PLANTING TIPS AND GUIDELINES
Be sure to follow these guidelines when planting.
Call Before You Dig!
When you plan to do outdoor work such as landscaping, installing a fence or pool, or excavating for construction, call the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service, a free statewide service that will notify your utility companies to send representatives to the site and clearly mark the location of their underground lines and pipes. This is important to prevent injury and property damage.
Call (800) 382-5544 at least two full working days, excluding weekends and holidays, before digging. For more information, visit www.iupps.org.
Look UP!
Always make sure that if there are overhead power lines you plant trees that will be less than 20’ tall at maturity. This applies not only to the area directly under power lines, but also up to 30’ away from them as well since canopies grow wide AND tall.
Contact IPL at (317) 261-8124 before considering planting near transmission towers or easements. IPL will remove an trees or shrubs that are not compatible with transmission lines.
Click here for more information on planting the right tree in the right place and for trees safe near power lines.
Choose the right tree
Make sure you choose an appropriate tree for space constraints. Columnar or V-shaped trees should be planted along streets or next to buildings. The lowest branches on your tree should not be low enough to block sight lines of cars or pedestrians.
Plant trees that are appropriate for our hardiness zone. Central Indiana is in USDA Hardiness Zone 5.
Click here for the Indiana Community Tree Selection Guide. (PDF)
This tool will help you select species that are known to thrive in Indiana's urban areas based on recommendations by Indiana’s City Foresters and IDNR, Community & Urban Forestry.
Choose a species that is appropriate for the amount of sunlight in an area. Most trees need partial to full sunlight; however, some are “shade tolerant” and can grow in the shade of larger trees. This information can be obtained from nursery catalogs.
Decide what purpose you want your tree to serve. If you want to provide a windbreak or barrier, evergreen trees are appropriate. If you want to plant trees to cool your house, plant trees that will grow into large shade trees. If you want trees for spring flowers, ornamentals are the best choice. Your local nursery can help you with appropriate species.
