STEP #1: Find a place to plant your tree Okay, I know this doesn't sound hard, but this is probably the area where I see most people mess up. Even I have messed this up. It's really important to consider the final height and width of your tree. Say, for instance, you decide to plant some beautiful shrubs as foundation plantings in front of your house. You get them in the ground and they're beautiful. But a couple years down the road, they're full grown and stand at 8-10 ft. They cover up your windows and when you prune them, they're all leggy. Sure, you could have pruned them all this time, but is that really how you want to spend your weekends?

As one of my colleagues pointed out, you should probably also make sure you Call Before You Dig. No need cutting off water or electricity to your house just to plant a tree. Here's the number to that free service from Austin Energy: (800) DIG-TESS (344-8377).

STEP #2: Dig your hole The Texas Forest Service recommends you prepare your planting site by working the soil with a shovel about 12 inches down. Dig a hole in that area about 2 to 5 times to size of the root ball, and in the center, dig to the depth of the root ball. The sides of your hole should be sloped, not straight, and they should be kind of loose or scored, not flat and hard -- otherwise your roots will have trouble breaking into the surrounding soil.

STEP #3: Plant your tree Be careful not to break the root ball as you remove it from the container. The idea is to disturb it as little as possible. Place it in the center of the hole, using a little backfill to hold it in place. Make sure you completely cut away any burlap, twine or wire. Backfill about halfway with soil you removed from the hole.

DON'T ADD SOIL AMENDMENTS. I know it sounds like it helps the tree, but it doesn't. The tree needs to learn to love the soil you have. If you give it special stuff, the roots will just grow round and round in the hole and not venture out into the rest of the soil. It could get root-bound, or worse, your beautiful pear tree could easily fall over in a wind storm because it didn't have a good enough hold in the ground. You need to encourage it to send its roots out.

STEP #4: Backfill your hole As you fill it in, use water to help fill in air pockets. When you're done, tamp down gently. Your tree should sit even with the top of the soil.

The Texas Forest Service recommends you use extra soil to build a little dam around the edge of the hole to help keep water in while it percolates into the soil.

Now, in Tennessee, they told us to not do that because it will keep too much water next to the trunk of the tree and promote rotting. But this is Texas, and the climate is a lot drier, so the dam sound like a good idea.

You also should spread about 2 to 3 inches of mulch around the base of the tree, kept away from the trunk, to help keep moisture in the soil.

STEP #5: To stake or not to stake? I DO NOT recommend you stake your trees. If it is properly planted, the tree will be fine. You say the wind is blowing? So what? It just makes the tree stronger. It allows the tree to "flex its muscles" and become big and strong. Staking does nothing to help it become strong.

You can really get into the nitty-gritty of tree planting, but those are the basics to get you started. If you have any further questions, definitely ask your local nursery. Not all trees are the same. And don't even get me started on fruit and nut trees -- they are a whole different ball of wax, and a topic for another day.