[garden-lover]

Hello everyone,

we bought 4 fruit trees to plant in our garden.
What is there to consider when planting - planting time, position, soil/feed, depth of the hole, distance from one tree to another?
Any advice - short or long - will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Garden lover

[jambop]

Planting fruit trees is not difficult but you do have to be aware of the potential size the tree will be at maturity and also what it will require in terms of sunlight. Very few fruit trees will do well if they do not get enough sunshine. So make sure you get the position right study your garden and see where the sun first come onto the ground and when it is in shade base you planting position on these observations .
Planting
Firstly are the trees pot  or bare root? Which ever you need to dig out a planting hole a bit deeper than the pot if pot grown or  about  30cm deep and about 45cm square. Put the soil from the hole in a barrow or on a sheet of plastic. If the tree is pot grown put it in a bucket of water while you are doing this if bare root trim the roots if needed and soak in a bucket of water.
Break up the soil in the bottom of the hole with a fork and add some compost and some slow release feriliser FBB is good do not add to much just enough to get the roots growing but not so much that they don't want to search out nutrients. Mix the soil from the planting hole with compost 2 parts plus 1 of compost. Put a suitable stake just off centre in the hole and knock it in with a heavy hammer until it is firm in the ground. Put the tree in the planting hole so that the graft joint is just a few inches above the surrounding level on the soil use a board placed over the hole to gauge this height it is important. The graft must be above the surrounding soil level when planting is completed, in my experience it is better to be just a bit high than to near level as  natural settling tend to take the plant lower in the soil with time and you will be top dressing from time to time. The roots around the side of the root ball should be either loosened off  or lightly cut with a knife. If you use a knife do this with very light vertical strokes with a clean very sharp knife top to bottom around the root ball every three inches or so. The idea here is to encourage the roots to break out laterally to create a lot of new root growth, be careful when you do this you want to just cut the surface roots around the side of the root ball do not cut too deep. It looks like a savage things to do to a plant but it is a very good way of encouraging new root formation, which is what you want. Put the plant on the hole and adjust the soil height by putting soil into the hole to get the right height for the graft union and tread the soil around the plant lightly to firm the soil. when you are happy that the graft is at the right height tie the tree onto the stake with a suitable tie. If the tree is bare rooted when you put the plant in the hole add the soil/compost mix carefully shaking the tree  up and down style to allow the roots to be covered with the soil and finish the job with the graft at the right height and tie in. The trees should now be given a good watering in and they should be watered regularly throughout their first summer to make sure the roots never get dry. The trees should be pruned lightly now to give the desired type of form assuming they are still dormant. Hope this helps.

[jezza]

Hello what sort of fruit trees have you got ?are they bare root or pot grown? If you have had a plum tree  in the garden previous dont plant another one in the same place,dont plant stone fruit were stone fruit has been or pip were pip has been ,check on the label if there is one for the height ,it use to be twice the width for the height spacing ,dig a hole twice the diameter of the roots a spade deep keep the  knuckle at the base of the stem just above ground level     jezza

[Goosegirl]

If they're in pots, remove and gently tease out the roots from the sides and bottom before planting. Fork over the base of the hole and sides, add a bit of water then leave to soak in. Sink a 4 foot or so wooden stake on one side of the hole so you can tie the trunk to it when finished. Sprinkle some bone meal or blood, fish and bone on the bottom and sides and, if the root balls are in multi-purpose compost, add some to the hole base and mix in with the soil as roots don't take to going from compost straight into soil. Using a piece of wood laid across the top of the hole, line up where the knuckle is so it's just above the top of the hole which will help to get the correct planting depth. Backfill the hole making sure to get the soil between the roots (jiggle the plant a bit if needed) and firm well down as you go making sure the tree is kept upright. Sprinkle some more bone meal on the top and water it in. Tie the trunk about half way down to the stake in a "figure of eight" fashion with a tree tie or use something wide that won't chafe the trunk but don't make it too tight so as to allow for the increase in diameter as it grows. The top of the tree is left to move about when it's windy which helps it to grow more sturdy. Keep well-watered during the summer months.

[missmoneypenny]

Don’t do what my dad did, and plant a fig  tree 50cm away from the house. I’m now having to drop big money to get it surveyed and probably  removed as it may well be undermining foundations.