i agree with resin ... and suggest ... clarify ... he means come 3 to 5 feet out .. from the pines... more would be better... and plant there ... not literally 'below' the pines ... some yellows and greens to offset the blue.. and selections outside the pine family would be great ... dont continue the monoculture... ken

People across the country and around the world plant in what is not the best time of the year all the time, and for the most part, do just fine. You just have to water more if you plant in the hot spells. how much more? That can't be answered, because there are several factors that go into it. Soil type, humidity%, amount of rainfall...but let's put it this way. Point your finger to the sky...now poke it into the dirt. If you can bury your pointer finger and it's dry, it's too dry. If you need to ask what that means... Put some mulch around them, watch water, make sure they have sufficient water going into winter...you'll be fine, ken's hysterics making no difference.

Yours is not dying but this one is (please, someone tell me it has a chance, pic taken today) and I have no idea why. 3 years in the ground always looked fine then it went downhill quickly starting about a month ago.. If I had to guess, I didnt plant it on a high enough mound. My "soil" is very wet as leeches and mole salamanders live in it. It also could use more sun. A buck snapped the trunk of this one to the ground 2-3 years ago(it was about 5-6' tall). It is starting to pick up speed in its growth. As long as I make the planting mound tall/big enough, my conifers live. From front going back. Abbotts Pygmy, Sester Colorado, Spaan's Dwarf, Vanderwolf, Canaan Fir, Hoopsi. The Hoopsi certainly lives up to its name and then some. None of the conifers in my front yard get as much sun as they should(pic is taken facing North) My house will start about 5' back from bottom of above pic, I had about 40-50 dump trucks of fill dirt brought in as last summer the footprint of my future house was full of frogs-sorry frogs. That is an American Basswood, Behind/to left of basswood is a 90?' Norway spruce, Sorry for hijack, took some pics today.

Slide rather than lift. Maybe even drag across the lawn on a tarp. If instead using something with wheels tip it over and put it next to the tree after the tree is trenched around, then slide the tree into the conveyance rather than subjecting the tree - and yourself - to much lifting. Also cut through what appears to be all of the roots before doing any prying whatsoever.