Mark the planting location
Drive a wooden or metal stake into the ground at the center of the planting location.
* Measure the diameter of the tree's root ball at its greatest dimension.
* Cut a length of twine 1 or 1½ times the root-ball diameter (for example, a 2-ft.-dia. root ball requires 2 or 3 ft. of twine).
* Loosely tie the string to the stake.
* Hold a can of special line-marking spray paint, which works upside down, at the end of the twine. Pull the twine taut and swing a circle around the stake while spraying paint onto the ground. The goal is to create a circle that's two to three times wider than the root ball. (The twine represents the radius of the hole you'll have to dig.)