Can I plant trees now, 5/31/2016

[Sonnyboy1]

I have plants I want to plant in ground and I'm wondering when can I plant and it survive? The plants are loaded with berba and don't want to ruin my first fruit at tasting figs. Can I plant now before it gets really hot? I have the hole dug and it is almost pure clay. I poured water in hole and it took about 1.5 hours to sink water away to dry hole, please advise, me.
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[ross]

What zone are you in? Also I would amend with a soil conditioner.

[AscPete]

As long as the plant is acclimated, the root ball is not disturbed and its kept watered they can be planted at almost any time.

A raised bed or mound can be used to get the tree off to a fast start. Over time the roots will grow into the clay soil if its not hard packed.

[quackmaster]

I live in very south Louisiana and I've planted fig trees in ground all through the summer with no problem. As Pete said as long as the root ball isn't disturbed. If a tree is growing fast and has a lot of fresh green growth with long tender green stems I avoid putting those in ground when it's too hot because those tend to droop and get stressed easily here. When a new tree is put in ground and the roots start spreading out it usually goes through a good growth spurt then with no issues. This is what works for me.

[Gr8Figs]

I'm going to be planting trees out in my field in full sun in hard red clay in a week or so. I dig a 3-4' diameter hole 2-3' deep and fill the holes with a top soil mix. I will be watering the new figs every 2-3 days in the Summer for their first year in the ground.Next year they should be OK without watering except for exceptional hot and dry weather.

[Sonnyboy1]

WoW!

[Harborseal]

It depends where you are. If you're in an area with cold winters in the S hemisphere this wouldn't be a good time to plant. If you're in the N hemisphere with mild winters the sooner the better. Bury the plant as deeply as you can and add a lot of worm food. The worms will improve your soil, the fig tree will have good natural fertilizer and your drainage will improve.

If you don't disturb the root ball and water it in well the plant will be under less stress than it was in the pot. It will need to be watered all this year and possibly the next 2 depending on rainfall and your water tables. I would also give it some dilute fertilizer with each watering.