Planting Fruit Trees in My Orchard
Maintaining a productive orchard is a lot of work.
The large orchard surrounding my pool includes more than 200-fruit trees. There are apple trees, plum trees, cherry trees, peach, apricot, pear, medlar, and quince trees. Since it was first planted in 2017, these trees have provided so many wonderful fruits. They are all pruned and fed regularly through the year. Unfortunately, even with excellent maintenance and care, sometimes trees need to be replaced due to disease or damage. I also like to add trees whenever I can. This week, an order of bare-root fruit trees arrived from Trees of Antiquity in Paso Robles, California. Right away they were placed in water, left to soak, and then planted in the ground.
Enjoy these photos.
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- This is my orchard in summer when all the trees are leafed out and filled with sweet, juicy fruits.
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- I grow lots of peaches. Peach trees thrive in an area where they can soak up the sunshine throughout the day. Growing peach trees are self-fruiting, which means the pollen from the same flower or variety can pollinate the tree and produce fruit.
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- Some of the many pears in the orchard are Bartlett, Columbia, D’Amalis, Ginnybrook, McLaughlin, Nova, Patten, Seckel, Stacyville, and Washington State.
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- And of course, I have a section of delicious apples. I already grow hundreds of apple trees here at the farm – some that were here when I acquired the property and others I planted soon after moving here. These orchard apple trees include Baldwin, Black Oxford, Cortland, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Esopus Spitzenburg, Fuji, Golden Russet, Grimes Golden, Honeycrisp, Liberty, Redfield, Roxbury Russet, and Windham Russet.
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- This is the orchard now. Early spring is the best time to plant bare-root trees in the ground, when it is no longer frozen and before buds break. It also gives them time to get established before the peak of spring growth.
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- I just received my order of bare-root fruit trees to fill in spaces where trees were removed. When selecting fruit trees, be sure to get tree species and varieties that will thrive in your climate and soil conditions.
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- After the trees arrived, they were placed in buckets of water right away to soak. Soaking the roots for at least four to 12 hours ensures they are fully hydrated and ready to absorb water and nutrients once planted.
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- They were also given a solution specifically for transplants. This is Miracle-Gro Quick Start. It provides the nutrients they need to thrive and develop strong roots.
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- In the orchard, holes are already dug. It should be twice the width of the tree’s roots.
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- Good nutrient-rich composted soil is also added to the newly dug hole. I use Miracle-Gro Organic & Raised Bed Garden Soil.
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- Ryan also adds some fertilizer. I use Miracle-Gro Shake ‘n Feed All Purpose Plant Food. It contains all the essential nutrients to nourish the tree above and below the soil.
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- Matt sprinkles a generous handful over the composted soil.
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- And then mixes all the elements together. This helps ensure the tree roots will develop using all the soil in the space and not just the layer of newly added compost.
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- Matt also creates a mound out of the soil a few inches high in the bottom of the hole. This will give some support to the root system.
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- Fruiting ‘scion’ wood is often grafted onto resilient rootstocks. The graft point looks like a ‘knuckle’ at the bottom of the trunk. When planting, this point must be at least a few inches above soil level.
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- Here’s a closer look at the grafting point. It is pretty easy to find no matter how old or big the tree is.
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- Ryan shows Matt how to position the bare-root in its hole. He also advises him to step back from the tree at several points to make sure it is planted straight.
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- These bare-root fruit trees have strong main stems with fresh growth.
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- Ryan carefully places the fruit tree into the hole, centered on the mound. He spreads its roots so they grow outward.
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- He holds the tree upright in position with one hand and slowly backfills the hole with the other, so the soil falls back around the roots.
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- Here, one can see that the graft is above the soil line. This union area is delicate. Positioning the graft union above the soil preserves the rootstock and allows for better growth and productivity.
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- Here, Matt compacts the soil around the plant to ensure good contact around the roots.
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- I always try to grow interesting and unique varieties. This selection includes: English Morello Cherry, Purple Guigne Cherry, Lake Duke Cherry, Black Pearl Cherry, Sweetheart Cherry, Indian Blood Peach, Rio Oso Gem Peach, Polly White Peach, Nectar Peach, Suncrest Peach, Blenheim Apricot, Mountain Roast Apple, Christmas Pink Apple, Winekist Apple, Muscat de Venus Apple, Grenadine Apple, Pink Parfait Apple, Strawberry Parfait Apple, Niedwetzkyana Apple, Rubiyat Apple, and Surprise Apple. I’m looking forward to seeing the fruits develop and tasting each and every one.
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