Planting Fruit Trees: The Basics

You've ordered your fruit trees (if not, you'll want to get on that soon) and are waiting for them to arrive. Or, you're planning on going to a local nursery soon to buy some. If you're getting a bare root plant, and you should, then here is how to plant them when they arrive.

First, what you should have on hand ahead of time: A round pointed shovel, five gallon bucket, half a bag of composted manure per tree, half a bag of bark mulch per tree, and tree guards. All of these items are available at your local garden center although they looked at me pretty funny when I stopped by for manure in January. Oh, well.

Any decent company will include planting instructions with the trees but just in case (or as a suplement) here is how I planted my trees last week.

1. As soon as the trees arrive, remove all packaging and put them in a 5 gallon pail to soak roots for 4-6 hours. Be sure to plant them ASAP, as in, same day if at all possible.

2. I had plotted out my location for the trees ahead of time so while they were soaking, I dug the hole: removing all the grass in a 2 foot radius from where I wanted the tree. I then dug down deep enough to more than allow for the size of the root ball. (you can take a tree out of the water for a few minutes to use it to measure).

3. If any or the roots were damaged in transit, you can prune off the damage with hand pruners. Otherwise, just plant your tree. Pack the dirt in somewhat firmly around the roots and stop about 2/3rds of the way up to add water and help the soil settle around the roots. Also, be sure to not bury the graft line. All fruit trees are grafted unto rootstock and you do not want to bury where they are joined. It's pretty obvious when you get the plant.

4. You do not need to amend the soil around the tree in any way, In fact, it's better for the tree if it is allowed to adjust to the native soil as soon as possible. However, in order to provide some extra nutrients, I spread out half a bag of composted manure (available cheaply at any garden center) over the hole I dug. As it rains, the nutrients will seep down to the roots. Because I highly object to weeding, I also spread wood bark mulch over that.

5. When that's done, be sure to put a tree guard around the base of the tree to protect it (you'll have to remove it after a year or two so it doesn't choke the tree) and give the tree a thorough watering to get it started.

That's it! You're on your way to home grown fruit in a few years. Be sure to keep in watered during dry spells those first few years. Pruning is also important but that's for another post. I highly recommend "Grow A Little Fruit Tree" by Ann Ralph for more information. What kind of fruit trees are you growing?