To prepare the lulav and etrog for the mitzvah, the lulav is first bound together with the hadass and aravah (this bundle is also referred to as "the lulav") in the following manner: The lulav is placed in the center, two aravah branches are placed to the left, and three hadass boughs are placed to the right. The bundle may be bound with strips from another palm frond, or be placed in a special holder which is also woven from palm fronds.
Lubavitcher Hasidim place one aravah to the right of the lulav and the second aravah to its left, and cover them with the three hadass boughsone on the right, the second on the left, and the third atop the lulav's spine, leaning slightly to the right. The bundle is held together with rings made from strips of palm fronds.
In all cases, all of the species must be placed in the direction in which they grew. (For the etrog, this means that the stem end should be on the bottom and the blossom end on top; this is the direction in which the etrog begins to grow, though as it matures on the tree it usually hangs in the opposite direction.)
It is recommended that the lulav would be tightened with lulav rings so that the leaves would not be separated during the nianuim.
