Tree Planting Cost Calculator

This calculator rolls five separate cost lines into one tree-planting budget: the trees themselves, delivery, planting labor, staking, and mulch. Tree cost and delivery are straightforward — cost per tree times count, plus a flat delivery fee for the load. Labor is where tree size matters most: the calculator assigns a fixed labor-hour estimate per tree based on caliper size (roughly 1 hour for a 1-inch caliper tree, 2 hours for 2-inch, and 3.5 hours for 3-inch-or-larger stock), then multiplies by a $55/hour crew rate and the number of trees. That's a reasonable planning average for hand-dug holes and standard equipment, but it doesn't account for difficult digging conditions — rocky or compacted soil, tight access, or root removal can easily push actual hours well past these baselines.

Staking cost is a flat per-tree rate you supply (covers stakes, ties, and guy-wire hardware), and mulch assumes a fixed $5 per 2-cubic-foot bag, with the calculator asking how many bags you'll use per tree rather than computing mulch ring volume directly — 3 to 4 bags is typical for a 3-foot-radius ring at 2-3 inches deep. One common mixup: caliper size (trunk diameter measured 6 inches above the root flare) is not the same as tree height, and larger-caliper trees need proportionally larger root balls, which is part of why their labor hours jump. Because the per-tree hourly rate is a single lump average rather than a true root-ball-volume model, treat the labor figure as a solid rough-order estimate, not a bid-ready number for unusual planting conditions.