Everyone loves to plant trees – and generally speaking, arborists and landscapers do a great job. We celebrate tree planting as a noble cause, and it is.

My question is, why do we still see so many newly planted trees dead or struggling instead of thriving? Urban trees often live far shorter lives than their potential. One analysis of street-tree studies estimates a typical mean life expectancy of 19 to 28 years, with half of a planted street-tree population expected to die within 13 to 20 years. With the amount of time, money and effort spent on planting trees, that is a terrible ROE – return on effort. It seems obvious why we’re failing, but maybe the author is just jaded. (True.)

This is a follow-up to an article published in TCI Magazine in April 2024, “The Unfulfilled Promise of Urban Planting.” In the two years since that article was published, I’ve seen three excellent presentations on tree planting.

One was on new varieties of trees that stand up to the rigors of the urban environment. As a self-proclaimed plant-ID nerd, I thought it was so good. Another was on planting techniques and plant selection. The third was on design – how we can improve street-tree pits, etc. As interesting as that perspective was, it seemed like we were moving in the wrong direction. The urban environment was the focus, and the trees were an afterthought.

Unfortunately, none of these presentations came close to mentioning the biggest problem we face with the survivability of tree planting: aftercare, or simply put, watering. Do you know what I’ve never seen a presentation on? A watering plan!

Tree planting is a wonderful celebration of nature and beauty and life. But the celebration usually ends once the tree is in the ground, and that’s when the most important work begins.

Do you know what’s not celebrated? Dragging a hose or a five-gallon bucket out on a brutally hot day in July to water the trees that were planted. Most of the trees that die never get any aftercare. As an industry, this is where we fail, but we continue to blame nurseries and bad planting techniques. That may be part of it, but most arborists and tree wardens will tell you it’s the lack of water in the summer and early fall.

It’s humorous that people are obsessed with hydration and take their fancy metal water bottles everywhere they go. Yet somehow, we plant a tree in full sun with zero water and expect it to be OK.

It’s also amusing when municipalities, universities and other organizations set lofty tree-planting goals. It is great to see money appropriated for planting, but planting is only the beginning.

We should split the budget: half for planting and half for watering for the first three years. We should plant fewer trees but commit funds for follow-up care. That’s better than planting several trees with no watering plan. As the business cliché goes, hope is not a strategy. If we want to improve the life expectancy of an urban tree, we need to break the bad habits we have repeated for decades.

Yes, watering needs to become a strategy for success. It’s not fun, romantic or sexy, but there is an art and science to proper watering. Water bags are a great innovation, but only if they’re filled at least weekly in the summer.

We all know municipalities, landscapers, horticulturists and arborists want their work to be successful. They don’t want to waste plant material, time and money. The question is, why are so many urban trees still failing to reach their full potential?

Urban tree planting isn’t easy. There are so many things that can go wrong. Is watering and aftercare for the first three years the solution? It may not be the silver bullet, but it would be a huge help.

David M. Anderson, CTSP and Massachusetts certified arborist, is a manager with Mayer Tree Service Inc., a 33-year TCIA member company based in Essex, Massachusetts. He also is a member of the TCI Magazine Editorial Advisory Committee.