Appropriate soil: Just about any soil as long as it is not a swamp. Of course they will grow better if the PH is balanced (about 7.0) but if the PH is too high i.e.. 8.6, the trees will not survive. Location: They love full sun. If you deprive them of it, they will seek it. Back row trees grow taller than the front row trees.
Caution: DO NOT put the cuttings in water to "get them started". That practice promotes diseases such as cytospora phosmosis, which is not only fatal but contagious to other cuttings.

Planting Cuttings

Dig a 6" Diameter hole, 9" deep , Add a pak of slow release fertilizer and mycorrhyzal inoculant if you have, and then place the cutting in the hole so that one bud shows out of the ground. The fertilizer should be placed about 2 inches deeper than the cuttings, the mycorrhyzal can be touching the cutting.

Many cuttings are lost because they are planted upside down. Check the picture above, this is the correct way to plant cuttings, with one bud showing out of the ground and facing up. After planting, water them. If it gets too hot, don't let them dry out! Shade would be beneficial for the first month if the sun is too hot... then, let them have it! Replace the soil back in the hole, tamp and water. Do you have Watersorb?? Mix a tablespoon of the polymer with the dirt before you put it back in the hole.

What, you don't want to mess with polymers and have more than just a few cuttings to plant? Use the planter I offer. You will get all your cuttings planted in one day, just make sure you keep them watered until they are well established. The best time to plant? After it has been raining for a few days.

If you have problems with your soil being dry, I would suggest getting longer cuttings, 18" , 36" or 44" long. The longer length of the cutting will give it a much better chance of survival. The root system will be better the longer the cutting is. If you have 44" cuttings, plant them 44" deep.

When planting longer cuttings you can leave two buds showing. Within a few weeks cut off one of the shoots leaving the dominan one.

When you receive your cuttings they are going through a very dramatic experience: They were rudely awakened by warm temperature and are in the mood to grow fast!. If you don't have time to plant them right away, you can keep them in the refrigerator for a few days. Keep them in the air tight plastic bags to conserve moisture. Please don't keep the cuttings in your fridge for too long or they will start growing and in that stage the roots are very frail and you could kill the cuttings.

When can you plant cuttings? The best way to tell if the weather is right to plant cuttings, is by looking at the fields in your area. If the farmers are growing lettuce, then the weather will be friendly to the cuttings. If you live in the South or California, you can plant cuttings or trees at any time.

If the cuttings already have roots, make the hole extra large and extra deep, to prevent breaking them, instead of tamping dirt against the cutting, flood each hole with water which will make the soil fall gently around the cutting. Now you can push more dirt against it to stabilize it.

Planting Trees - 2 to 4 ft.

Make the holes about 8X8 inches and 10 inches deep. Drop a pak of slow release fertilizer, add about 2 inches of dirt and then place the roots of the tree in the hole. At this time you can add mycorrhizal inoculant if you have. It can be in contact with the roots. If you have stockosorb, mix the dirt with about 1 tablespoon of polymer per tree. Spread the roots evenly on the bottom of the hole, and and fill the hole with the rest of the dirt. The old cutting must be completely covered with dirt. Tamp, water well. For 6 ft. trees make the holes about 14 inches deep. and use two paks of fertilizer.
What if... You are waiting for your trees to be delivered, it is getting cold, most likely the soil will freeze. What to do?
Dig the holes. Put the dirt in sacks or in plastic buckets and take some place where it will not freeze. It is a good idea to mix it with polymer at this time.

When your trees arrive, even if you have 1 inch of ice on the ground,take your dirt buckets outside, and follow the same procedure outlined earlier. When done, water your trees well, once. That's all there is to it!

What if... you did not have time to dig the holes before the surface froze? If you still can do some sort of digging, you can then heel the trees