Planting & Early Care

This is an Excerpt from the Book called “The Backyard Orchardist”. Continue reading to learn more about Planting & Early Care, thanks to the author.

Like many enjoyable pursuits, planting a fruit tree takes some preparation. Undoubtedly you are wondering just what to do and where to turn next before placing your catalog or online order or bringing that tree home from the nursery. Ideally, if you can, test and prepare your soil the season before you plant your tree. Most successful gardeners have learned the virtue of forethought and preplanning. Although you are probably impatient to get your trees in the ground and growing, a little bit of time spent now in proper preparation will pay you back handsomely in healthier, more productive trees and less work in the future.

Preparing the Soil

One of the first steps in preparing for healthy trees in finding out what nutrients your soil can provide. State Cooperative Extension Service offices and a number of private laboratories provide soil test results for a modest fee. You need to collect a soil sample as described. Place the sample in a clean plastic bag and bring it to the extension office or send it to the laboratory according to their directions. Ask that the soil be tested for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and soil pH. If your garden has had problems growing other plants, it may be wise to ask for a test of micro nutrients and nematodes also. You should get the results back in a few weeks or less. Meanwhile, use a spade to turn over a section of ground about six feet square for each tree. You can also use a rototiller to turn the soil, but don’t over-do the tilling. It can destroy the soil structure and damage the soil insect and fungal life that is vital to your future trees. If you are doing this in the early summer, you can plant a “green manure crop”, such as sorghum Sudan grass or rye, in your newly turned area to help build up the soil. A planting of buckwheat in the summer, followed by rye in the winter does an excellent job of smothering weeds while providing soil-building organic matter when turned in to the soil the spring. Again, your extension office can advise you on what grows well as a green manure in your area. If your soil is heavy clay or poorly drained, planting on a mound or raised bed may facilitate water drainage. If it is early spring and your trees have been ordered or you have already brought them home from the nursery, some well-rotted leaf mulch or compost can be added to the planting site and mixed into the soil with a shovel.

If your soil pH is outside the 6.0 to 7.0 range, amending it may be necessary. Based on your soil test results, add lime or sulphur to bring your soil pH as close to 6.8 as possible. Soil nutrients, pH modification, and their interrelatedness are all discussed in detail.

Realize that the pH will change very slowly as these amendments take a long time to break down in the soil. Don’t be surprised if it takes a year or more. A significant change of the pH point or more may require multiple applications over the course of several seasons.

If your soil is in need of phosphorus, add bonemeal or rock phosphate accordingly. All of these nutrients break down and move slowly through the soil, so it is best to add them well ahead of planting. Do not add any synthetic fertilizer or fresh animal manure to the planting site if you are going to plant your tree soon. It can burn young, developing roots. If you have planned ahead sufficiently and are growing a green manure for a season, you can add composted animal manure or synthetic fertilizers during that time, as needed. Your soil test results will usually recommend how much you need. Prior to planting, spade or rototill in the growing green manure so that a loose bed of soil is ready for the planting hole.

Pounds of lime to add to 100 square feet to raise PH to 6.5

		Current Ph
	4.5 – 4.9	5.0 – 5.4	5.5 – 5.9	6.0 – 6.4
Sand	11	9	7	2
Loam	18	14	11	7
Clay	27	23	18	11

Selecting The Tree

Your next step will be to select what trees you will grow. It helps to ask yourself a few questions before making your selection. Much of your mini-orchard’s future success will be determined by how well you match your tree to your site conditions. Both the scion and the rootstock, as well as how the two interact should be taken into account. Rootstocks and variety details of specific fruit will be discussed in upcoming chapters. Consider first the rootstock:

Which rootstock best suits your specific space requirements; how large a tree will the rootstock create at maturity?
How well-anchored is the root system; will the tree require support?
How tolerant is the rootstock to your specific soil conditions?
How soon will it reach fruit-bearing size?

Also consider these factors for both the rootstock and the scion:

Are they suitably adapted or hardy for your climate-be that cold, dry, windy or otherwise?
How resistant are they to diseases and insects found in your locale?
Do they provide a potential anticipated yield that suits your intended use?
What is the tree’s expected life span?

If you are selecting your tree form a local garden center, look for a tree with a straight trunk and well- placed branches with a trunk diameter of ½ to ¾ of an inch. Trees 4 to 5 feet in height are good. Most likely the garden center will sell trees that have been potted. Be sure that the tree is not rootbound in the pot; nor should it have many roots growing out of the bottom of the pot. These may be signs that the tree is leftover stock that has actually been growing in the pot for an extra season because it grew poorly in its first year. If you have ordered from a nursery catalog or online, you may not be able to evaluate the quality of the tree before it arrives. When possible, order one-year-old trees with trunks of ½ “to ¾” in diameter. (Peaches tend to run larger an often will have diameters of ¾ “to 1 ½.) Avoid overly large trees, as they have more difficulty adjusting to transplanting.

Most nurseries will send the trees “bareroot,” that is, with no soil or other growing medium around the roots. Reputable nurseries will take care to protect the roots from drying out, often using damp sphagnum moss or newspaper surrounded by a plastic wrap. Quality trees should arrive dormant and with healthy, moist roots.

When your trees arrive from the nursery, it is advisable to plant them as soon conditions are favorable. If necessary, there are several ways to hold the trees for a short period. For dormant bareroot trees, “heel-in” the trees by digging a shallow trench, preferably in a shaded location. Lay the tree roots in the trench, with the trees on their sides or at an angle. Cover the roots lightly with damp soil. Balled and burlapped trees can be kept moist by wrapping the soil ball (burlap and all) in plastic. Container grown trees can just be kept in their containers, out of hot sun, and watered as needed.

Planting

Fruit trees can be planted in the spring or fall, although spring planting is by far the most common. In either case, it is best to plant when the tree is dormant. If possible, plant your tree on a cool overcast day. Try to avoid planting in very wet soil. Wet soil will pack too tightly around the roots and suffocate them by not allowing enough air spaces in the soil.

Start by digging your planting hole. It should be large enough to accommodate the roots without twisting them all around. A good rule of thumb is to make the hole twice as wide as the root-ball. Break up the sides of the hole a bit with a shovel so that the roots can grow outward later. In the center of the hole, leave a small mound of dirt on which to position the tree. At this point, an assistant is helpful for holding the tree, or you can make a handy tree support. Nail together two strips of wood at right angles, big enough to span the hole. With the support centered over the hole, tie the tree to it at the desired height. It will hold your tree in place until the hole is filled with dirt.

How deep you will plant your tree will be dictated by the rootstock on which it is growing. Trees that are grafted on seedling rootstocks are normally planted with the graft just below the ground.

If you purchased a tree that is grafted onto dwarfing rootstock, take care to plant the graft union three to four inches above the ground level.

This allows for some size expansion as the tree grows. If the graft union is planted at or below ground level, the scion variety of the tree will take root and you will loose the dwarfing characteristics. As the tree grows, the graft union will heal and appear as a bulge in the stem.

Spread the roots out uniformly around the hole. If the tree has any excessively long side roots, it is best to trim them back to fit the hole. Orient the lowest branch of the tree, one that you intend to keep as a scaffold, toward the southwest to help shield the trunk from winter sunscald. On a windy site, tip the tree into the prevailing wind three to five degrees. It will grow upright over time and will be less likely to be pushed over by strong winds.

Refill the hole with soil, gently bouncing the tree up and down a bit to fully settle the soul around the roots. Once the hole is full, gently firm the soil with heel of your foot so that no large air pockets remain to dry the roots. Above two feet out from the trunk, build a shallow soil dike to retain water. Gently water the tree until the soil is well soaked and settled. If there is excessive settling, add additional soil to the hole. Mulch the dike and the shallow planting depression with compost, leaf mulch or straw to conserve moisture. Water deeply once a week until the tree is established. Light sprinkling will cause roots to only grow near the surface. Thorough soaking will encourage the development of a strong, deep-reaching root system.

Pruning After Planting

Once the tree is planted, there are a few more little things to do to ensure that it has a healthy productive future. First you will need to do some preliminary pruning.

Apple, pear, and cherry trees will be trained to a central leader or modified leader shape. To start, for apple trees 40% of standard size and larger, pears, and cherries, you will need to “whip” the tree. Remove all the side branches. Do not cut the trunk of your tart cherry tree back any further. With apple, pear, and sweet cherry only, cut the central leader (the trunk) back to between 2 and 3 feet high. Make your cut just above a plump, healthy, vegetative bud; preferably one on the side of the prevailing wind. You will probably feel like you are pruning away as much or more of the tree than what you will have left. Indeed, this may be the case. Most first time fruit growers are afraid that this will hurt their tree, but rest assured that this actually gives the roots a better chance to adjust to transplanting. Whipping will force growth of lateral shoots 6 to 8 inches below your cut. The new branches that begin to grow will also be stronger and better angled. When the buds begin to grow and the new branches are 8 to 12 inches long, you can start selecting and training them as outlined.

Peaches, nectarines, and plums will be trained to the open center system. Most of these trees will already have grown some side branches in the nursery. Start by cutting the trunk back to between 24 and 36 inches tall. Select three strong scaffold branches spaced about six inches apart, preferably with the top one growing into the wind. Remove all other side branches. Trim the selected scaffolds to two buds each. Chapter shows how to shape you open center tree.

Other Care

Once the tree is planted and pruned, wrap the trunk with a flexible plastic tree guard. These are available from most nursery supply centers. Use a length that is tall enough to protect as far up to the lowest scaffold as possible. This will help protect the trunk from lawn equipment and rodent damage for several years. Be sure that the guard does not slip below ground level in loose dirt around the trunk. Leave the guard in place only until the trunk diameter fills it. Otherwise the guard will strangle the expanding tree. Usually the tree will be 3 to 4 years old before you need to remove the guard. If you have a problem with rabbits feeding in your garden you may want to replace the guard with a larger, permanent rabbit guard at this point. Chapter gives more information on this.

Also be sure to remove any plastic or wire labels that have been wrapped around your tree when you bought it. As the tree grows, these will quickly strangle the trunk or branch around which they are wrapped. If you would like to keep a record of what variety your trees are, use a permanent market and write the information on a stake that you can put in the ground near the trunk or create on orchard map to keep track of what varieties you planted where.

If you have planted a fruit tree grafted on one of the very dwarfing root-stocks; such as apple on M9, M27, or Geneva 16; it will require a stake or trellis for support. Stakes of aluminum electrical conduit or fiberglass are often used to support individual trees. A more substantial trellis for multiple trees or espalier can be created using heavy wood posts and steel wire. You can install either as soon as the trees are planted. Trunks and branches should be tied to the support with a figure eight of twine or a heavy rubber grape tie. Check periodically to see that the tie is not constricting the growing shoot.

In the fall of the first growing season you should paint the trunk of the young tree with a good-quality white latex housepaint. Use a brush or car wash mitt to apply paint up to the first scaffolds. On open center trees, paint the scaffolds out from the trunk nine inches too. This will protect against sunscald (also called southwest injury) in northern climates. In late winter bright sun reflects off the snow cover onto the lower trunk. The heat causes uneven expansion and contraction of the bark on the southwest side of the tree. Bark splitting often results. The white paint will reflect many of the sun’s rays and keep the trunk a more uniform temperature, thus avoiding injury. Repaint the trunks every few years as needed.

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