I’m an ISA certified arborist and this video was spot on for most things. The only additional tips I have are plant the tree slightly above the surface level as it will settle over time and can end up being low. The reason you don’t backfill with light weight soil is that water can easily settle there in the air pockets. Thus in a way creating a mini pond around the tree. Overwatering or these practices are typically the number 1 killed of new plants. Also I would always recommend a root growth hormone with planting trees. Generally kelp based products help speed up root growth as whatever container they were sold to you in is far inadequate. Don’t fertilize the tree in the first year and in most soil conditions fertilizing will just make the tree rely on your feeding it. Checking ph conditions or doing a simple soil test will let you know the issues you might face nutrient wise. Mending ph over time and allowing the roots to grow will ensure a strong tree with high fruit yield. Remember reproduction is not as important to a tree as survival.
I thought you said abortionist lol Edit- I have a question. I plan on growing moringa trees. You said not to use fertilizer the first year. How about seed fertilizer during germination?
Zone 8b Georgia I've planted several fruit trees from figs,citrus,peach,pear,nectarines,pecans,persimmon ,oak and on and on I've only lost 2 and they were both key limes those things are finicky.
@@rbux1636 Ah, unfortunately, the nursery I bought it from had trouble with their apricots, and mine died with the big heats we had where I live. It was too fragile. I learned a lot, still, so it's not all bad. There's always next year! Thanks for the ask! Hope you're doing well!
@@PerpetualJoy that’s the risk you take with planting from seeds, but it can also be rewarding, you never know how good it’ll be, heck you could even get a new variety not in the market and make money off of it if it’s really good
I planted a few peaches from seed about 3 years ago and the trees grew up like a rocket! Can’t wait to see if I get fruit this year. They are much hardier than the one I bought.
I've always done what my gut says "let the tree get used to your soil" "keep the graft point above ground" etc. "Don't stake, let it toughen up" And luckily my gut aligns with the advice
Thanks for this brother. I've deliberating over the spacing my standard fruit trees, thinking they might be too close at about 20 feet trunk to trunk . Many people say they should be like 30+ feet apart etc. Overlapping the foliage makes a lot of sense, and backed up by science.
Message from, an experienced Arborists wife, about planting trees. I would have liked to see you do a complete (from start to finish ) video on planting a tree. All the way with the mulching included! I believe that would be an outstanding choice! Thank you for your GREAT videos.
Everything you say in your videos is always so logical I find myself nodding along throughout the whole thing except somehow you coach it in such conversational manner it's like I never heard them before. Great job, as always!
President Zachary Taylor once said, “I wouldn’t trade a square foot of Michigan or Ohio for a square mile of Florida.” When you dug your hole, I was so jealous of your rich, black soil. Where I live on the North Carolina coast, it is sand and gravel. There is very little organic matter in my soil. When I plant a fruit tree, I dig a hole literally ten times the size of the root ball and amend the soil. It takes awhile, but I use the native soil and mix in a bag of compost and potting mix. I’d say I still use 70% native soil so once the roots get mature enough they can traverse into the native soil without too much shock, but I wouldn’t plant a tree in my soil without some type of amendment. I dig the hole so large so the tree can get years on it before roots transition into purely native soil with the hopes that my years of mulching and fertilizing the top will “catch up” to all the soil. I just wanted to toss my hat in the ring and throw out there that things may be different for us southern coastal gardeners. The only other thing I’d toss in is to dig your fruit tree holes with a square shovel to dissuade roots from binding in a round hole like a container would.
More and more I hear about how you shouldn’t put compost/fertilizer in your hole and never knew why. Now I look back at all my failed fruit trees and it’s no wonder! Thank you - I’m glad I changed the way I plant my trees but it was interesting to hear the “why”!
So yesterday my husband bought me 2 apples and 2 pear trees and these next couple of days I'm going to learn as much as I can on taking care of my new trees Thank you for sharing
Ugh, I totally did all the wrong things when I planted my orchard about 6 years ago; however, we sold that property a few months after and they removed all of the orchard anyway so they could use it as field for animals. This video is full of information that I totally needed, Luke. We are planning out our garden and orchard space this year and this video was perfect timing for me, because I would have made the same mistakes about fertilizing and amending and all the wrong things. Thank you so much for your awesome channel and sharing your knowledge and experience!
The day before watching I planted two bare root apple trees. A Fuji and and combo tree. I dug the holes hauled off the old dirt and added nice fresh beautiful compost.....and planted both trees....then I watched the video..... On a side note Today I pulled both trees, removed all the beautiful compost and added in the old dirt and replanted them.... So glad I saw this video! Who would have thought adding beautiful compost would be a bad thing? Thanks!
thank you! I had read once a long time ago that one shouldn't amend the soil in the planting hole, but I had forgotten, and I did lose the most recent fruit tree I'd planted; so now I'm reminded again, and also now I know not to stake.
Luke thank you! Thank you! I learn so much every time I watch your videos! We just bought fruit trees and I immediately looked for your videos of how to properly plant them. Your knowledge and willingness to share with us is greatly appreciated!
Tina Reid Have you tried taking cuttings from the tree? That is what I did with our fruit trees and saved so much time when comparing to starting from seed.
It is also possible that the seed will not create the same Apple. Grafting is the way to go to ensure that you are getting the same Apple type. You are also keeping the tree going this way!
Foodie would love to have the opportunity ...his home was sold afterwards. Hoping to connect with new owner sometime soon and see if she would be willing to let us take a cutting.
Tina Reid I am sure the new owner would understand if you explained the situation. Take a few cuttings to be sure you will have success. There are many ways to propogate cuttings but I've had the best success with the technique in the below link. 1. Leave cuttings in water for at least a week 2. Pack cocopeat 3. Insert cutting 4. Poke holes at the bottom of the plastic bags for water absorbtion and creates greenhouse effect 5. Let sit in water for around 2 weeks - should see roots ruclips.net/video/KqTk_K9PHMY/видео.html
You’ll get a completely different tree from that seed, we replicate apple varieties with cuttings. The apples from your new tree may well be inedible, but they could be good for cider!
I saw a few videos of gardeners not recommending amending the soil when planting fruit trees. How about when you have really bad clay soil? We get lots of rain here in the UK and when it rains (at the moment it looks like it will rain for almost 2 weeks non stop) my garden is a mud pool. I bought a dwarf cherry and pear tree which I`m planning to plant in a bigger container but I`m also tempted to try to plant the pear tree in the ground. Thanks for your tips, I found your video very useful.
Great video as always! I just wanted to point out in regards to backfill while planting (as a certified arborist in my state) that soil quality is drastically different in certain parts of the country. If our soil were as beautiful and rich as your soil is in the video, I would certainly just backfill with the original soil. Where I live (on Cape Cod, MA) we're essentially on a sandbar, and in most towns we're never 3-4 inches away from 95% sand. In small pockets we have 80% clay, or just plain glacial rock. If we were to backfill with either sand or clay directly without amending the tree would decline and die 9 times out of 10 from drying out or drowning. To amend the sand we use a large amount of peat moss to add organic material for beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae to bond. We normally also have to add some degree of compost or manure, because of the extreme leaching effects of the sand of the available nutrients in the immediate area. We mix it directly in the hole to encourage the spread of the native bacteria and mycorrhizae already in the soil (sand). Organic matter slows this considerably and is a very important aspect of planting here. For clay, we dig a much , much larger hole, add sand, then gravel, sand, peat moss/sand mix. With flowering and fruiting trees we do indeed cut back the amount of manure or fertilizer added to the hole, while also using a rod and deep root irrigating in a grid pattern with the appropriate mycorrhizal blend for the species planted. Love your channel! Keep at it! Absolutely awesome!
Thank you for this comment. We just planted a bunch of trees here in New Hampshire and there is nothing but sand and a thin layer of loam on top. So we added compost to the backfill. Do all your trees last long term with the methods you used?
@@samzsong4652 Hi! Yes, we've always had very good results. The trees thrive and survive! As long as they get adequate moisture through the growing season, they do incredibly well! Good luck with your trees!
@jon B This give me hope! After watching this video I thought we planted our last few trees wrong! We are all sand and we added some top soil/compost to the holes. Was thinking we should dig them back up and remove the compost!
Thank you so much. Where I am in Appalachia, most of our soil is either hard clay or rock. I worried about putting all that heavy clay back on the pecan trees I ordered... It just doesn't seem right. Almost nothing will grow properly in our native soil where we live without some compost to help. I think I'll just dig a REALLY big hole and try to make it mostly clay with some compost, as well mixed together as I can get it. That way hopefully they'll have a lot of room to grow into and be big and strong enough to persevere into the clay if and when they get there.
You are a mind reader. On the past weekend I FINALLY started my garden after procrastinating all these years. I used the Lasagna method and was pleased with the outcome (SO FAR). I also wanted to get some fruit trees. I've got friends in various parts of TX who have purchased fruit trees from retail stores and have had big success. I started asking all the questions that you've answered in the this and the last video. I was looking at the instructions on the trees and they talked about AMENDMENT and STAKING. I'll be buying my trees this coming weekend knowing that I've got it RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. Thanks
The love for and the enthusiasm towards gardening that you display in your videos makes your tutorials exciting and inspiring! Always something new to be learned here, thanks for sharing MIgardener!
I did not know that about staking. The general advice from most arborists is to stake the tree during the first years to avoid the tree being uprooted in a storm--but it makes sense that in the long run this could make the tree weaker. Thanks for the info!
thank you for the info, I im preping to plant fruit trees and i was going to amend the hole with compost and fertilizer, now i will just amend the surface, thank you!
Thank you so much I haven't planted anything in about a year and today I just got some seeds as a gift and this video has gotten me back into gardening
Most of this was counter intuitive for me so I had to change my planting plan especially heavily lining the hole with compost. I'm going to follow and trust your instructions.
I love your new video without the intro music. You get in right to what I am looking forward to about fruit and veggies. Keep up the information and the new set up. Thanks!
I just planted 21 pear trees in memory of our son that passed away in a motorcycle accident on 18 September 2022 I got the trees planted October 2022 and have no idea of what I am doing your very educational video answered a lot of questions I had. Some of the trees have some brownish on the leaves I guess it’s some stress of heat and need of watering. Some of the trees are already producing pear 🍐 fruit We are in East Texas I got to google and see what zone we are in just learned that from your video. I really appreciate you taking the time to educate us here on your channel. Very detailed information thank y’all so much -Texas_Sig
I love that you are able to present a lot of information in a friendly yet concise video. I listen to your videos while doing routine chores so short pieces are useful. Also, you seem to research material thoroughly which gives me confidence in your methods. I also like that you are planting in a similar climate to mine which is zone 4/5.
Great video. But I do have to say that I disagree with soil amendment. Especially for those living in the south where “soil” isn’t soil. I’ve always put an amended base, mixed with native soil in the planting hole. I’ve had wonderful results. Oh, and definitely water in your new planting!
Glad you’re spreading accurate information. There’re so many youtuber telling people to spend money to put useless and harmful stuff into the hole like mycorrhiza, epsom salt, fertilizer, rock dust 🤦🏻♂️
I agree with what you are saying about backfill however i live in an area where the soil is all clay so i have to dig a very wide hole 4 times the size of the root ball and backfill with good soil. Do you agree that this is what i should do or will the apple tree grow in clay soil?
Wow, I'm a big believer in your advice. I bought a Red Delicious tree from our local garden shop 2 months ago. They said they to buy the compost and root developer as well. Told me to dig the hole put compost in the hole and rub the root developer on it and then plant. It grew beautifully. For approx a month. Then all the leaves turned yellow and started dropping off. I was told it was probably getting too much water. I slowed the watering, didn't seem to help, and now I think it's dead. Lesson learned the hard way.
WOW! We just bought two cherry trees and we’re going to have the place where we bought them from plant them, and how they were going to plant them was everything you recommended against! I’m just going to go pick them up and plant them myself!
I absolutely learned something! I'm growing apple and cherry trees from seed and they are about 6 inches now and I am watering them twice a day even when the soil is still wet. I wonder if I am doing it right. Needed help. I like what you said about spacing, that is kne of my questions that have been answered from this video! Awesome!
You grew the from seed? I don’t know why more people don’t do that. I’m going to try. My grandfather used to grow peach trees and cherry trees and the peaches were like nothing I’ve tasted since! He was an old Belgian!
@@Tinyteacher1111 The reason why most people don't grow from seed is because the variety you will get is unpredictable, and you lose the advantages that are selected for when grafting. Here's an example: Honeycrisp pollinators tend to naturally be varieties of crab apples. There's several other varieties that it can pollinate with, so it all depends on what a bee or other pollinating insect brings it. Honeycrisp's are not self fertile, so they require a few varieties to even get it to fruit. Those varieties are going to determine what kind of apples will produce from the seeds. I've had friends get some really interesting varieties this way, but they also pollinated their trees by hand to do so. Getting the seeds out of a random store apple though is going to be completely random. Mind you, I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it, you might get lucky and get something really interesting. I'm just saying that if you plant a honeycrisp seed, don't expect more honeycrisps.
Sandy soil -- I just bought a little plum tree but I'm planting in sandy soil. Are you saying I should fill the hole in with this sandy soil and nothing else or should I add some good soil to the sand. Thank you and great video!
I am off to Costco to buy a couple of pear trees and two flowering trees. Watching this video really helped. I happened to lose two trees just this past year. A crabapple that we had successfully transplanted and was starting to flourish in its third year was toppled in a wind storm when part of a large red maple branch crushed it. We then had something eat our new pear tree over winter. Our fault as we should’ve wrapped it in burlap. The netting and posts we had around it did not prevent a critter from eating the branches and bark on the poor little pear tree. I will look for a video of yours on wintering young trees. Thanks for all your suggestions.
What about sandy soils? Seems logical to amend the native soil with compost and other goodies, but maybe I’m wrong? (New to this growing zone 8, but the soil is 75% sand here near the Gulf Coast)
Great tips on how not to use nutrient rich soil "in" the hole when planting trees or bushes. I did not know that until now. I have a rose bush (bought from Walmart, and planted in spring 2020) and it is stalling out at the moment. I'm having this issue with only this one rose bush . The issue might be that I filled the hole with rich soil and the bush is now stressed. She ended up having flowers, but they were small and with little stem growth. I learned my lesson not to fill the holes with rich soil just to eliminate one more variable if I am having issues. Thanks again Luke, buddy! I learn something new almost each time I watch one of your videos.
We grow a little differently here due to our conditions. Our fruit trees are spaced 4 meters apart as we grow a lot of really big trees like mangoes, tamarind, lilly pilly and we are on a solid clay bed from an ancient mud flat/mangrove. We also have to have enough spacing to let the water run off... we get a monsoon... this February we had 2 meters of rain in 13 days, so we need to let to have quite a lot of airflow to prevent fungal issues. We also use our orchard as a [hobbyist/ameture] apiary.
what if you have very sandy soil? I have almost no darkness to my soil beyond about 4 inches deep. Is it OK to mix the back fill soil with some compost. organic material? Or should you just backfill with the loamy sand?
Thank you for the advice, I'm working setting up a home orchad and enrolling in the master gardener course myself. We're taking a permaculture inspired approach and I was definitely happy to see I'm not the only one in Michigan inspired so much by nature and sharing their love for it.
I figured you might want to know. You inspired me to get a couple trees in the ground this morning. I got a couple apricot trees in this morning and will be planting in a couple apple trees tomorrow morning super excited what the future years will bring!
So so pleased I watched your video first. It has put me right on a few scores and simplified my process. No staking or additives required for soil. Wonderful!
Wish I could give this video three thumbs up! I've started my fruit orchard just last month. Zone 5B, Peaches and Sweet Cherries. Cherries will stay kind of short, but am pruning the central leader on the peaches to try to keep them under 12 feet. Thanks for all the useful information!
talking about your peach tree pruning cut it so it looks like an open umberella upside down with the center open take off any limbs lower than 24 inches up from the ground usually late fall to early spring
Thank you very much. A great video! One thing I do when planting trees as well is to break up the side walls of the hole with my shovel. Where I live in Virginia, the red clay soil can create a somewhat impermeable surface if one does not.
Thank you thank you! This video actually makes me so much more confident about picking up a few fruit trees - less spacing = less land waste, and the simple approach with soil backfill wipes away the endless stress of too many videos telling me I must have JUST the right PH with lime and sand and amendments etc. the year before!
One of the best things I like to do when planting trees is to add a microrizea into the soil before I finish planting to encourage the microbe symbiosis relationship.
When it comes to staking, I would say this depends on your location. Here in the wide open flatlands of South West MN, I've had and seen saplings that were just transplanted blow down in the wind that weren't staked. Heck, I've had staked trees tip over. If you're in town or don't receive so much wind that Chicago would willingly step off it's Windy City throne, then you can probably skip staking. But for some of the prairie lands, I find that staking the first season usually yields the best results. I usually take my lines off right before winter sets in since the ground will be frozen fairly quickly. Also, if you stake lower, you might be able to get best of both worlds? Not sure. Love the pointers about spacing though, I've been struggling to figure out the best spacing for my trees in my little yard and this confirms my pondering.
Every time I watch one of Luke's videos, I feel like I'm one step closer to earning my PhD in Horticulture. Like seriously, these videos are so informative.
Great advice. The root stock is a different type of fruit in the same and usually a type that is not tasty. the root stock is done for disease resistance and other positive qualities.
Hi Luke, great video and excellent tips. I am one of those who will backfill hole with all compost and other thing hoping it is GOOD for tree. and also I used to dig deeper and bigger hole hoping to fill with all good material for plant. in fact I killed one of apple tree and never understood why it died. I literally filled the hole with horse manure and compost dirt from home depot. poor thing died quickly. now I know. thanks a lot.
I'm getting ready to plant 2 standard size Peach trees and I really love your video and want to plant them at the best distance apart from each other , everything I have read says 18-25 ft apart! I saw a video you did for an 85 year old orchardist and I want to train my tree's limbs like his so they don't get to tall ! I like the idea you have discovered about planting them close together as possible but mine are standard size Peaches! Any advice will be appreciated 😊
Thank you! I just bought a peach and nectarine tree to plant this fall so this video was perfect! I was gonna add compost to the soil, but now I know not to do that. Love your videos! Will continue to watch then because I learn so much from them! Wishing you continued success!!
I'm just getting ready in Minnesota to plant my mini orchard. Thanks for this video. Glad I caught this. I was taught to amend the soil in the hole. Thanks again.
Thank you for this very informative video. I lost a few fruit trees and was about to give up on them, but I now know what I’ve been doing wrong. I’ve been planting them not necessarily too deep, but I would form a ledge around the perimeter to hold water in 😬. Thank you teacher😉
I've killed many trees by backfilling with compost and fertilizer thinking it was a good. I've concluded that this is a mistake and your video has confirmed my suspicion. Thank you.
Thanks. I learned a lot from this video. Great point about planting trees farthest to the west so that newer trees planted more eastward can get sun. I totally would have put compost around the new tree if I had not seen this video.
I love all your information and your presentation thank you so much!! I’m so glad I listened to your video before I got started!! Would love to see a video about making a simple fence around your young tree to keep the deer from munching It
I planted a satsuma plum this year, as one of the trees on my hill...I am hoping I did not mess this one up! I needed this video a while ago. *grin*. Thanks for all the great info as always.
Wow awesome video thank you for sharing if I may place I bought a fig from the nursery should I plant it in my whiskey barrel or wait to do so ,I'm not able to plant it on the ground because it's not my property to do so I want to grow it in a container
I always knock the roots free of the sawdust compose--mix this with the soil from digging the hole. I spread the roots ( which are growing in a circle inside the plastic bucket) backfill , tap down the soil, cover with straw, add 3-4 T-Posts and a wire protector for deer. I also cover the soil with mulch/straw then add 2 gallon of warm water. I water once a week for 4-6 weeks
I live in southern AZ and I mix fertilizer with native soil for every plant. So far they have done very well doing that. So I’ll just stick the to mix method.
oh also.. i planted a tree last spring without a stake and it started to lean....so i did put a stake on it and a bungy to pull it back while it was still slightly supple and young enough to do..... should it take that off? let it grow kind of crooked anyway? we get winds from the same direction all the time and thats why it was leaning.
So don't use soil amendments to back fill... But I live in PHX, AZ and most fruit tree RUclipsrs are saying to add roughly 1/3 compost 1/3 worm castings, & 1/3 native soil.... What should I do? There's almost no nutrients in our soil but I can get truck loads of free mulch here
You can make a bigger hole, like double the root ball of your tree, and then create a gradient, starting with the native soil, and then mixed with some sand, then another layer of more fertile soil, to finish with the layer higher with that ratio you mentioned
The only time I stake a tree is to straighten the trunk when it’s growing in a weird direction. If the wend is blowing it over I normally cut the top out so the roots can grow out and support a tall tree.
Great video with some good tips. We have always wanted to plant an orchard on our land and start with the fruits we like. We have a hillside that is pretty steep with about 100' across and 300' or more in length, so room isn't an issue. I bought and planted 4 apple trees, 2 cherry trees, 1 pear, 1 peach, 1 plum. All the trees are supposed to get up to 20' tall and about that wide. So if I planted them about 15' apart, I should be ok, right? We already have 2 older established pear trees about a few hundred feet apart from one another. Those pears from those trees are very small and they are very hard to eat. There use to be an orchard behind our house from what the previous owners told me. Their Grandfather built the home, we are currently living in & own, from a Sears catalog in 1929 on 1.8 acres of land. Should you fertilize with store bought fertilizers or can I use my compost from coffee, tea bags, egg shells, twigs and leaves, grass clippings, and other items I compost? I want to get them off to the right start and make sure they are getting everything necessary to grow. Should I fertilize the first year or not? Is garden soil ok to use to get the trees started?
Great information! Thank you! I’m sure you may have covered some or all of this info in another video, but can you talk about watering? Howcmuch, how often, for how long? Thanks!
I was hoping to start an orchard this year, so this was SUPER helpful. Something I'd like to see is maybe about getting starts through the mail, you mentioned it in the video where you said to dig a square hole instead of a circular one. I'd love to have a few different varieties rather then just what I can get from tractor supply, or home depot. Starting a tree from seed would be an awesome thing to learn about too.
trees aren't true to seed so they taste like trash generally and rarely are edible - that's why when a rare seed makes a yummy tree taste, we take cuttings and do graftings onto rootstock to propagate that rare seed.
I gotta disagree with you Luke on back filling with purely the native soil. That might work for some areas if you have more sandy soil or just better quality soil in general to begin with. But not here where I live in California. Our property is mostly heavy clay, and clay as we know has very poor drainage. So if I were to plant in just that the vast majority of the fruit trees I plant would die from root rot. When I plant my fruit trees I mix in 25% of the existing soil I dug out, 25% compost from my pile, 25% sand for added drainage, 15% composted mulch made locally, and 10% worm castings. I have had a lot of success with this method and I don't find that the roots stay in the hole due to the size they have put on for me over the years. There is just no way a tree that was just 3 foot to begin with and is now pushing easily 9 feet is still only growing within the 4 ft x 4ft hole I planted it in.
Same here with the clay. My yard has only 1to 2 inches of top soil. We also loosely stake young trees so they can sway with gentle winds and get stronger. The heavy winds would topple them if they weren't staked for at least a year. Didn't know about the trees touching though. Thanks
Same in Phoenix. If you only planted in our desert rocky soil the trees would die really quick. You need to amend the soil in certain places. When I was watching him dig his hole for his tree I was thinking how great his dirt looks in Michigan.
I had the exact same thought. I also live in an area of California with a lot of clay and very rocky soil. It really comes down to the overall soil competition and the types of plants you are planting.
Roots are "Alive" ...Think of them like worms. they are going to go in search of nutrients. If you amend the soil around the roots you will cause them to not "search". And the first year is the most crucial. Amend the soil AFTER you have back filled...Amend the soil the exact same way nature does. Leaves fall from the tree and break down above the soil and the nutrients then absorb into the soil. The roots are looking for these pockets of nutrients and they will pause growth when they find a pocket of nutrients and start to search again when the deplete that pocket.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
I’m an ISA certified arborist and this video was spot on for most things. The only additional tips I have are plant the tree slightly above the surface level as it will settle over time and can end up being low. The reason you don’t backfill with light weight soil is that water can easily settle there in the air pockets. Thus in a way creating a mini pond around the tree. Overwatering or these practices are typically the number 1 killed of new plants. Also I would always recommend a root growth hormone with planting trees. Generally kelp based products help speed up root growth as whatever container they were sold to you in is far inadequate. Don’t fertilize the tree in the first year and in most soil conditions fertilizing will just make the tree rely on your feeding it. Checking ph conditions or doing a simple soil test will let you know the issues you might face nutrient wise. Mending ph over time and allowing the roots to grow will ensure a strong tree with high fruit yield. Remember reproduction is not as important to a tree as survival.
I thought you said abortionist lol
Edit- I have a question. I plan on growing moringa trees. You said not to use fertilizer the first year. How about seed fertilizer during germination?
Thank you for adding to the video, which has changed the way that I will plant my trees tomorrow. Now, I will implement your advice as well.
I have two trees I planted that did great then died. These are all great tips to try again.
@@ememman1460 he's talking about a transplanted tree, not trees from seed
Zone 8b Georgia I've planted several fruit trees from figs,citrus,peach,pear,nectarines,pecans,persimmon ,oak and on and on I've only lost 2 and they were both key limes those things are finicky.
I managed to convince my parents to let me try a small fruit tree in our yard this year! I am loving these videos! They are so informative!
Fantastic 😁
Hey good luck and look for updates on your new tree
How's the fruit tree doing?:)
@@rbux1636 Ah, unfortunately, the nursery I bought it from had trouble with their apricots, and mine died with the big heats we had where I live. It was too fragile. I learned a lot, still, so it's not all bad. There's always next year! Thanks for the ask! Hope you're doing well!
@@ainavirin Thank god it died
My peach from seed has peaches year 4.
That's awesome I'm gonna try and plant some this year also 💜👍🏿
Did they come out okay? I'd love to try to plant some seeds but I'm nervous that the fruit won't be good :/
@@PerpetualJoy that’s the risk you take with planting from seeds, but it can also be rewarding, you never know how good it’ll be, heck you could even get a new variety not in the market and make money off of it if it’s really good
I planted a few peaches from seed about 3 years ago and the trees grew up like a rocket! Can’t wait to see if I get fruit this year. They are much hardier than the one I bought.
I'm working trying that too
I've always done what my gut says "let the tree get used to your soil" "keep the graft point above ground" etc. "Don't stake, let it toughen up" And luckily my gut aligns with the advice
Thanks for this brother. I've deliberating over the spacing my standard fruit trees, thinking they might be too close at about 20 feet trunk to trunk . Many people say they should be like 30+ feet apart etc. Overlapping the foliage makes a lot of sense, and backed up by science.
Message from, an experienced Arborists wife, about planting trees. I would have liked to see you do a complete (from start to finish ) video on planting a tree. All the way with the mulching included! I believe that would be an outstanding choice! Thank you for your GREAT videos.
Everything you say in your videos is always so logical I find myself nodding along throughout the whole thing except somehow you coach it in such conversational manner it's like I never heard them before. Great job, as always!
sherey gould I was nodding too after I learned something haha very informative!!!
President Zachary Taylor once said, “I wouldn’t trade a square foot of Michigan or Ohio for a square mile of Florida.” When you dug your hole, I was so jealous of your rich, black soil. Where I live on the North Carolina coast, it is sand and gravel. There is very little organic matter in my soil. When I plant a fruit tree, I dig a hole literally ten times the size of the root ball and amend the soil. It takes awhile, but I use the native soil and mix in a bag of compost and potting mix. I’d say I still use 70% native soil so once the roots get mature enough they can traverse into the native soil without too much shock, but I wouldn’t plant a tree in my soil without some type of amendment.
I dig the hole so large so the tree can get years on it before roots transition into purely native soil with the hopes that my years of mulching and fertilizing the top will “catch up” to all the soil.
I just wanted to toss my hat in the ring and throw out there that things may be different for us southern coastal gardeners. The only other thing I’d toss in is to dig your fruit tree holes with a square shovel to dissuade roots from binding in a round hole like a container would.
More and more I hear about how you shouldn’t put compost/fertilizer in your hole and never knew why. Now I look back at all my failed fruit trees and it’s no wonder! Thank you - I’m glad I changed the way I plant my trees but it was interesting to hear the “why”!
So yesterday my husband bought me 2 apples and 2 pear trees and these next couple of days I'm going to learn as much as I can on taking care of my new trees Thank you for sharing
Ugh, I totally did all the wrong things when I planted my orchard about 6 years ago; however, we sold that property a few months after and they removed all of the orchard anyway so they could use it as field for animals. This video is full of information that I totally needed, Luke. We are planning out our garden and orchard space this year and this video was perfect timing for me, because I would have made the same mistakes about fertilizing and amending and all the wrong things. Thank you so much for your awesome channel and sharing your knowledge and experience!
i like how he explains why you need to do these things. that really helps.
Thank you! We’re getting ready to plant our trees and I’m so happy I saw this before I filled the hole with a compost mix!
The day before watching I planted two bare root apple trees. A Fuji and and combo tree. I dug the holes hauled off the old dirt and added nice fresh beautiful compost.....and planted both trees....then I watched the video.....
On a side note Today I pulled both trees, removed all the beautiful compost and added in the old dirt and replanted them....
So glad I saw this video! Who would have thought adding beautiful compost would be a bad thing? Thanks!
thank you! I had read once a long time ago that one shouldn't amend the soil in the planting hole, but I had forgotten, and I did lose the most recent fruit tree I'd planted; so now I'm reminded again, and also now I know not to stake.
After watching 100 videos... thos was the best well-rounded video on planting a new fruit tree. Thank you for posting 😊
Luke thank you! Thank you! I learn so much every time I watch your videos! We just bought fruit trees and I immediately looked for your videos of how to properly plant them. Your knowledge and willingness to share with us is greatly appreciated!
We were able to germinate 1 seed from my husband's late father's apple tree. So anticipating the day we can put it in the yard. Love your videos!
Tina Reid Have you tried taking cuttings from the tree? That is what I did with our fruit trees and saved so much time when comparing to starting from seed.
It is also possible that the seed will not create the same Apple. Grafting is the way to go to ensure that you are getting the same Apple type. You are also keeping the tree going this way!
Foodie would love to have the opportunity ...his home was sold afterwards. Hoping to connect with new owner sometime soon and see if she would be willing to let us take a cutting.
Tina Reid I am sure the new owner would understand if you explained the situation. Take a few cuttings to be sure you will have success. There are many ways to propogate cuttings but I've had the best success with the technique in the below link.
1. Leave cuttings in water for at least a week
2. Pack cocopeat
3. Insert cutting
4. Poke holes at the bottom of the plastic bags for water absorbtion and creates greenhouse effect
5. Let sit in water for around 2 weeks - should see roots
ruclips.net/video/KqTk_K9PHMY/видео.html
You’ll get a completely different tree from that seed, we replicate apple varieties with cuttings. The apples from your new tree may well be inedible, but they could be good for cider!
I saw a few videos of gardeners not recommending amending the soil when planting fruit trees. How about when you have really bad clay soil? We get lots of rain here in the UK and when it rains (at the moment it looks like it will rain for almost 2 weeks non stop) my garden is a mud pool. I bought a dwarf cherry and pear tree which I`m planning to plant in a bigger container but I`m also tempted to try to plant the pear tree in the ground. Thanks for your tips, I found your video very useful.
Great video as always! I just wanted to point out in regards to backfill while planting (as a certified arborist in my state) that soil quality is drastically different in certain parts of the country. If our soil were as beautiful and rich as your soil is in the video, I would certainly just backfill with the original soil. Where I live (on Cape Cod, MA) we're essentially on a sandbar, and in most towns we're never 3-4 inches away from 95% sand. In small pockets we have 80% clay, or just plain glacial rock. If we were to backfill with either sand or clay directly without amending the tree would decline and die 9 times out of 10 from drying out or drowning. To amend the sand we use a large amount of peat moss to add organic material for beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae to bond. We normally also have to add some degree of compost or manure, because of the extreme leaching effects of the sand of the available nutrients in the immediate area. We mix it directly in the hole to encourage the spread of the native bacteria and mycorrhizae already in the soil (sand). Organic matter slows this considerably and is a very important aspect of planting here. For clay, we dig a much , much larger hole, add sand, then gravel, sand, peat moss/sand mix. With flowering and fruiting trees we do indeed cut back the amount of manure or fertilizer added to the hole, while also using a rod and deep root irrigating in a grid pattern with the appropriate mycorrhizal blend for the species planted. Love your channel! Keep at it! Absolutely awesome!
Thank you for this comment. We just planted a bunch of trees here in New Hampshire and there is nothing but sand and a thin layer of loam on top. So we added compost to the backfill. Do all your trees last long term with the methods you used?
@@samzsong4652 Hi! Yes, we've always had very good results. The trees thrive and survive! As long as they get adequate moisture through the growing season, they do incredibly well! Good luck with your trees!
@@AllCapeTree this gives me some hope that we didn't mess up, thanks!
@jon B This give me hope! After watching this video I thought we planted our last few trees wrong! We are all sand and we added some top soil/compost to the holes. Was thinking we should dig them back up and remove the compost!
Thank you so much. Where I am in Appalachia, most of our soil is either hard clay or rock. I worried about putting all that heavy clay back on the pecan trees I ordered... It just doesn't seem right. Almost nothing will grow properly in our native soil where we live without some compost to help. I think I'll just dig a REALLY big hole and try to make it mostly clay with some compost, as well mixed together as I can get it. That way hopefully they'll have a lot of room to grow into and be big and strong enough to persevere into the clay if and when they get there.
You are a mind reader. On the past weekend I FINALLY started my garden after procrastinating all these years. I used the Lasagna method and was pleased with the outcome (SO FAR). I also wanted to get some fruit trees. I've got friends in various parts of TX who have purchased fruit trees from retail stores and have had big success. I started asking all the questions that you've answered in the this and the last video. I was looking at the instructions on the trees and they talked about AMENDMENT and STAKING. I'll be buying my trees this coming weekend knowing that I've got it RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. Thanks
The love for and the enthusiasm towards gardening that you display in your videos makes your tutorials exciting and inspiring! Always something new to be learned here, thanks for sharing MIgardener!
I did not know that about staking. The general advice from most arborists is to stake the tree during the first years to avoid the tree being uprooted in a storm--but it makes sense that in the long run this could make the tree weaker. Thanks for the info!
thank you for the info, I im preping to plant fruit trees and i was going to amend the hole with compost and fertilizer, now i will just amend the surface, thank you!
Thank you so much I haven't planted anything in about a year and today I just got some seeds as a gift and this video has gotten me back into gardening
Most of this was counter intuitive for me so I had to change my planting plan especially heavily lining the hole with compost. I'm going to follow and trust your instructions.
I love your new video without the intro music. You get in right to what I am looking forward to about fruit and veggies. Keep up the information and the new set up. Thanks!
Indeed God save us from irrelevant, confusing background music!
I just planted 21 pear trees in memory of our son that passed away in a motorcycle accident on 18 September 2022
I got the trees planted October 2022 and have no idea of what I am doing your very educational video answered a lot of questions I had.
Some of the trees have some brownish on the leaves I guess it’s some stress of heat and need of watering.
Some of the trees are already producing pear 🍐 fruit
We are in East Texas I got to google and see what zone we are in just learned that from your video.
I really appreciate you taking the time to educate us here on your channel.
Very detailed information thank y’all so much
-Texas_Sig
I love that you are able to present a lot of information in a friendly yet concise video. I listen to your videos while doing routine chores so short pieces are useful. Also, you seem to research material thoroughly which gives me confidence in your methods. I also like that you are planting in a similar climate to mine which is zone 4/5.
Great video. But I do have to say that I disagree with soil amendment. Especially for those living in the south where “soil” isn’t soil. I’ve always put an amended base, mixed with native soil in the planting hole. I’ve had wonderful results. Oh, and definitely water in your new planting!
Glad you’re spreading accurate information. There’re so many youtuber telling people to spend money to put useless and harmful stuff into the hole like mycorrhiza, epsom salt, fertilizer, rock dust 🤦🏻♂️
I agree with what you are saying about backfill however i live in an area where the soil is all clay so i have to dig a very wide hole 4 times the size of the root ball and backfill with good soil. Do you agree that this is what i should do or will the apple tree grow in clay soil?
Wow, I'm a big believer in your advice. I bought a Red Delicious tree from our local garden shop 2 months ago. They said they to buy the compost and root developer as well. Told me to dig the hole put compost in the hole and rub the root developer on it and then plant.
It grew beautifully. For approx a month. Then all the leaves turned yellow and started dropping off. I was told it was probably getting too much water. I slowed the watering, didn't seem to help, and now I think it's dead.
Lesson learned the hard way.
WOW! We just bought two cherry trees and we’re going to have the place where we bought them from plant them, and how they were going to plant them was everything you recommended against! I’m just going to go pick them up and plant them myself!
Very nice video. Thank you so much.
I absolutely learned something! I'm growing apple and cherry trees from seed and they are about 6 inches now and I am watering them twice a day even when the soil is still wet. I wonder if I am doing it right. Needed help. I like what you said about spacing, that is kne of my questions that have been answered from this video! Awesome!
You grew the from seed? I don’t know why more people don’t do that. I’m going to try. My grandfather used to grow peach trees and cherry trees and the peaches were like nothing I’ve tasted since! He was an old Belgian!
@@Tinyteacher1111 The reason why most people don't grow from seed is because the variety you will get is unpredictable, and you lose the advantages that are selected for when grafting. Here's an example: Honeycrisp pollinators tend to naturally be varieties of crab apples. There's several other varieties that it can pollinate with, so it all depends on what a bee or other pollinating insect brings it. Honeycrisp's are not self fertile, so they require a few varieties to even get it to fruit. Those varieties are going to determine what kind of apples will produce from the seeds. I've had friends get some really interesting varieties this way, but they also pollinated their trees by hand to do so. Getting the seeds out of a random store apple though is going to be completely random. Mind you, I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it, you might get lucky and get something really interesting. I'm just saying that if you plant a honeycrisp seed, don't expect more honeycrisps.
Sandy soil -- I just bought a little plum tree but I'm planting in sandy soil. Are you saying I should fill the hole in with this sandy soil and nothing else or should I add some good soil to the sand. Thank you and great video!
Thanks for the info. I was going to backfill with nice lush compost and garden soil. Local soil is very sandy, so I will amend the surface. Excellent.
wow you just stopped me from making 2 of those mistakes!!! THANK YOU. Picking up my very first apple trees tomorrow.
I am off to Costco to buy a couple of pear trees and two flowering trees. Watching this video really helped. I happened to lose two trees just this past year. A crabapple that we had successfully transplanted and was starting to flourish in its third year was toppled in a wind storm when part of a large red maple branch crushed it. We then had something eat our new pear tree over winter. Our fault as we should’ve wrapped it in burlap. The netting and posts we had around it did not prevent a critter from eating the branches and bark on the poor little pear tree. I will look for a video of yours on wintering young trees. Thanks for all your suggestions.
What about sandy soils? Seems logical to amend the native soil with compost and other goodies, but maybe I’m wrong? (New to this growing zone 8, but the soil is 75% sand here near the Gulf Coast)
Thank you so much for this short and sweet, very practical" how to" get that little orchard started! We're ready to go!
Great tips on how not to use nutrient rich soil "in" the hole when planting trees or bushes. I did not know that until now. I have a rose bush (bought from Walmart, and planted in spring 2020) and it is stalling out at the moment. I'm having this issue with only this one rose bush . The issue might be that I filled the hole with rich soil and the bush is now stressed. She ended up having flowers, but they were small and with little stem growth. I learned my lesson not to fill the holes with rich soil just to eliminate one more variable if I am having issues. Thanks again Luke, buddy! I learn something new almost each time I watch one of your videos.
We grow a little differently here due to our conditions. Our fruit trees are spaced 4 meters apart as we grow a lot of really big trees like mangoes, tamarind, lilly pilly and we are on a solid clay bed from an ancient mud flat/mangrove. We also have to have enough spacing to let the water run off... we get a monsoon... this February we had 2 meters of rain in 13 days, so we need to let to have quite a lot of airflow to prevent fungal issues. We also use our orchard as a [hobbyist/ameture] apiary.
My house build has been using your advice for building an orchard🤣 7 years in! I’ll get it done one of these days!
what if you have very sandy soil? I have almost no darkness to my soil beyond about 4 inches deep. Is it OK to mix the back fill soil with some compost. organic material? Or should you just backfill with the loamy sand?
Thank you for the advice, I'm working setting up a home orchad and enrolling in the master gardener course myself. We're taking a permaculture inspired approach and I was definitely happy to see I'm not the only one in Michigan inspired so much by nature and sharing their love for it.
i have a couple trees that people are asking me to plant. now i know where to start. thank you
I figured you might want to know. You inspired me to get a couple trees in the ground this morning. I got a couple apricot trees in this morning and will be planting in a couple apple trees tomorrow morning super excited what the future years will bring!
So so pleased I watched your video first. It has put me right on a few scores and simplified my process. No staking or additives required for soil. Wonderful!
Wish I could give this video three thumbs up! I've started my fruit orchard just last month. Zone 5B, Peaches and Sweet Cherries. Cherries will stay kind of short, but am pruning the central leader on the peaches to try to keep them under 12 feet. Thanks for all the useful information!
talking about your peach tree pruning cut it so it looks like an open umberella upside down with the center open take off any limbs lower than 24 inches up from the ground usually late fall to early spring
Thank you very much. A great video! One thing I do when planting trees as well is to break up the side walls of the hole with my shovel. Where I live in Virginia, the red clay soil can create a somewhat impermeable surface if one does not.
I'm about to plant a pear tree and came by this video at random, glad I did lol..Thank you for the info
Thank you thank you! This video actually makes me so much more confident about picking up a few fruit trees - less spacing = less land waste, and the simple approach with soil backfill wipes away the endless stress of too many videos telling me I must have JUST the right PH with lime and sand and amendments etc. the year before!
One of the best things I like to do when planting trees is to add a microrizea into the soil before I finish planting to encourage the microbe symbiosis relationship.
When it comes to staking, I would say this depends on your location. Here in the wide open flatlands of South West MN, I've had and seen saplings that were just transplanted blow down in the wind that weren't staked. Heck, I've had staked trees tip over. If you're in town or don't receive so much wind that Chicago would willingly step off it's Windy City throne, then you can probably skip staking. But for some of the prairie lands, I find that staking the first season usually yields the best results. I usually take my lines off right before winter sets in since the ground will be frozen fairly quickly. Also, if you stake lower, you might be able to get best of both worlds? Not sure.
Love the pointers about spacing though, I've been struggling to figure out the best spacing for my trees in my little yard and this confirms my pondering.
Every time I watch one of Luke's videos, I feel like I'm one step closer to earning my PhD in Horticulture. Like seriously, these videos are so informative.
Great advice. The root stock is a different type of fruit in the same and usually a type that is not tasty. the root stock is done for disease resistance and other positive qualities.
Hi Luke, great video and excellent tips. I am one of those who will backfill hole with all compost and other thing hoping it is GOOD for tree. and also I used to dig deeper and bigger hole hoping to fill with all good material for plant. in fact I killed one of apple tree and never understood why it died. I literally filled the hole with horse manure and compost dirt from home depot. poor thing died quickly. now I know. thanks a lot.
This was very useful and timely. I'm getting fruit tress for the very first time this season. I'm now better equipped to do it well. Thanks! :D
Great information. I work with arborists in establishing young trees, and all the information in this video matches what I've learned.
I'm getting ready to plant 2 standard size Peach trees and I really love your video and want to plant them at the best distance apart from each other , everything I have read says 18-25 ft apart! I saw a video you did for an 85 year old orchardist and I want to train my tree's limbs like his so they don't get to tall ! I like the idea you have discovered about planting them close together as possible but mine are standard size Peaches! Any advice will be appreciated 😊
Thank you! I just bought a peach and nectarine tree to plant this fall so this video was perfect! I was gonna add compost to the soil, but now I know not to do that. Love your videos! Will continue to watch then because I learn so much from them! Wishing you continued success!!
Great information! I have made the mistake of amending the backfill , but now I understand how that can stunt the growth. Thanks so much for the video
Thanks for all the helpful tips as I'm about to head outside and plant the lil' peach tree I grew from a seed! :)
I'm just getting ready in Minnesota to plant my mini orchard. Thanks for this video. Glad I caught this. I was taught to amend the soil in the hole. Thanks again.
Thank you for this very informative video. I lost a few fruit trees and was about to give up on them, but I now know what I’ve been doing wrong. I’ve been planting them not necessarily too deep, but I would form a ledge around the perimeter to hold water in 😬. Thank you teacher😉
Thank you, for making this video.
I would absolutely love to see an update on your orchard progress!
Thank you I’m just about to plant my first fruit trees! great information that I didn’t know!
I've killed many trees by backfilling with compost and fertilizer thinking it was a good. I've concluded that this is a mistake and your video has confirmed my suspicion. Thank you.
Bought pear and peach trees today and will use your knowledge. Thanks!
Thanks. I learned a lot from this video. Great point about planting trees farthest to the west so that newer trees planted more eastward can get sun. I totally would have put compost around the new tree if I had not seen this video.
Excellent
Very Simple and logical to avoid fundamental mistake while planing a tree
I am starting an orchard in my yard! Thank you for your tips.
Super informative. I'm so glad I watched before I planted our apple trees! thank you so much!
I love all your information and your presentation thank you so much!! I’m so glad I listened to your video before I got started!! Would love to see a video about making a simple fence around your young tree to keep the deer from munching It
Great video! Thanks for the information 😊. Just ordered 22 packs of seeds. Cant wait to plant em next yr.❤
I planted a satsuma plum this year, as one of the trees on my hill...I am hoping I did not mess this one up! I needed this video a while ago. *grin*. Thanks for all the great info as always.
Wow awesome video thank you for sharing if I may place I bought a fig from the nursery should I plant it in my whiskey barrel or wait to do so ,I'm not able to plant it on the ground because it's not my property to do so I want to grow it in a container
Awesome video. Looking forward to planting my apple tree.
I always knock the roots free of the sawdust compose--mix this with the soil from digging the hole. I spread the roots ( which are growing in a circle inside the plastic bucket) backfill , tap down the soil, cover with straw, add 3-4 T-Posts and a wire protector for deer. I also cover the soil with mulch/straw then add 2 gallon of warm water. I water once a week for 4-6 weeks
Thank you, I always learn things from you Luke Some times right after i plant, like today.
Exactly. I planted my pear tree a week ago and today this video us posted, lol
😂
What if you mix the original soil and fertilizer, so that way it isn't as shell shocked when it grows past the fertilized area?
I live in southern AZ and I mix fertilizer with native soil for every plant. So far they have done very well doing that. So I’ll just stick the to mix method.
Very informative, you gave some great tips and instructions that I haven't seen on other videos.
I have several bushes and trees to plant in the next couple of days. Bless you and your timing on this episode.
Thank you for taking time to share your knowledge! You are a great teacher and I look forward to learning more from you!
Which I watched this before I replanted my apple trees. This is good stuff.
I enjoy your videos a lot. I had problem with suckers from my peach trees & other stone fruits. Any suggestions? Thanks.
oh also.. i planted a tree last spring without a stake and it started to lean....so i did put a stake on it and a bungy to pull it back while it was still slightly supple and young enough to do..... should it take that off? let it grow kind of crooked anyway? we get winds from the same direction all the time and thats why it was leaning.
So don't use soil amendments to back fill... But I live in PHX, AZ and most fruit tree RUclipsrs are saying to add roughly 1/3 compost 1/3 worm castings, & 1/3 native soil.... What should I do? There's almost no nutrients in our soil but I can get truck loads of free mulch here
You can make a bigger hole, like double the root ball of your tree, and then create a gradient, starting with the native soil, and then mixed with some sand, then another layer of more fertile soil, to finish with the layer higher with that ratio you mentioned
We just purchased the beginnings of our home orchard. Should be planting within the next few weeks. Thanks for the timely info!
The only time I stake a tree is to straighten the trunk when it’s growing in a weird direction. If the wend is blowing it over I normally cut the top out so the roots can grow out and support a tall tree.
Been doing it all wrong!! Thanks for clarifying 🙏
Great video with some good tips. We have always wanted to plant an orchard on our land and start with the fruits we like. We have a hillside that is pretty steep with about 100' across and 300' or more in length, so room isn't an issue. I bought and planted 4 apple trees, 2 cherry trees, 1 pear, 1 peach, 1 plum. All the trees are supposed to get up to 20' tall and about that wide. So if I planted them about 15' apart, I should be ok, right?
We already have 2 older established pear trees about a few hundred feet apart from one another. Those pears from those trees are very small and they are very hard to eat. There use to be an orchard behind our house from what the previous owners told me. Their Grandfather built the home, we are currently living in & own, from a Sears catalog in 1929 on 1.8 acres of land. Should you fertilize with store bought fertilizers or can I use my compost from coffee, tea bags, egg shells, twigs and leaves, grass clippings, and other items I compost? I want to get them off to the right start and make sure they are getting everything necessary to grow. Should I fertilize the first year or not? Is garden soil ok to use to get the trees started?
Great information! Thank you! I’m sure you may have covered some or all of this info in another video, but can you talk about watering? Howcmuch, how often, for how long? Thanks!
I was hoping to start an orchard this year, so this was SUPER helpful. Something I'd like to see is maybe about getting starts through the mail, you mentioned it in the video where you said to dig a square hole instead of a circular one. I'd love to have a few different varieties rather then just what I can get from tractor supply, or home depot.
Starting a tree from seed would be an awesome thing to learn about too.
trees aren't true to seed so they taste like trash generally and rarely are edible - that's why when a rare seed makes a yummy tree taste, we take cuttings and do graftings onto rootstock to propagate that rare seed.
I gotta disagree with you Luke on back filling with purely the native soil. That might work for some areas if you have more sandy soil or just better quality soil in general to begin with. But not here where I live in California. Our property is mostly heavy clay, and clay as we know has very poor drainage. So if I were to plant in just that the vast majority of the fruit trees I plant would die from root rot. When I plant my fruit trees I mix in 25% of the existing soil I dug out, 25% compost from my pile, 25% sand for added drainage, 15% composted mulch made locally, and 10% worm castings. I have had a lot of success with this method and I don't find that the roots stay in the hole due to the size they have put on for me over the years. There is just no way a tree that was just 3 foot to begin with and is now pushing easily 9 feet is still only growing within the 4 ft x 4ft hole I planted it in.
James Fox I do the same thing. I live on a rock, when I dig out a hole I dig up 30lbs. rocks💪
Same here with the clay. My yard has only 1to 2 inches of top soil. We also loosely stake young trees so they can sway with gentle winds and get stronger. The heavy winds would topple them if they weren't staked for at least a year. Didn't know about the trees touching though. Thanks
Same in Phoenix. If you only planted in our desert rocky soil the trees would die really quick. You need to amend the soil in certain places. When I was watching him dig his hole for his tree I was thinking how great his dirt looks in Michigan.
I had the exact same thought. I also live in an area of California with a lot of clay and very rocky soil. It really comes down to the overall soil competition and the types of plants you are planting.
Roots are "Alive" ...Think of them like worms. they are going to go in search of nutrients. If you amend the soil around the roots you will cause them to not "search". And the first year is the most crucial. Amend the soil AFTER you have back filled...Amend the soil the exact same way nature does. Leaves fall from the tree and break down above the soil and the nutrients then absorb into the soil. The roots are looking for these pockets of nutrients and they will pause growth when they find a pocket of nutrients and start to search again when the deplete that pocket.
Great info. Thank you! Appreciate your lessons and tips. God Bless
Great video with lots of great information to create successful results. Now if only I could find a good location to buy solid fruit trees from...
enjoyed the info and learned a valuable tip now what to do with trees that have been planted low replant in winter or leave it alone?
sooner the better to raise them up. you can dig up one side and use a pitch fork threw the roots to lift it and get some dirt under it.
Thank you so much I can do that🙂