Advice On Planting Barerooted Trees and Shrubs

So I finally got round to buying my bare rooted trees and shrubs and they arrived yesterday.

I was going to soak them in a bucket of water for a few hours before planting them out but I've now been reading in a few places that they have to be heeled in before they go into their final position and the weather is good enough.

My question is when is the weather good enough to plant a plant that is asleep? Also the tree I bought will be planted in my front garden where it can be pretty windy. Should I heel this one in for a few months until the winter has passed or should I plant it now with a bit of protection so it learns to adapt to it's surroundings.