PLANTING A FRUIT TREE

When planting a fruit tree, select a sunny location with well-draining soil. Test your soil for drainage by digging a small hole as deep as you wish to plant the tree and filling it with water. If the hole takes more than one hour to drain, that spot does not drain well and a different location should be chosen for the tree.

Once a well-draining location is found, dig a hole large enough to accommodate the tree’s root system. Plant the tree with its graft union above ground level. space trees 15-20 feet apart. For bare-root trees, create a low mound of dirt in the bottom of the hole and place the root ball on top of the mound, spreading the roots over the mound. Fill in around the roots with soil and water.

For container trees, dig the hole twice the width of the container and the same depth as the container. remove the tree from the container and place it in the hole, making sure the graft union is above soil level. Fill in with soil. Once planted, water well to settle the soil. add more soil to fill the hole completely.

create a water basin around the base of the tree three feet away from the trunk to retain water and allow deep watering of the tree’s roots. expand the size of the water basin each year so that it is just inside the tips of the tree’s outer branches. after the third year, remove the basin. If you flood irrigate, a basin is unnecessary.

Wrap the trunk of a newly-planted fruit tree with burlap or cardboard to prevent sunscald which can kill the tree. you can also paint the trunk with water-based paint mixed 50% water and 50% paint to protect against sunburn.

Once the tree forms a canopy, the trunk does not need to be protected and the burlap or cardboard should be removed. If you wish, newly-planted fruit trees can be loosely staked. Once the tree’s root system is established, remove the stake. Movement of the tree as the wind blows helps strengthen its trunk. If staked for years, the trunk becomes weak.