I plant grafted roses deeper here. But that's to help through the winter. Was not sure how deep to plant an own root though? I would think the other thing to consider is what kind of soil you are planting in. If you have very loose loamy soil; I would not see the harm in planting deep. Because the growth could push out of soil easier, more oxygen in the ground, etc. But if you have heavy clay, wouldn't there be the possibility of suffocating the plant or having it struggle in a heavy compressed soil. These are just things I've pondered while reading about planting depth questions on this forum. I only thought the advice was to plant deeper in colder zones. Fortunately, I have pretty loamy soil. There is some areas with a bit more sandy structure, but compost is helping with that. Good luck with your new plants!

to be sure.. 2 to ten INCHES... right?? many conifers live on mountain sides .. in what is scree.. basically gravel ... soil, per se ... isnt an issue ... subject to proper watering to get them established ... and long term ... i am thinking that if you start small enough.. so that the trees can put their roots where they want/need them ... soil depth shouldnt be all that much of an issue ... as compared to trying to move in huge transplants ... which would have a harder time trying to adjust to the new situation ... but what might be an issue... it height and how it relates to the ability of the roots to hold the plants firmly ... so cultivar selection as to height and form might be the most important issue ... i am curious what others think ... ken ps: your pix startled me at first.. i couldnt believe you still had a bank of snow.. lol ...

So it held on to its green leaves almost right to the end of fall, over the last few days it has changed from pale reddish edged green leaves to the kinds of red I was hoping to see, amazing tree, we had a very mild, wet, colder than usual summer and autumn so it’ll be interesting to see how the leaves go after a hot year, I’ve also pulled back the mulch in a couple places as well and just below the soil there’s a net of new roots so I’m happy it’s really taking to its new home.

South of Boston, MA. Yeah I planted 3, and 2 were right at grade but the last one ended up an inch or two below somehow. I actually just shoveled out around it (about 2 feet in all directions) to make it level relative to the surrounding soil (seemed easier than digging it up and re-planting). Do you happen to have a good pic of what the root flare looks like on a young tree? All I can seem to find is mature tree's... I'm pretty sure I'm good, as I got low enough to see a few small roots pushing out, but I'm not 100% sure on what I'm looking for to begin with. Don't want to dig too low either. Thanks for your reply.