Planting a Fruit Tree

👀Site Preperation

❗️•The best time to plant trees is as early in the spring as possible after the frost has left the ground but after it has dried out a bit from snowmelt

•Full sun ; fruit trees need a minimum of 8 hours of sunlight daily to produce fruit.

•Allow A distance of more than half a trees anticipated mature diameter from obstructions and fences

•❗️BEST to start preparing plant site a year in advance -Add amendments such as compost, blood meal(nitrogen), and bone meal (phosphorus) into the soil.

•(Deeply) Till an area at least 6 feet in diameter for each tree being mindful to dig out any (especially perennial) weeds

•Sandy loam OR Sandy clay loam soil and well drained soil is suitable for most fruit trees.

🤔Choices

-Bareroot Tree : should have plum buds, Flexible twigs, and moist, healthy roots. ❗️should be planted immediately

-Balled and Burlapped (B&B): freshly dug with large solid root balls

-Container grown: moist soil and no gaps between soil and trunk/pot

🗓🌳Tree Preparation

-Bareroot Tree: shorten thin roots to 18 inches and trim injured roots back to healthy tissue. 💦 Soak the roots in water or compost tea for a few hours then dust root system with fertilizers such as kelp/bone Meal/seabird guano to help establish a healthy root system.

-B&B:💦Soak for a few hours. Leave wrapped until planted.

-Container:💦Soak for a few hours, remove pot and loosen circling roots.

🌱Planting

-Bareroot:

•Dig a hole large enough so that roots can spread out without touching the edges of the hole. Roughen sides and bottom to encourage root growth in these directions

•mound or form a small hill of soil in the hole and spread roots over it

•Fill bottom few inches of hole in soil then 💦soak with compost tea/water and repeat until hole is fully. Make a small moat/ridge around base to hold water

•Set stake in ground a few inches away from trunk and loosely tie half to 3/4 of the way up the trunk

•spread mulch around the tree but leaving the first few inches near the base of the tree trunk bare.

-Others:

•Dig a hole about 8” wider and 1/2” deeper then the dimensions of the root ball ; top of root ball should be 1/2 lower the surrounding soil as to be able to cover the edges. For B&B, carefully remove wrapping.

🧰Maintenance

•Keep soil moist around newly planted trees for first growing season .

•Remove weeds regularly

Additional Gems 💎💎

• Site selection: Cold air, like water, flows downhill. For this reason, fruit buds on plants set in a low spot are more likely to be killed by frost than those on a slope. Frost pockets, low wet spots,and locations exposed to strong, prevailing winds(like the top of the hill) must be avoided. South facing slopes encourage early bud development and can sometimes result in frost damage. Select late blooming varieties for this location.

•Pollination: Most fruit trees need to be pollinated with at least two or three compatible trees. This means if possible, you should plant a couple of trees to encourage pollination

•Average time from planting to fruit is:

• Citrus 1-2 years.

• Fig: 2-4 years.

• Peach 2-4 years.

• Plum 3-5 years.

• Sour or tart cherry 3-5 years.

• Apple trees 4-5 years.

• Pear 4-6 years.

•Apples and pear trees grown on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstock will fruit much earlier