Hoping to start planting four apple trees this afternoon

[Nickelless]

This afternoon I'm picking up four 3-year-old semi-dwarf apple trees that I'm hoping to get into the ground in the next few days. I'd hoped to have gotten these started a couple weeks ago, but this will be the first weekend I've been in town for a while. I'll post some photos once I start digging.

[Devil Soundwave]

Excellent news. Be sure and give them plenty of manure in the bottom of the hole to help support it while it gets established in your soil if your soil hasn't been fertilised in a while. Otherwise, just plant in bare earth as too much fertiliser can result in too much tree growth at the expense of fruit.

You gonna get any other fruit trees in?

[crash]

Good idea. I've been contemplating some type of citrus tree.

[henrysmedford]

Johnny Appleseed
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed

[AGCoinHunter]

When I planted my dwarf apple tree I used a mix of manure, topsoil and native soil to fill back in the hole. Mix it well so you don’t burn the roots with the manure. Remember you want to dig a large hole for your root ball to grow in. My soil here is solid clay so I dug a hole approximately 3X3X3 (ft). Took me a long time but well worth it when that tree starts growing. Don’t forget to prune it back either. Cut all of the branches off if it up the main trunk and leave only 3-4 main branches at the top. Cut any branches that grow toward the inside of the tree. Force it to grow branches that point out. This will allow it to establish a solid root base in the first few year. Also, pinch off any of the blooms for the first few years as you don’t want it to produce any fruit for 2-3 years.

[Nickelless]

Thanks for the tips, AGCoinHunter. I've only got room in my back yard for four trees, but I'm glad that the area gets a lot of sunlight. Just wondering, do most apple trees' branches spread out or grow downward? I'm wondering how far away from the house I should plant the closest tree to keep roots from compromising the foundation.

[AGCoinHunter]

You can force them to grow how you want. It’s like a sculpture. You want to keep the healthiest branches as your main ones. Ones that have splits close to the trunk, point downward, point in, ect.. you should remove. You want to train/sculpt the tree to maximize a strong tree frame as well as maximize light which gets into the inner parts of the tree. Best way is to choose the best ones you can when you buy them. Here is a good read about pruning...

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag29.html

As far as the roots, if they are simi-dwarf and don’t get larger then 10-12 ft, I would give them a good 15 ft from anything foundation. Not sure if it’s true but I always learned that trees roots only go out to the drip line which is the furthest branches from the trunk. I would give it plenty of room but being a dwarf you should be ok.

[Nickelless]

I've got just under 30 feet of space between my house and the stand-alone garage. Would it work if I had, say, a 7-foot clearance from the garage and between each other and just plant three trees? That would take up 21 feet and change and the closest tree would still be almost 10 feet from the foundation of the house.

[AGCoinHunter]

I've got just under 30 feet of space between my house and the stand-alone garage. Would it work if I had, say, a 7-foot clearance from the garage and between each other and just plant three trees? That would take up 21 feet and change and the closest tree would still be almost 10 feet from the foundation of the house.

I would say with a dwarf that gets no bigger than 10 - 12ft tall you should be ok with 10ft.

[Treetop]

When I planted my dwarf apple tree I used a mix of manure, topsoil and native soil to fill back in the hole. Mix it well so you don’t burn the roots with the manure. Remember you want to dig a large hole for your root ball to grow in. My soil here is solid clay so I dug a hole approximately 3X3X3 (ft). Took me a long time but well worth it when that tree starts growing. Don’t forget to prune it back either. Cut all of the branches off if it up the main trunk and leave only 3-4 main branches at the top. Cut any branches that grow toward the inside of the tree. Force it to grow branches that point out. This will allow it to establish a solid root base in the first few year. Also, pinch off any of the blooms for the first few years as you don’t want it to produce any fruit for 2-3 years.

You dug a hole 3 feet deep into clay? That will backfire horribly most likely. If its a truly heavy soil and you amended the backfill well, your tree is rather likely to not want to leave your hole at all, and very possibly will become severely stunted. It all depend on your soil. most nurseries would tell you directly not to do it like that though....

also unless it was a crappy nursery they likely all ready gave the tree its initial pruning.

instead of amending the hole which you dont want to do to much at all,(some compost which has all that microbial life is far superior to manure for this, not that a bit of manure isnt ok to) you can put down a layer of compost then leaves or straw on the surface of the soil. so its got a layer similar to what it would in a real forest, this will help with watering but more importantly with all the bacterial life a tree needs to thrive. how important this is, depends on your soil.

I put in probably 150 trees this year.

[Treetop]

did you research the common diseases for apples in your area? Making sure you get an apple without disease issues for your area is paramount, especially in the world we live in now.... Most apples are rather disease prone, although that greatly depends on the area. some areas, even with the disease resistant varieties, spraying is nearly mandatory.....

Plums are a great choice, you can pack many trees into a small space, and disease is rarely a problem. Lots of other good ones to, but plums are good just about anywhere.

[Devil Soundwave]

Inspired by your post but lacking a garden, I put up 14 semi-circular wall baskets and a bunch of pots on my balcony at teh weekend. The wall baskets have various varieties of tumbling tomatoes, weet peppers and strawberries. The pots have a blackberry cane, a blackcurrant bush, peas and a bunch of jalapenos. I also have some long planters whcih will hang off the railing which will have short round carrots, various herbs, spring onions, mixed salad and garlic once the seedlings have come through, whcih are all propagating nicely on my window sill. Amazed by how much potential food I've managed to squeeze into such a small space. My landlord might be pissed that I've drilled the walls to hang the baskets, but, you know, whatever. Looks nice and he can keep the plants and baskets if I ever move out.

[Nickelless]

Got 'er done this evening, and it feels great! A little pictoral tour...

I lined up stakes eight feet apart, which is enough space for semi-dwarfs:




I was very pleased to see how dark the dirt was when I turned over my first shovelful:




Either this is a worm or I darn near struck a vein:




This was the first hole this deep that I'd dug since I was probably 9. I had a blast.




Getting ready to score the roots and drop the first tree in the hole.




One down, two to go. The patch of dirt in the background was where the Japanese maple in the first photo used to be. One of my neighbors transplanted the maple in his yard.




I had to put shoe condoms on so I wouldn't track mud into the house.




Got the second hole dug and I went ahead and started the third one. I was having a lot of fun digging. I guess I'm getting practice for burying PMs later.




This stuff tastes better with milk and sugar...




Got the second one in, now in the home stretch...




Got the roots scored and trunk balanced on the last tree.




Done!

[Nickelless]

Got 'er done this evening, and it feels great! A little pictoral tour...

I lined up stakes eight feet apart, which is enough space for semi-dwarfs:




I was very pleased to see how dark the dirt was when I turned over my first shovelful:




Either this is a worm or I darn near struck a vein:




This was the first hole this deep that I'd dug since I was probably 9. I had a blast.




Getting ready to score the roots and drop the first tree in the hole.




One down, two to go. The patch of dirt in the background was where the Japanese maple in the first photo used to be. One of my neighbors transplanted the maple in his yard.




I had to put shoe condoms on so I wouldn't track mud into the house.




Got the second hole dug and I went ahead and started the third one. I was having a lot of fun digging. I guess I'm getting practice for burying PMs later.




This stuff tastes better with milk and sugar...




Got the second one in, now in the home stretch...




Got the roots scored and trunk balanced on the last tree.




Done!

[psi]

Nice work, I have planted trees as a job for several years (heading out to do that this morning) but have not done anything for fruit production, closest would be wild plum and cherry. Something else I would like to track down are dwarf nut pines, Pinus pumila or dwarf Siberian pine was one I was reading about. Only thing I would be careful about in your setup is those cords cutting into the bark of the tree.

[Devil Soundwave]

Yeah, what's with the guy-lines man? Fruit trees don't really need support unless it's really windy, in which case stakes would be the best way to go...

EDIT: Thumbs up on getting it done! What's next on the master list of things to do?

[Nickelless]

Nice work, I have planted trees as a job for several years (heading out to do that this morning) but have not done anything for fruit production, closest would be wild plum and cherry. Something else I would like to track down are dwarf nut pines, Pinus pumila or dwarf Siberian pine was one I was reading about. Only thing I would be careful about in your setup is those cords cutting into the bark of the tree.

The cords were necessary to keep the trees perpendicular to the ground to get them started. I'll probably loosen the lines a little in a few weeks as soon as the roots start to get established.

Yeah, what's with the guy-lines man? Fruit trees don't really need support unless it's really windy, in which case stakes would be the best way to go...

EDIT: Thumbs up on getting it done! What's next on the master list of things to do?

It's funny that you should mention wind, because the wind blew over the second tree as I was putting it in the hole, even with the cords. We've had a pretty big storm come through this area since Friday, so I'm content to keep the cords in place at least for a little while, even though I might loosen them a little. How long does it take for trees such as these to become firmly rooted enough that cords aren't necessary to keep them upright?

Next on my master list is probably going to be a LOT of storage shelves. I've got a couple PDFs of instructions for shelves that look exactly like what I have in mind, and the thing I'm learning as a homeowner is not to be impatient in building things. I think these trees are a good first step in helping me become more accustomed to slow but steady work.

[psi]

Sounds like the extra support is definitely needed in this case then, but you might want to put something in between the rope and the bark to spread out the friction. Sometimes small sections of tubing like garden hose seem to be used for that purpose.

[Nickelless]

Sounds like the extra support is definitely needed in this case then, but you might want to put something in between the rope and the bark to spread out the friction. Sometimes small sections of tubing like garden hose seem to be used for that purpose.

Thanks for the tip, PSI. The first tree is the one I had the rope wrapped the tightest around (I put it up Monday) but I'll head out back and loosen it in a moment. The rope is relatively loose around the other two trees--I just put the stakes at 60-degree angles so the tree would have equidistant points at which it was being held upright.

[Treetop]

Make sure you re adjust the tie downs atleast yearly, sooner is better. most i read suggest not using them after a year, or at all... so the tree longer term has to grow a better root base...

Many use them for 5 or more years though...

your not going to stop there are you? Get some asparagus if you eat it. Takes awhile but once its going youll have it for a long time, it doesnt take to much work at all. Perhaps some rhubarb? berries?

Ive got no idea what you want out of your yard, im just saying you could, all without hindering those trees and more then your grass is now. Theres tons of stuff that would be easier then those apples were, many that will produce sooner as well... that are as easy to manage long term...

Lots of edible greens that would grow themselves if you got that pesky grass out of there... Its a big topic, but you might be surprised just how productive and varied even a small perennial garden can be... It certainly looks like youve got the soil for it to!!!

[Nickelless]

I think my next step plant-wise will be some blueberry bushes. The shop where I bought the apple trees has blueberry bushes as well.


One thing I've been trying to find out, but no luck yet--is it possible to overwater newly planted apple trees? I just got the first tree in the ground this past Monday (six days ago) and the other two on Friday, and I've been watering for about a minute per tree at night on and around the base of the tree and about a foot out and around the base where I've mulched it. I don't want to overwater it, but I don't want it to die from a lack of water either. Is there a general rule of thumb I can use in watering the trees at this early stage?

[Treetop]

the way your soil looks, I doubt it ever tries out enough for your trees to die. Being to dry is better then to wet. Once a week, or bi weekly would be better then daily. If you poke your pinger into the soil, and its nice and damp, dont water. If it becomes about as damp as a fully wrung out sponge go ahead and water. water deeper into the soil longer.

blueberries are easy if you have acidic soil. If its more in the neutral range, you will be okay, but its trickeir... if your soil is the tiniest amount alkaline, youll be much better off not growing blueberries.

To each his own own of course, but just for clarification if it isnt clear what I meant.... you could plant edible perennials as thickly as the underbrush on the edge of the woods, without interfering with the trees. in fact you could plant things that help the tree grow better. Like nitrogen fixing plants or berry bushes.

[knibloe]

Our church was looking for a site for a new chapel several years ago. We were blessed to get an 11 acre parcel in the middle of the village. The chapel and "grounds" only occupy 3-4 acres. This leaves us with 7 to play with.

This Saturday we start small: 4 semi dwarf apples and 8 dwarf pears. Hoping for good weather.

Congrats on your apples Nickelless. I hope your efforts bear fruit.

[Nickelless]

OK, now that my trees have been in the ground for more than a week, I guess the obvious followup question is, what do I need to do and when in terms of periodic fertilization?

And since this is my first foray into tree-planting, I'll post photos of each of the trees hopefully in the next several days and pick your collective brains on which branches should be pruned now and which ones should be kept.