The History behind the Saying "Planting a Tree 30 Years Ago was Ideal, Planting Now is the Next Best Option"?

According to Susan Ratcliffe's Oxford Treasury of Sayings and Quotations (fourth edition, 2011), the saying "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best is now" is considered modern. The recommended time frame for planting a tree has varied in different recitations of the saying. For instance, Personal Finances: The Golden Rules for Making the Most of Your Money (1994) suggests planting 25 years ago while a version from the Cleveland Plain Dealer (1967) advises planting 30 years ago. Interestingly, an outlier from Strides magazine (1995) recommends planting five years ago and planting now as the second-best option, while McHenry's Quips, Quotes and Other Notes (1999) advocates for planting ten years ago. Urban Forestry (1991) even pushes the ideal planting time back to fifty years ago. Although the oldest record of the saying dates back to the 1967 Plain Dealer article, Google Books and Hathi Trust searches have yielded several other matches from the period between 1968 and 1973. In a 1968 Georgia Game and Fish article written by George Bagby titled "Our Ruined Rivers," the saying was already in use.

Georgians have come to acknowledge the urgency of the situation and are taking action, which is a promising sign. It is commonly stated that the ideal time to plant a tree was thirty years ago, but the second best time is the present. The same applies to wildlife conservation, the ideal time to protect their natural habitat would have been fifty or a hundred years ago, but the next best time is now.

The research article from Georgia Game and Fish was later republished in the Congressional Record of November 25, 1969. Similarly, the quote "The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. The next best time is now" has been attributed to various individuals, but the original source is unknown. This same remark appeared in the Timber Producers Association of Michigan and Wisconsin's The Timber Producer (volumes 47-48) in 1971-1972 and the Wisconsin Insect Survey Bulletin (volumes 13-18) in 1968-1973.

Despite its association with China, there is a Chinese proverb about planting trees that is less optimistic than the one in question. According to Josh Rohsenow's ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs (Yanyu) (2003), the proverb roughly translates to "The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now, but it's still too late."

The notion of planting a tree in the morning and then basking in its cool shade in the evening is a romanticized and unattainable fantasy. The harsh reality is that such an endeavor requires patience, persistence, and a realistic outlook. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by expecting instantaneous results. Be pragmatic and keep your expectations grounded in reality. Accept that success is often the result of diligent effort over an extended period of time, rather than a rapid endeavor. In short, manage your expectations and stay focused on the long game.