and marks them out for browsing animals to see. Glyphosate damages mycorrhizal fungi in soil and deters important soil organisms which contribute to strong and resilient tree and woodland establishment. While the trees may do well after spraying in terms of height growth, due to reduced competition for nutrients, they are more vulnerable to young windblow on account of their immature root systems. Young tree or woodland habitat will likely be colonised by other plants, wildflowers and wildlife - spraying takes away much of the material for this and will slow the overall natural establishment of the area.

If you expect to bring a tractor into your wood or around your trees later on you must leave unplanted rides or paths 10m wide to give reasonable access. Otherwise leave sensible 5m wide paths where you want them and mow occasionally to keep them open.

Keep pathways and entrances clear and tidy. You will walk around your trees or woods more often if you can get into them! Later management, pruning, thinning, coppice and felling work will be much easier if you have plenty of space to get in and out.

Remember to walk around your trees often. Your human smell will put off some wild animals from browsing the trees and you will have a good idea of which trees are doing well or if any are struggling.

Oak: Probably the best known of the Irish trees, an oak tree can grow to a very great size and support hundreds of species of flora and fauna as it matures. Oak is quite a tough tree and will do well in most conditions in Ireland. It is slow growing and needs plenty of light to thrive, give it the sunniest spots when planting and take care not to allow it to be shaded out by other faster growing species.

Common Alder: Alder is fast growing and loves wet ground. It coppices extremely well. It will quite likely outgrow all the other species in the first few years so watch particularly that it isn't shading out oak. If it gets too big, coppice it in the winter and the surrounding trees will get plenty of light while it is busy re-growing.

Downy Birch: Birch is a pioneer species. In the wild it colonises fallow or unmanaged ground, often along with willow, oak and thorn, and is the first stage of a young woodland establishing. It will grow well in most places, coppices well enough when young but can be sensitive on occasion. Another fast growing tree.

Rowan: Another tough tree which will do well in most places and which coppices well. It produces lovely flowers in spring and lots of red berries in late summer. The berries are great for making jellies and jams and provide food for birds through the autumn.

Scots Pine: A handsome and distinctive native pine tree. Traditionally used to mark out boundaries and byways, it is a useful tree for timber if it grows straight. Also beloved of red squirrels and worth including in small numbers for diversity of species in most mixed woodland and tree cover.

Hazel: Famous as a coppice and hedge tree, hazel will grow well in most places. It will produce firewood and useful straight poles if it is managed well and will give you nuts if it has plenty of light and if you can get them before the squirrels. Hazel will pleach and lay brilliantly into a hedge and will also provide stakes and etherings for fixing a newly laid hedge.

Hawthorn / Whitethorn: The best loved hedging plant and a very handsome small tree when let grow up tall. It is a pioneer tree and is extremely useful in starting a new woodland or coppice. Hawthorn will provide wonderful blossom in May and lots of red berries in the late summer. Be careful as it is thorny.

Blackthorn: A wonderful hedging plant and tree which produces early spring blossom and sloe berries in autumn. These berries are excellent added to gin to make sloe gin. Beware the thorns, they are poisonous and can leave a nasty puncture wound. Wear good gloves when handling any thorn trees.

Crab Apple: Our native wild apple tree. A tough tree which will produce pretty blossom in spring and small apples in autumn. It supports bees and other pollinators and will pollinate most apple trees so it is excellent mixed into orchards and around gardens. Its fruit is great for jellies, jams and chutneys.