I put in a bay tree this weekend - since it came in a five-gallon pot, to bare root it meant soaking it in a big pan for a while then swishing it around in the water and Garrett-juice while patiently knocking off the soil and unwrapping and de-tangling the roots (that were a mess).
When I finished that, I more or less "staked out" the roots, using a bunch of twigs I'd cut (I pruned my rosemary and the dry branches worked well for this). My technique was to stretch out a root and peg it on either side with twigs, then pile dirt over it to hold it down.
By the time I finished planting it I'd pegged out a dozen large roots and left the tree on a slightly raised area so it won't be too deep in the ground.
_________________ Northwesterner
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