Trees on farms have the potential to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. In addition to ecosystem services such as reducing soil erosion and enhancing soil health, they also provide opportunities for generating additional income and contributing to household nutritional requirements. Despite these benefits, there have been several challenges in tree planting in the eastern drylands of Kenya, specially characterized by low seedling survival. This is partly due to erratic rainfall, planting of ecologically-unsuitable tree species, poor quality seedlings, and poor tree seedling management practices. Tree (re)establishment in landscapes is a key approach to land restoration. However, low survival rates, especially of tree species highly valued by farmers, has remained a major bottleneck in the drylands. Understanding which trees farmers prefer, and what determines tree survival, as well as enhancing farmer knowledge of tree management is key to scaling up land restoration.