Planting and specimen trees
Trees and planting chosen for the site and placed for the long term.
When to plant mature
Plant a mature specimen when the tree is structural to the design: framing the house, anchoring a view, completing a garden. Let a smaller tree grow when it plays a supporting role. A mature tree costs significantly more and carries real transplant risk, so the decision turns on how central the tree is, your time horizon, and how well the site will support it.
Tree size is measured in caliper, the trunk diameter, and cost rises faster than size: a 4-inch tree costs three to six times a 2-inch tree, depending on species.
Siting for the next fifty years
Soil. Rocky soils in Bedford and Pound Ridge are often shallow over bedrock. Specimen trees need at least three to four feet of usable soil depth, sometimes with excavation and amendment.
Drainage. Heavy clay holds water and kills trees slowly, so we assess drainage before siting.
Establishment. A transplanted mature tree spends two to five years rebalancing roots and canopy. Dedicated irrigation for the first two to three years is essential, with support and monitoring through the first three to five.
We walk the property, talk through what you want from it, and follow with a detailed proposal covering material specifications and a timeline.
Site analysis takes one to four weeks. Design development and construction drawings typically take four to twelve weeks once a concept is chosen.
Town permits typically take four to twelve weeks depending on the town. Work near a regulated wetland typically adds three to twelve months. We coordinate permits as part of the project.
A smaller project typically takes four to eight weeks to build. Estate-scale work runs from three months to a year or more.
Common questions
Most maples, river birch, ornamental cherries and paperbark maple transplant well, and red oaks, ginkgo, Japanese maple, serviceberry and most magnolias do well too. Beech, sweetgum and hickory are difficult, and mature pines, firs, hemlocks and white oaks are very difficult.
Typically two to five years to rebalance its roots and canopy. Some branch dieback over the first one to three years is normal as the tree adjusts.
It depends on the tree's role. Where immediate presence matters, a mature specimen is often right. On a long horizon, several younger trees give a more varied planting at a fraction of the cost, with lower risk for each tree.
Often. Many Westchester towns regulate removal of trees above certain trunk diameters, and Bedford regulates removal of large specimen trees on private property.