Fruit Trees - A Guide to Successful Planting

Like Autumn, which is almost on us, the season for planting fruit trees nears. Fruit trees are larger, more vigorous and less likely to have diseases and pests when you get field grown stock (as opposed to pot grown). The good guys are always sold bare rooted and unless you have to plant in summer you should always buy bare root fruit trees if you can. Here are my favourite tips - all simple to do - to let you make sure that your fruit trees flourish and produce well for you.

Never buy a fruit tree without understanding its requirements in terms of pollination. Be certain the trees you get either fertilise themselves or can cross pollinate one anotherr.

On receipt of your trees make sure that the varieties you ordered have been delivered. Check each tree carefully for serious damage to its main branches and roots. The odd snapped twig or smaller root does not matter - some damage often occurs when lifting and delivering trees and they get over it quickly. But to help them do so, use a clean and sharp pair of secateurs to remove damaged roots and side- branches. A clean cut is far less likely to become infected than a jagged break.

Always keep the soil you take out of the hole. The best you reserve for back filling around the roots. The less good stuff can be improved with a bit of manure and maybe a handful of bone meal and then returned to the bottom of the hole. Remember that this is the last chance you will have to seriously affect the nutrient levels and quality of the soil under the roots of the tree - so don't be stingy. Organic matter is a great soil conditioner - it increases its ability to hold moisture while also improving drainage. As a result moisture levels in the soil become more consistent and so growing conditions improve.

For gardeners on clay, the good news is that your soil is rich. The bad news is that you may have to improve the drainage. So incorporate horticultural sand, organic matter, grit or straw to help open up the soil.

Never plant a fruit tree in a round hole, so dig square pits. This prevents the roots of the tree spiraling around the sides of the hole and becoming "pot-bound". At the same time make sure the planting pit is generous and gives the tree's roots plenty of room to spread out and grow - we recommend a hole 1 metre across. The depth is important too - the bad mistake is to plant too deep, so keep the hole shallow so that your trees finish at the same level in the ground as they were before they were lifted. It is easy to see where that was as there is usually a mark on the trunk left by the soil level in the field where your tree was grown.

It is always a good idea to check the positioning of the tree before you finish off. Trees can have "good sides" and "bad sides" and it is upsetting to look at your tree the summer after planting and realise you have got it the wrong way round. So get someone to hold the tree as you intend to plant it and retire to a safe distance to make sure it looks right.

There are a range of fungi that associate in a friendly way with tree roots and become an extension to the tree's root system. These are called mycorrhizae and they can significantly increase the speed at which your trees establish, especially on poor ground. As with all additives always follow the instructions.

When you are returning the earth to the planting hole, don't hurry. Lift the tree's roots off the hard floor of the hole by make a small hillock in the middle of the hole. If you put the roots on this, it lifts up a few inches and lessens the risk of their drowning if drainage is bad or watering is over-zealous.

Yet again we have had a damp summer - wettest July on record I think - but do remember that one day we will have a long, hot, dry summer. When that comes and you would like to bask in the sunshine, remember your trees - they will be complaining about a lack of water. Fruit trees especially can get very thirsty as fruit has such a high water content. So be prepared - and sink a length of plastic drainpipe or drainage hose in the hole while you return earth to the planting hole. This will really help in getting water straight down to the roots when the weather is dry. If you want to economise, you can just cut off the base of a large soft drinks bottle or plastic milk carton and sink it in the hole (top down but minus the screw top). If the open base is just above the finished level of the soil you can fill it with water whenever you need. Now return the remainder of the planting soil to the hole firming it down as you go. Use the ball of your foot, stand in the hole by all means, but don't stamp or hammer the soil as this damages the root system.

A stout stake and a strong tie will help to steady your fruit trees while they are young. They will keep the trees upright and help take the strain of large crops in the early years. Bang the stake in as far as possible - the tree should be supported low down - no more than a third of its height above ground level when planted.

Water in and mulch using a jute mulch mat which will rot down to humus after a couple of years. You can also just apply a layer of organic matter although it is less effective against weeds than a mat.

I would always recommend putting a guard on your tree. Vermin such as rabbits and deer will eat the bark, garden machinery can take chunks out trees at ground level and animals will sharpen their claws, urinate, rub themselves and so on. Wounds in the bark are dangerous as they are entry points for diseases (notably canker and silver leaf, which are both killers).

Care taken in planting a fruit tree will produce an edible reward and enormous satisfaction at harvest time every year!

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