Person adding soil backfill to a pine tree sapling - Anastasiia Krivenok/Getty Images When it's time to prep your yard's soil for planting a tree, grabbing some compost may seem like an obvious step.

When I lived in New York City, the view from my kitchen window was framed by a tremendous scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) who towered over the brick homes below — a 150-year-old remnant from before the ...