Don't Kill Your Fruit Trees! Plant Them Like This

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

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[@paulniksch7595]

Great content, tips. One trick I learned from a fruit tree grower was to cut the tree down to about 30". (ONLY use this technique when planting trees in the WINTER and the tree is DORMANT.) The scion, with no branches, will sprout in spring, and you can start to shape the tree from the very 1st growing season. This starts the tree branching much lower on the trunk, making harvesting much easier, reducing the need for a ladder! This process results in a very sturdy tree, and you WON'T need to stake it either, in most cases, because all of the tall, weak branches have been removed. I asked the grower why THEY don't cut the trees like that before they sell them, and his reply was that people think they're getting more for their money.😂 I'll admit that the first time I did this, it was hard to do- cutting $40.00 worth of growth off of a $50.00 tree seems counterintuitive- but it works!

[@janetwestrup411]

Had I known about that method I would’ve done it. I bought fruit trees from an orchard because I wanted to grow small trees in espalier. The tall trees that were delivered didn’t work for that so I had to plant a regular orchard. I was inexperienced and didn’t know I could have refused them.

[@dustinabc]

I've heard it's a good idea to create some square corners in the hole as well to make it less likely for the roots to circle around.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Yes this is another great tip! Thanks for mentioning it

[@stephenseidl3389]

Those earth augers are a huge help in this Tennessee soil. I started working on a fence, dug one hole with a shovel, then went and rented the auger from Lowes.

[@janetwestrup411]

Nice trees! I hope you are planning a game fence at least 10 ft high around your orchard, because the deer will nip those tender trees down to a stump. I know how they like those trees. I would also suggest a predator apron of half inch hardware cloth around the base of that game fence. Deer, raccoon, bear,skunk and possum can ruin your fruit after all the hard work you put into those trees. I would purchase enough to go around the orchard then bend in half lengthwise so you have 2’ out from the game fence and 2’ above the ground . Use garden staples to tack it to the ground and cover with soil and throw some grass seed over it so grass grows. The digging animals will always go up to the fence to dig to get in, but they will be stopped by the apron. I did this for my chicken run and have not lost a single bird to predation. I need to take my own advice for my orchard because the raccoons got almost all my fruit last year. My in-laws had beautiful mature fruit trees when they bought a piece of land. They refused to put money out to protect their trees. After all their hard work watering those trees and just before harvest they went out at night and shined a flashlight into the trees and it looked like a Christmas tree with multiple raccoon in each tree eating their fruit. The completely stripped those trees in one night.

[@dhanasekaran9055]

I had this in mind all the time. Now, I have this video to tell them that they're wrong. Most of them dig large holes and put lots of nutrient stuff and compost. It becomes like a large pot with root-bound plants.

[@wesfredricks2543]

With a tree that size and the compact soil you appear to have in the video, I'd break out the broad fork and use it to loosen about a 4ft diameter circle around the planting zone. Lightly pack it back down with your body weight and water heavily a day or two before planting. It does wonders, in my experience, for the establishment of young trees.

[@tomh4591]

found out the hard way with my barbados cherry not to plant too deep, planted ground level and it sank and died :( Interesting point here in florida, almost makes sense to almost mound every fruit tree, as the soil is sandy and trash, the dense nutrient filled potting soil that you put in the ground disappears almost instantly and they almost always all sink too low. I've seen florida farmers take them out of the pot, broad fork the ground, dig NO hole, place on top, mound mulch around it, water like crazy, and leave it alone. Makes a nice root flare above the ground where it belongs, and sinks lower as the mulch breaks down and ends up being exactly where it needs to be.

[@neilsmall6518]

Grow it from seed. Replant in second year. Put plant at half the hight of the pot then mound around with some mulch. Bajan way

[@terrantula7733]

I'm interested to hear what fruit you chose to grow and what varieties? I'm in Chattanooga and afraid to plant anything due to our climate and diseases. Great video! Keep up the great work.

[@dustinabc]

I really want to get land in the Chattanooga area! I'd like to know some of this info too.

[@ballers1130dane]

Love all this and thanks for sharing. Only thing I've been doing beyond all this, is filling the inside of the "dougnut" mulch with small rocks/gravel like Michael Phillips taught.

[@tannerfarmstead]

Great information! One of my fig trees I planted last week is struggling from what I think is transplant shock. But it’s leaves were already wilted once I got it in the mail. Seems as though the trees I’ve planted in dormancy during winter have looked the healthiest and taken much better

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Yes the most ideal is to plant a dormant bare root end of winter, you'll get way higher % healthy long term trees and you can control the first heading cut not the nursery. I notice the same thing when planting potted plants mid summer they also suffer to recover all summer, but if they survive, the next year they operate as normal.

[@addiroids]

Thanks for all the awesome advice!

[@dictionaryzzz]

Know what diseases are common and in your area and find cultivars that are resistant to them. For example, The "Liberty" apple is most disease resistant cultivar right now that I know of.

[@isabelladavis1363]

Thank you for your time and knowledge stay blessed

[@deangibson3643]

Lovely content, Keep it up... Whats your thoughts on volcanic rock dust as minerals for fruit trees?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Thanks! Love rock dust in many forms. There's arctic dust, azomite is from Utah. More mineral sources the better in my opinion just use less of each if mixing.

[@Naztalgic]

Awesome thanks!

[@samyu2971]

Thank you for all that great information!

[@MattyDemello]

I don't understand one thing. Ive heard of people putting a tire at the bottom of the hole so there's an air chamber underneath, i wouldn't do that but if tree roots die when they hit air pockets how do those trees with the tire survive?

[@kahlahyahysrahl7777]

Awesome information one more tip please remove the plastic yellow label that is around the bottom of tree. It will stunt the growth of the tree choke out the tree.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Great tip! And replace with a metal tree tag that won't disintegrate!

[@PrintrBear]

Thanks Steve 👊🏻🙏blessings

[@cherylbertolini3140]

great video thanks for sharing:) Have a great week.

[@dande9981]

Swaying in the wind will make your tree stronger it’s best if they can wiggle some

[@steveo_o6707]

I have hard clay everywhere with limestone. I have no choice but to dig a 3 foot hole and amend it. I tried doing it like you did, but there is signs of root rot already. I'm going to have to dig those out and replant.

[@deeprootstexas]

I do too, in that case it can work better to make almost no hole at all, chop most of the bottom of the root ball off and then add little soil around and mulch it heavily. If the plant is watered consistently it should be able to grow into your tough soil and stone. If it can't, then it probably was never well suited for the area and should probably not be planted in the first place. I have planted many trees and this is what I do when need be. It works most of the time.

[@amesstoday]

Great video! Thank you.

[@himalayansaltlamp5902]

Great job Thanks!

[@AntiCrimer]

I did things backwards: planted, then researched. So I took cuttings from my mature apple trees, put them in water a few days to soften, treated them with root compound, then planted them directly in the ground. I just know I did something wrong...but what exactly? and if I need to change it up? Tks for any advice.

[@deeprootstexas]

Apple trees may work better doing air layering first so you know they have roots, then plant them.

[@AntiCrimer]

@@deeprootstexas Tks so much for your speedy reply! So should I scrap them and start anew? Or any chance of actually growing? Oh, I also used a red-coloured cedar mulch. Is that ok?

[@paulniksch7595]

@user-gy5so3nl5d You can try and root those cuttings, but the root system will probably not be as hearty/disease resistant as a grafted tree. Trees are a long term investment- you'll be disappointed if your tree starts to decline in a few years and you have to start all over. My suggestion would be to cut your losses now, and get it right from the get go.

[@deeprootstexas]

Like Paul said, there are some advantages to using grafted stock, I personally like self rooted trees because I don't ever have to think about a graft. Air layering or rooting cutting can work but just know what you're getting into. If you have very little time invested and it works well then you'd be good to go. But it's a more sure fire thing to get an something that's a little farther along. Basically if you have plenty of room and it doesn't really matter if it works or not and you've already placed them, then there is not really much loss. If space is important then you may not want to risk it. I like to try and help people think it through so that you know why you made your choice and you can be confident in it.

[@deeprootstexas]

Oh and red (or any other dyed) mulch often is not aged enough so the coloring hides that, and who knows if there are any negative effects from the chemical coloring either. I prefer an aged dark brown mulch. It will need to be sprinkled over the top at least twice a year if you want to keep it looking nice after it greys out and degrades into the soil. But as it degrades it's adding organic matter to the soil which is a big deal.

[@deecooper1567]

Great advice 👍👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@squarepegroundhole8211]

Thorough! Thanks!

[@daleparks6781]

Moles 🤬 put a nice size of wire screen 1/2"inch at bottom of hole before putting any soil!👍

[@nchestercountynews4955]

no inoculated biochar?

[@johncass2441]

For sure

[@partimentieveryday]

Fungal dominated biochar?

[@nchestercountynews4955]

@@partimentieveryday I have JDAM brewing. for my biochar. I have bits of mycorrhizal and leaf mold from the compost and add in the wood chips that i put in too/ stinky mess....

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Now we're talking ;) There's a little in my compost. So many things I can't remember to mention them all!

[@harmoneecatcher2281]

Staking a tree up tightly tends to produce a weak trunk as time passes nature with her winds encourage strength to develop as the trees blow back and forth Just sayin

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

You'll notice the rest of my trees have no stakes. That's because I planted bare root and why at the beginning of this video I recommended people plant bare root NOT pots. But I wanted to show what to do when you are planting 10ft potted plants since I know many home owners plant those trees.

[@jaker2542]

Here's a tip I wish i knew. Dont put tanglefoot directly on the bark of any tree. they dont tell you not to do that on their product, and its killed a couple of my trees

[@yellowboot6629]

❣️

[@TheCutlerShoppe]

Mmmm… Donut 🍩🤤🌳💦

[@Tim.0011]

Yeah Mother Nature controls all that. You never know if you're going to get a crop from a tree