▷ How to plant fruit trees: a quick factual note

How to plant fruit trees, you need to know some important things. On how to choose a healthy seedling, how to prepare a hole and how deep to plant, I spoke on the “Plant Enthusiasts” program on “Ziniù radio” with an agronomist, a gardener, a landscape project manager Tautvydu Gursk.

You can buy fruit trees in the electronic market Emedelynas.lt – there you will find a large selection of various Lithuanian nurseries in one place. Choose based on resistance, earliness of the variety, taste characteristics, age of the seedling and other parameters. The nurseries will deliver directly to your home or farm.

What is a rootstock and what is a graft

Tautvydas Gurskas states that when choosing apple tree you need to pay attention to the rootstock, that is, to what the plant is grafted onto. These are the roots, the base of the plant. The rootstock determines the growth of the fruit tree, the age of fruiting. Rootstock refers to the growth of the fruit tree itself as a tree, but does not affect the fruit.

And here the variety is not determined by the rootstock, but by the graft, the part that is located above the graft.

You can learn more about rootstocks from the rootstock table:

It shows how tall the fruit tree will be compared to the seed stock. It is a common belief throughout the world that all rootstocks are as tall as an apple tree.

So, the numbers given in the rootstock table indicate which rootstock has been trained and how tall the fruit tree will be, whether it will need a stake. When a stake is depicted next to the trees, it means that it serves for the entire life of the fruit tree.

Why dwarf apple trees are so short-lived

To better understand the system, Tautvydas tells us that dwarf apple trees were bred to develop commercial orchards. In such dwarf orchards it is easy to spray and harvest apple trees. They are planted every 60-80 cm, irrigation systems are installed, there is no shortage of fruit trees, and these apple trees are replaced every 7 years, so everything happens very quickly.

Such fruit trees do not have tap roots, which usually support the fruit tree, but the plants are perfectly nourished by surface roots. That’s why these fruit trees need support poles.

How the type of rootstock is related to the position of the tree in the ground

You need to find the rootstock information on the label of the plant you are purchasing, but if it isn’t there, be sure to ask the seller what rootstock it is grafted onto. Only with this information will you be able to choose the right place in the garden for your plant.

We teach the basics of gardening in courses “My garden project”. During these you will learn the laws of design, the design process and finally create directly on your plot plan. And you will see that landscaping project is a difficult but definitely doable and very interesting task.

If the rootstock is tall, the tree will grow large and will need to be planted further away from the building. The roots of such a seedling will go deeper and reach the groundwater.

If the water table is higher, it is better to choose a dwarf apple tree.

If you don’t have much space on the ground, you can choose dwarf apple trees, columnar apple trees: you can keep the distances between them much smaller.

If you only have a terrace, you can choose an apple tree grown in a pot.

Well, if you need shade, then you should choose a tall vegetative rootstock. These trees grow up to 5 meters and do not require a stake. Such a tree is beautiful, lasts longer, under which you can conveniently mow with a lawnmower or tractor.

Signs of a healthy seedling

1. Roots of fruit trees

When choosing a seedling, look at the roots. Some vendors sell fruit trees cut from the ground in spring. Next it is necessary to evaluate whether the roots are viable. A good indicator is white roots, there should be a lot of them. If you see two, three or four large roots, but no small white roots, it is more difficult for a fruit tree to grow.

When purchasing a plant, carefully examine its branches

2. Vaccination site

3-4 cm above the roots of the plant is the grafting point. The rootstock with the graft must be well grown. There can be no signs of fungal diseases, bites, mechanical damage that may have occurred during grazing or cutting the surrounding grass. This part of the plant must be completely healthy.

The location of the graft depends on how the plant will transmit nutrients from the roots to the top of the tree.

3. Straight trunk

The trunk of the plant must be free from disease, without damage, straight and free of twists.

The first branches should grow to a height of 60 cm, at this height they should be maintained for several years. Only then should they be removed and the foliage formed at a height of 80 or 100 cm, so that it is easy to pass the mower under the lower branches.

It is better to form the crown a little higher than to damage these branches every time you mow the lawn.

How to plant fruit trees: stone fruit and pome fruit

Different types of fruit trees like different habitats. Choosing the right place and correct planting of the fruit tree will also determine the yield.

Planting stone fruit

Stone fruits are cherries, cherries, plums, apricots. T.Gurskas advises stone fruit to choose a warmer and higher place, where groundwater is lower. If possible, plant it in the shade.

When planting stone fruit, it is advisable to add clay or heavier soil to the bottom of the hole dug for them. It is necessary for the formation of stones trial AND soccer. If the amount of these substances is not guaranteed, the fruit tree loses its flower after flowering and does not form a stone.

It is possible to restore the amount of missing materials: it is necessary to lime the fruit trees, add dolomite powder to the soil. Do this every year for 3-4 consecutive years, and then every two years. Approximately 10 kg of dolomite powder are distributed in this way.

Stone fruits are planted so that the grafting point is two fingers below the ground, i.e buried.

Seed planting

Legumes are apple tree AND pears. The main mistake when planting seeds is the planting depth. The place of the rootstock must be above ground within a few centimetres.

If planted too deeply, the tree may produce new shoots. They definitely won’t grow into the kind of fruit tree you bought. It will be a simple, unmanageable, divided tree.

How to plant fruit trees correctly

Planting fruit trees is done as follows:

Dig a hole for a fruit tree;
According to the recommendations to improve the soil;
Form a mound in the hole;
Compress the lands;
Place the seedling in the hole. The roots are placed so as to embrace the mound;
Bury;
Water abundantly.

It is very important to maintain the right seeding level, add plenty of water so that the water displaces all the air spaces. And soil compaction is necessary so that the seedling is not crushed later. If the seedling sticks, its grafting point may appear at the wrong height.

After sowing

For a newly planted young tree, you need to use a stake to tie it down. Glue it in the first or second hour: this will not only help the roots to support the tree, but will also avoid the need for whitewashing in spring, because the shadow of the stake will fall on the trunk during the hottest hours and protect the bark from cracking.