Tree Placement Tips for Landscape Design in Fairhaven, MA
- Jan 20
- 14 min read
Updated: Jan 24
by Jorge Melo
In Massachusetts, trees should be placed based on their mature size, purpose, and environmental conditions. Large shade trees work best 15-20 feet from buildings on the south and west sides to block summer heat. Evergreens like arborvitae go along property lines for year-round privacy screening. Ornamental trees frame entryways and anchor planting beds near the house.
The key is matching each tree's needs (sunlight, drainage, and space) to your property's specific conditions. Here in Fairhaven and across the South Coast, we also account for coastal winds, salt exposure, and heavy clay soils that affect where trees will actually thrive long-term. Poor placement and lack of water are the most common reasons trees fail within five years, so getting it right from the start saves money and frustration.
Landscape planning for tree placement in Fairhaven, MA
Planning your landscape before any tree goes in the ground
Walk your property before you buy a single tree. Notice where the sun hits in the morning versus late afternoon. Stand at your front door and identify what you want to frame or screen. Check where water pools after storms (common in South Coast Massachusetts yards with clay soil). These observations tell you exactly where different tree types will succeed or struggle.
In our 35+ years working across Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, and Rochester, we've learned that skipping this planning step costs homeowners twice: once for the tree that dies, again for the replacement.
There's another planning layer most homeowners miss: your landscape design process begins with grading and hardscaping, not planting. Before a single tree goes in the ground, we need to establish proper drainage, install patios or walkways, and shape the land itself. Trees planted before grading is complete often end up in the wrong spot.
Landscape design goals for South Coast Massachusetts properties
Most homeowners want three things: shade to lower cooling costs, privacy from neighbors, and something that looks attractive year-round. Trees deliver all three when placed correctly.
Shade trees on the south and west sides of your house can cut air conditioning bills significantly during summer. Evergreens along property lines create natural privacy screens that outlast any fence. Flowering ornamentals near the front entrance make your property stand out in the neighborhood.
Here's what matters more than any design trend: placing trees where they'll actually survive.
Laying out a functional and balanced landscape design
Start with grading and hardscaping, create the raised bed with loam, then place the largest trees, work down to shrubs and flowers. This sequence prevents the common mistake of cramming a shade tree into leftover space after you've already installed patios and planting beds.
Divide your yard into zones:
Public zone: front yard visible from the street
Private zone: backyard living spaces
Service zone: areas around utilities, driveways, and walkways
Each zone needs different tree types. The front yard might feature one or two ornamental trees that frame your home. The backyard could handle larger shade trees for comfort. Keep service zones clear of anything with aggressive roots.
Balance matters too. Spread visual weight across your property by varying tree heights and placement.
Our landscape design plans in Rochester account for how your yard will look both from the street and from inside your house.
How to place trees within a complete landscape design
How to design tree, shrub, and flower layouts that work together
Think in layers: tall trees in back, medium shrubs in the middle, low flowers up front. This creates depth and makes small yards feel larger.
Trees provide the skeleton of your landscape. Shrubs fill in around them. Flowers add seasonal color at ground level. When a landscape designer in Fairhaven, MA, lays out a property, we're visualizing how these layers interact at maturity, not just how they look the day we plant them.
For example, a sugar maple planted 18 feet from your house will eventually shade a 6-foot radius underneath. That shaded area becomes perfect for hostas or other shade-tolerant plants. Planning these relationships from the start prevents you from replanting beds multiple times as trees mature.
Choosing the right tree types for Fairhaven and coastal MA
Large shade trees: Sugar maples, red oaks, and honey locusts handle our clay soil and provide substantial cooling. Plant them in open lawn areas where they have room to spread.
Evergreens: Arborvitae is the privacy workhorse around here. Eastern red cedar tolerates salt spray better than most evergreens, making it ideal for properties closer to the water. These go along property lines or wherever you need year-round screening.
Ornamental trees: Dogwoods, serviceberries, and Japanese maples add visual interest without overwhelming small spaces. These work near entryways, patios, or as focal points in planting beds.
Avoid trees that struggle with our coastal conditions. Stick with species proven to handle South Coast Massachusetts weather.
Where trees should be placed around homes, lawns, and property lines
Distance from the house: Take the tree's mature height and divide by two. That's your minimum safe distance. A tree that grows 40 feet tall should be at least 20 feet from your foundation. This prevents root damage to basements and keeps branches away from your roof.
Near property lines: Know exactly where your property line sits before planting anything. The last thing you want is a neighbor complaining about your tree dropping leaves in their yard or demanding you remove a mature tree that's technically on their side.
Arborvitae and other privacy trees can go right along the property line as long as they're entirely on your side when mature. Give each tree enough room so branches don't cross into the neighbor's airspace.
Lawn areas: Large shade trees belong in open lawn spaces where you can mow around them easily. Don't plant shade trees in the middle of a small lawn. They'll eventually dominate the space and kill the grass underneath from excessive shade.
Around utilities: Call 811 before you dig to locate underground lines. Keep trees at least 10 feet from septic systems, water lines, and underground utilities. Overhead power lines are worse. Never plant anything that grows taller than the wire height. Even a 15-foot ornamental tree can cause problems if it's directly under a 20-foot power line.
The properties we work on through our plant selection & installation services in Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, and Rochester face all these challenges. We've removed too many trees that someone planted in the wrong spot ten years ago.
Simple tree spacing and placement rules for residential properties
Space trees based on their mature canopy spread, not their current size. If two trees will each spread 30 feet wide, plant them at least 30 feet apart. Closer spacing creates competition for water and nutrients.
Here's a quick reference:
Large shade trees: 30-50 feet apart
Medium ornamentals: 15-25 feet apart
Small flowering trees: 10-15 feet apart
Privacy evergreens: 8-12 feet apart (closer if you want a dense screen faster)
Don't plant trees in straight lines unless you're creating a formal windbreak or property line screen. Natural, staggered placement looks better and mimics how trees actually grow in nature.
Keep trees at least 3-4 feet from sidewalks and driveways. Roots will eventually lift the pavement if planted too close. We've seen this happen countless times in older Fairhaven neighborhoods where someone planted a nice tree right next to their driveway fifty years ago.
Why proper tree placement and planting matter in Massachusetts
The impact of correct tree placement on long-term tree health
A tree planted in the right spot with proper technique will outlive you. One planted poorly might not make it five years. The difference comes down to whether the tree can establish a healthy root system and access adequate water, nutrients, and sunlight.
Trees placed too close to buildings struggle because foundations create dry zones where roots can't spread. Trees planted in full shade when they need sun never develop properly. Trees crammed into small spaces become stunted or develop weak structure as they compete for resources.
Every successful landscape we've designed for clients in Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, and Rochester, MA, started with choosing locations that matched each tree's specific requirements.
How poor placement and planting cause tree stress and failure
Planting a tree too deeply is the mistake we see most often. When the root flare (where the trunk starts to widen at the base) sits below ground level, the tree slowly suffocates. Roots need oxygen from the soil surface. Bury them too deep, and the tree never establishes properly, leaving it vulnerable to disease and wind damage.
Another killer: planting sun-loving trees in shade. We've dug up dozens of struggling trees that someone planted under larger trees or on the north side of buildings, where they never got direct sunlight. These trees don't die immediately. They just decline slowly over the years, wasting your money and time.
Poor drainage does the same thing. Trees planted in spots where water pools after rain develop root rot. Here in South Coast Massachusetts, our heavy clay soil makes drainage problems common. You need to test drainage before planting by digging a hole, filling it with water, and seeing how fast it drains. If water sits for more than a few hours, that's not a good tree location without soil amendment.
Common tree placement and planting mistakes in Fairhaven, MA
Based on what we've fixed over the years:
Planting too close to the house: Homeowners see a small tree and can't imagine it reaching 40 feet tall. Ten years later, branches scrape the roof and roots push against the foundation.
Ignoring sunlight requirements: Shade trees are planted in full sun, or sun-lovers are planted where buildings block light. The tree label says what it needs. Believe it.
Not knowing the property line: We've helped remove trees that grew into the neighbor's yard. Expensive and awkward.
Planting under power lines: Nothing good comes from planting a 30-foot tree under a 20-foot power line. The utility company will eventually butcher it to clear their lines.
Overcrowding: Planting trees too close together because they look small at installation. Five years later, they're competing for everything,g and both trees suffer.
When to plant trees in Fairhaven and nearby towns
Spring vs fall tree planting in South Coast Massachusetts
Fall planting (September through early November) works best for most trees. The soil still holds warmth from summer, but cooler air means less stress on the tree. Roots grow through fall and even into early winter before the ground freezes. Come spring, your tree already has an established root system and takes off growing.
Spring planting works fine if you missed the fall window. Plant as early as possible, ideally March through May. The risk with spring planting is that trees leaf out before roots are fully established, which increases water stress during summer heat.
Skip summer planting unless you're committed to watering religiously. Summer-planted trees need water almost daily during hot spells, and one missed week can kill a young tree that hasn't rooted in yet.
How to plant a tree correctly after choosing the right location
How wide and how deep to dig a tree planting hole
Dig the hole two to three times wider than the root ball, but no deeper. Width matters more than depth because roots spread horizontally, not down. A wide hole lets roots move into native soil more easily.
Depth is where people mess up. The hole should be exactly as deep as the root ball, not one inch deeper. When you set the tree in the hole, the root flare (where the trunk widens at the base) should sit at or slightly above ground level. If you dig too deep and the tree settles, you've just planted it in a hole that'll collect water and suffocate the roots.
Test your depth before removing the tree from its container. Set the root ball in the hole while it's still wrapped. The top of the root ball should be level with the surrounding ground. Adjust the hole depth until you get it right.
In Fairhaven's heavy clay soil, we often dig even wider holes (sometimes four times the root ball width) and rough up the sides of the hole. Smooth-sided holes in clay act like pottery bowls that trap water. Roughing up the sides lets roots penetrate the surrounding soil.
Proper handling of the root ball during tree installation
Remove the container completely before planting. Don't leave the tree in a plastic pot and bury it. Yes, people have tried this. If the tree came in burlap, you can leave natural burlap on, but remove any synthetic material, wire baskets, and twine from the top half of the root ball.
Check for circling roots. If roots are wrapping around the inside of the root ball, carefully straighten them or cut them. Circling roots never correct themselves and will eventually strangle the tree as it grows.
For container-grown trees with badly circled roots, make three or four vertical cuts down the sides of the root ball with a sharp knife. This sounds brutal, but it forces the tree to grow new roots outward instead of continuing to circle.
Backfilling techniques to prevent settling and root damage
Use the original soil you dug out of the hole to backfill. Don't add amendments like compost or topsoil unless your native soil is severely poor. Amended soil creates a "bathtub" effect where roots stay in the nice amended zone and never spread into native soil.
Fill the hole in stages. Add soil around the root ball, then water thoroughly to settle it and eliminate air pockets. Add more soil, water again, and repeat until the hole is filled. This prevents the tree from settling lower after planting.
Tamp the soil gently but don't compact it. Roots need air pockets in the soil to breathe.
Create a slight berm (ring of soil) around the outer edge of the planting hole to hold water when you irrigate. This directs water to the root zone instead of running off.
When and how to stake newly planted trees
Most trees don't need staking. Stakes can actually weaken trees by preventing the trunk from moving naturally in the wind, which is how trees build strength.
Stake only if:
The tree has a weak or damaged trunk
Your site gets strong winds off the water (common in coastal Fairhaven properties)
The root ball is top-heavy, and the tree tips over easily
Use two stakes on opposite sides of the tree, outside the root ball area. Attach straps loosely enough that the trunk can still sway slightly. Remove stakes after one year. Leaving them longer does more harm than good.
Watering requirements after tree planting in Massachusetts
New trees need consistent water for the first growing season. Water deeply two to three times per week for the first 90 days. "Deeply" means letting water soak in slowly, not a quick spray with the hose.
After 90 days, back off to once or twice weekly, depending on rainfall. By the second year, most established trees only need supplemental water during droughts.
The biggest watering mistake is too frequent shallow watering. This encourages roots to stay near the surface instead of growing deep. Better to water less often but more thoroughly.
Caring for newly planted trees in coastal Massachusetts
Mulching and protecting the base of newly planted trees
Apply 2-3 inches of mulch around the base of the tree, extending out to the drip line if possible. Keep mulch 2-4 inches away from the trunk itself. Mulch piled against the trunk causes rot and invites pests.
Mulch does three important things: holds moisture in the soil, moderates soil temperature, and suppresses weeds. All three help young trees establish faster.
Use wood chip mulch, not rocks. Rocks reflect heat and don't break down to improve soil like organic mulch does.
Should you fertilize trees after planting in Massachusetts?
Skip fertilizer for the first year. Newly planted trees need to focus energy on root growth, not top growth. Fertilizer pushes leaves and branches when the tree should be building roots underground.
After the first year, you can add a slow-release organic fertilizer if the tree shows signs of nutrient deficiency (yellowing leaves, poor growth). Most trees in decent soil don't need fertilizer for several years.
Compost spread around the base of the tree does more good than synthetic fertilizer. It improves soil structure while adding nutrients gradually.
Maintaining trees, shrubs, and landscape beds long-term
Professional landscape designers in Mattapoisett Center plan for maintenance from day one. Trees planted with adequate spacing, proper drainage, and appropriate species selection need minimal care long-term.
Annual tasks include:
Refreshing mulch each spring
Pruning dead or damaged branches
Monitoring for pests and disease
Watering during extended droughts
Removing competing vegetation from around the base
The best maintenance strategy is planting trees correctly from the start so they thrive with minimal intervention.
Frequently asked questions about tree placement in landscape design
What are the core principles of landscape design?
Balance means distributing visual weight evenly across your property. Proportion refers to the size relationship between plants and structures. Unity creates a cohesive look where everything feels intentionally placed. Start with grading, hardscaping, and trees, then add layers of smaller plants.
What are the most common landscape design mistakes homeowners make?
Planting trees without considering their mature size tops the list. Poor spacing creates overcrowding, and ignoring sunlight and drainage requirements leads to dead plants. Many homeowners plant everything at once, which strains their budget and maintenance capacity.
Where should you begin when planning a landscape design?
Walk your property at different times of day and note where sun, shade, and wet spots occur. Identify problems you want to solve and features you want to add. Grading and hardscaping come before planting to establish proper drainage and structure.
What time of year is best for landscaping projects?
Fall is ideal for planting trees and shrubs across South Coast Massachusetts. Spring works well for flower beds and hardscaping. Avoid major planting during winter when the ground freezes.
Where should trees be placed in a front yard landscape design?
Place ornamental trees to one or both sides of your entrance, not directly in front where they block your home. Consider sight lines from the street and from inside looking out. Smaller varieties like serviceberry or dogwood work better than massive shade trees in front yards.
Should tree placement be planned before the rest of the landscape?
Yes, trees dictate where shade falls and create natural focal points. Our landscape design plans in Rochester and throughout the South Coast start with grading and hardscaping, keeping in mind where trees will go.
In landscape design, what should be planned first: trees, shrubs, or flower beds?
Grading and hardscaping establish proper drainage and structures first. Trees come next because they have the biggest impact and take the longest to mature. Shrubs fill in around trees, and flower beds come last because they're easiest to adjust.
How do landscape designers choose focal points in a yard?
Focal points are placed where people naturally look: at pathway ends, visible from main windows, or framing entrances. Trees make excellent focal points, especially ornamental varieties with unique form or color. A single well-placed Japanese maple can anchor an entire garden bed.
How can you design a landscape that looks good year-round?
Mix evergreen and deciduous trees for structure in winter. Include trees and shrubs with different bloom times: spring flowers, summer foliage, fall color, and winter berries. This layered approach ensures something always looks interesting in your yard.
How do you design a landscape for sloped or uneven properties?
Slopes require terracing or grading before planting to prevent erosion. Plant trees perpendicular to the slope so roots grow into the hillside for stability. Avoid planting on slopes steeper than 3:1 without retaining walls or extensive groundcover.
How many trees are appropriate for a residential landscape?
A typical quarter-acre suburban lot might have 3-5 trees total. Larger properties can handle more, but don't overplant. Leave adequate lawn space for other uses and remember trees grow larger than they look at planting time.
What makes New England Tree & Landscape different from other landscape companies?
We've worked in the Fairhaven and South Coast Massachusetts area for over 35 years. We start every design with proper grading, hardscaping, and tree placement because we've seen too many expensive mistakes from poor planning.
Does New England Tree & Landscape service my area?
We serve Fairhaven, Mattapoisett, Rochester, and surrounding South Coast Massachusetts communities. If you're outside these areas, contact us to see if we can help based on your location and project scope.
How much does professional landscape design and tree installation cost?
Costs vary based on property size, tree quantity, site conditions, and design complexity. Trees range from a few hundred dollars for small ornamentals to over a thousand for large specimens. We provide detailed estimates after assessing your property and understanding your goals.
Get expert tree placement and landscape design in Fairhaven, MA
Poor tree placement costs you twice: once for the tree that fails, again for fixing the problem.
Whether you need help planning a complete landscape or just want to add a few trees to your existing property, New England Tree & Landscape brings decades of local experience to every project.
We know which trees handle Fairhaven's coastal conditions, where to place them for maximum benefit, and how to install them so they thrive for generations.
Ready to design a landscape that actually works for your property?
Contact New England Tree & Landscape:
508 763 8000
Sources
"Designing a Landscape with Trees." Arbor Day Foundation, 30 July 2018, www.arborday.org/perspectives/designing-landscape-trees.
"Essential Guide to Planting Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers in Massachusetts: Expert Advice from Millennial Landscape & Construction." Millennial Landscaping, millenniallandscaping.com/planting-design.
"Plan Your Tree Layout." iTrees.com, www.itrees.com/a/faq/design-center/tree-layout.
"PDDG Chapter 13 - Landscape Design." Massachusetts Department of Transportation, www.mass.gov/info-details/pddg-chapter-13-landscape-design.
"The Correct Way to Plant a Tree in South Shore, MA (Step-by-Step Guide)." Landscaping by J. Michael, 9 May 2025, landscapingbyjmichael.com/correct-way-to-plant-a-tree-south-shore-ma.
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