Planting-site check

Pick a species and describe the spot: your USDA zone, the sun it gets, how wet the soil stays, the distance to the nearest power line and the distance to the nearest wall. We compare that with what the species is known to take and give a plain verdict: thrive, struggle or fail, along with a few others that would thrive in the same spot. The link carries your answers, so you can send it to whoever is digging the hole.

Species Your USDA hardiness zone Look it up by ZIP code if you are unsure.

Or type your ZIP code Read from the 2023 USDA listing in your browser. The ZIP code is not sent.

Sun at the spot Soil moisture Distance to the nearest power line (feet) Measured along the ground from the spot to a point under the wires. The International Society of Arboriculture's zones: closer than 15 feet, a tree of 20 feet or under; 15 to 50 feet, 40 feet or under. Distance to the nearest wall (feet) From the spot to the house, garage or wall.

Northern White Cedar

Medium tree, 40–60 ft, zones 2–7; full sun or part shade; average or wet soil.

Now describe the spot: zone, sun and soil moisture give the verdict; the two distances catch trees planted under wires or against a house.

See Northern White Cedar in the catalog

How the verdict is made

Hardiness zone. Inside the zones the species is known to take is good. One zone colder or warmer is a struggle, and two or more is a fail.
Sun and soil. Each answer is compared with the light and the soil moisture the species takes in cultivation. A plant tagged as tolerating shade, wet soil or drought fits that answer, here as in the finder and the shop. One step off, such as part shade for a full-sun tree, is a struggle: the plant lives but grows slowly or needs help. Two steps off is a fail.
What the answers mean. Full sun is 6 or more hours of direct sun, part shade 3 to 6 hours or dappled light all day, and shade under 3 hours. Dry ground dries within a day, average ground drains in a day or two, and wet ground stays damp and puddles after rain.
How far from power lines. Closer than 15 feet to distribution wires, a tree should mature at 20 feet or under. From 15 to 50 feet out, it should mature at 40 feet or under. From 50 feet out, any tree goes.
How far from a house. A plant stands at least the distance its own page gives from a wall. Where the page gives none, the check takes half the mature crown, and never less than 15 feet for a tree.
Struggle, not fail. Wires and walls can make a plant struggle but never fail, since they mean pruning rather than death.

The wire zones are the International Society of Arboriculture's, from its brochure Avoiding Tree & Utility Conflicts (2021). "The low zone extends 15 feet (4.5 meters) on either side of distribution wires", and a tree there "should have a mature height of 20 feet (6 meters) or lower". "The medium zone extends between 15 and 50 feet (4.5 and 15 meters) from distribution lines", for a tree "with a potential mature height of 40 feet (12 meters) or lower". "The tall zone is at least 50 feet (15 meters) away from distribution lines." A spot exactly 15 feet out counts as the medium zone, as on the plant pages that say to plant a tree 15 feet from overhead wires. The wall rule is the University of Maryland Extension's, from Planting Trees in Our Changing Climate: "Plant small trees a minimum of 15’ away from the foundation", or half the mature canopy. The same page allows a taller tree under wires: "Choose trees that are 25’ tall or lower at maturity." The check follows the stricter ISA figure of 20 feet. Each plant's zones, light and soil moisture are those shown on its own page. Native street trees covers the strip and the wires, and Small native trees and large shrubs for a small yard covers placing a tree near a house.

What this cannot see: soil pH, salt, wind, compaction, drainage below the surface, and the difference between a healthy young tree and a stressed one. A wet answer for a spot that only puddles in spring is too harsh, and a full-sun answer for a spot shaded by a house after two in the afternoon is too generous. When in doubt, dig a hole a foot deep, fill it with water, and see whether it drains by the next morning. For a spot that gets road salt or salt spray, start from the trees and shrubs labelled Salt tolerant.