The Best Way to Plant A Tree: Don't
- Emma Baker
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
"I do my utmost to attain emptiness;
I hold firmly to stillness.
The myriad creatures all rise together
And I watch their return.
The teaming creatures
All return to their separate roots.
Returning to one’s roots is known as stillness.
This is what is meant by returning to one’s destiny.
Returning to one’s destiny is known as the constant.
Knowledge of the constant is known as discernment(1)."
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these(2)."
This past fourth of July weekend, I went to a party at a friend's house and ended up doing an impromptu autopsy on his tree seedlings. He'd purchased a dozen bare-root seedlings of native tree species to surround his property, and meticulously planted and cared for them. Despite his loving attention, over half of them were brown and crispy in the muggy heat. He wanted me to tell him how he could prevent catastrophe from striking again, but all I could really offer was the assurance that it probably wasn't his fault. Seedlings just die sometimes - especially ones that have a long trip through the mail. Heat, transplantation, or pathogens can all overwhelm a tiny tree with quickness.
As we were walking through the carnage I spotted a little redbud seedling, Swiss-cheesed by leaf cutter bees, at the untrimmed base of an established maple. I looked up and realized that the property was surrounded by mature maples, redbuds, walnuts, and even white oaks already laden with pinkie-nail sized acorns. "You probably mow down a lot of tree seedlings," I remarked to my friend. He agreed, "Yeah, I must have hundreds of the redbuds."
Exactly what my friend had purchased, I realized with sudden clarity, could be had for free. All he had to do was stop mowing the areas where he wanted trees, and select which of the sprouts that popped up to keep.
In fact, these self-seeded trees will be stronger than transplants. They will avoid the trauma and shock of being dug up and replanted and they will be naturally selected varieties that have proven to be successful in the local soil and microclimate. The best course of action, obviously, was inaction.
The Tao Te Ching contains a principle known as wu wei - inaction. It is a subtle and esoteric concept with centuries of scholarship about it. For my own very humble interpretation of it; everything in the world has its own natural process, and by letting things live out their natural pathways, we can begin to approach harmony. By letting the trees see to their own reproduction, we can enjoy a landscape that creates itself. No unnecessary work needs to be expended on planting trees, we only need to stand back and allow the wisdom of the landscape - it's tao, perhaps - to exist.
Tao Te Ching (D.C. Lau, Translation). Chapter 16. https://www.centertao.org/essays/tao-te-ching
New International Version Bible. Matthew 6:28-29.
