Any garderns on ATOT? Need tips with planting a fruit tree.

[LordSnailz]

Relatives gave us some fruit trees for our new house. I have absolutely no clue as to how to plant the tree and have it bear fruit.

1. Dig big hole
2. Fill whole with mixture of soil and water
3. Dump tree in hole
.
.
4. Profit?

 

[Howard]

Google?

 

[Kalvin00]

gardern?

 

[acemcmac]

don't do it anywhere near your home or driveway. Trust me on this.... Edge of the property line and outside of lawnmowing areas only

 

[meltdown75]

this in an interesting thread for me and i'll tell you why. we planted a little topiary/tree in the front garden, and that sucker didn't take at all. the needles (it was an evergreen type) all went brown until eventually the whole thing looked like a big dead brown stick. the place is honouring a warranty - perhaps it was a bad tree - but i'd appreciate any tips here for when we get / plant the new one.

 

[Bryophyte]

Keep the graft point above the soil line. If the trunk roots in, the tree will not follow the growth pattern you expect from the rootstock. The rootstock determines the tree size.

It's best to plant in cooler weather, not the heat of August, but it's still do-able.

If your soil is really dry, water the site heavily a day ahead of time and let it soak in. Dig hole, stick in tree, backfill it and tamp it down gently. Water, water, water. If the soil sinks around the roots, fill it back in. Water it frequently.

Google or look on tags or in a book to see how far apart to plant them (based on type of tree and how big it gets.) Fruit trees need at a minimum 6-8 hours of direct, uninterrupted sunlight, so don't plant them in a shady place.

 

[radioouman]

dead center of your front yard. Dig hole, but it in the hole. Your best bet is to cut off the burlap, but you can leave it on if you are 100% postive that that is natural and will biodegrade. Give it tons of water. Wter for a couple days to get the soil to settle.

 

[LordSnailz]

Any suggestions on what I can use to fill in the hole, what type of soil, a mixture of soil and some other material? I'm too poor to afford a garderner

 

[Bryophyte]

Originally posted by: LordSnailz
Any suggestions on what I can use to fill in the hole, what type of soil, a mixture of soil and some other material? I'm too poor to afford a garderner

You could add a bit of peat or something to help keep water in the soil around the tree while it's small, but eventually the roots will grow way beyond the planting hole, so it's going to only matter for the first year or two. If you have soil that drains quickly, mix the ammendment in with the native soil and use it to fill the hole. If you have nice, rich soil that has some water holding capacity, just use what you take out of the hole. If you add any type of fertilizer, make sure you don't use the wrong thing. Tender roots are susceptible to damage.

A general rule with trees is that as they grow, the active, feeding roots are at the tree's dripline. As the tree grows, this will be where you'll feed it each year.

 

[Stinkfinger]

Whenever I have gardening questions I take them here.

Mostly everyone there is a professional landscaper and most are willing to help out idiots like us.

 

[LordSnailz]

sweet, thanks guys!

 

[iamwiz82]

Dig the hole, file it completely with water, let that soak in, put tree in, water again, fill with dirt, water again.

 

[cmdrmoocow]

Put a fish in the hole that you dig - it works in Florida, I can tell you that.

 

[FoBoT]

summer isn't the best time for trees

spring/autumn are better, but if you already have the tree, go for it. good luck