Not geezer, but I've planted a lot of trees over the years. First, prior to digging, make sure you're not digging into underground cables. Second, pay attention to how big the trees will eventually grow, particularly the circumference, as you want to avoid them getting too close to house/roofline. Lastly, hole should be twice the size of the root ball, and you should use some growth soil to place at bottom and some intermittently around when filling in hole. Also, break up the roots in the ball if needed, and also make sure it's level before filling. I always used a level, and if they're small, tie them off to insure the wind direction doesn't make them grow at an angle.
