Yesterday is the Best Time, Sometimes

You’ve probably heard the adage, "The best time to plant a tree was yesterday; the second best time is today."

Why? Because trees grow slowly, and the earlier they get in the ground, the sooner you can benefit from them. It seems that any process that requires significant time, be it growing fruit trees or launching a business or planting a church, is better done yesterday than today, and today more than tomorrow.

In other words, don’t procrastinate.

Yes, but yesterday was a terrible time to plant a tree. Especially a young fruit tree. Yesterday was hot, dry, and sure to stress, say, a young plum tree. If I wait one more month, when the tree is in a natural cycle of dormancy, the weather is cooler, and the ground naturally irrigated. The young plum will comfortably rest in the ground until its first burst of growth in Spring.

If I planted it yesterday, it almost certainly would have died. Today, same thing. In a month, perfect.

When it comes to fruit trees, timing matters.

Theoretically, yesterday was the best time to launch your business, kickstart your project, plant your faith community, or get going on your idea. People like us want to launch, want to get up and go, want to take off. Yesterday is always better!

But sometimes tomorrow is more strategic, and a month from now is perfect.

Know your trees.
Know your environment.
Know your goal.
Yesterday is not always better.

(By the way, it never hurts to begin preparing the soil today, even if you’re planting in a month. Actually, there’s no doubt: begin preparing today.)