Fruit tree

[Paula]

When you planted fruit trees why did you pick the fruit that you did? Did you buy the trees for you or for the deer?

My yard can get wet so from what I have read I don't want peach or a nectarine or a plum because they don't do well in the wet and or cold for an extended period of time.

I have a pear tree so I don't want another one I was thinking about Apple but I don't know how much hard work there to take care of. If I was to buy an apple tree this year can I keep it in the pot until next year?

 

[wolc123]

Today is the absolute worse day of the year to plant a tree.  They should only be planted in months with “R’s” in them.  Let the nurseries care for the potted trees thru the summer.  Take some time to figure out what you want, pick it up and plant after September 1st. 

[SpacemanSpiff]

8 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Today is the absolute worse day of the year to plant a tree.  They should only be planted in months with “R’s” in them.  Let the nurseries care for the potted trees thru the summer.  Take some time to figure out what you want, pick it up and plant after September 1st. 

Then why do so may giant fruit farms plant tens of thousands of trees in may? 

[wolc123]

Just now, SpacemanSpiff said:

Then why do so may giant fruit farms plant tens of thousands of trees in may? 

Obviously because they don’t know no better.

[SpacemanSpiff]

Just now, wolc123 said:

Obviously because they don’t know no better.

Yeah ok. Not to mention fall planting trees makes them more susceptible to cold injuries and or death. Then again your the “professional”

[wolc123]

27 minutes ago, SpacemanSpiff said:

Yeah ok. Not to mention fall planting trees makes them more susceptible to cold injuries and or death. Then again your the “professional”

Well at least you’ll get them cheap if you plant today.

[G-Man]

Most fruit trees require 2 trees to properly polinate .  But you need to think of what you want and when you want it to mature/ drop  fruit.  Some drop early some hold.fruit very late.. i buy what i like to eat and deer dont seem to mind it either

[LET EM GROW]

I pick fruit trees that will drop fruits when i want deer to eat them to aid in hunting opportunities. Mostly late dropping fruit. Theres a member here that grafts custom trees to drop at many times of the season. I planted a few December dropping pears 3 years ago that were about 3' tall  and today are about 12-15' tall. Also have some late dropping crab apples that grow well but the deer are really fighting to get at all my young fruit trees in the winter.   I like my trees dropping at different times of season and especially some late season droppings for herd health.. 

[Paula]

I decided not to get any. I don't have a big yard, I would have to get two and i don't want that. 

[Five Seasons]

On 6/21/2022 at 6:26 PM, SpacemanSpiff said:

Then why do so may giant fruit farms plant tens of thousands of trees in may? 

don't respond to him. absolute moron. You can plant a fruit tree whenever, although ideally early in the spring. The only real seasonal related items that affect fruit tree is when to spray for what and when to prune and even pruning isn't a hard and fast rule, just a "best time to do it" kind of thing. 

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, Paula said:

I decided not to get any. I don't have a big yard, I would have to get two and i don't want that. 

not necessarily. Some are self polinating and if there is an orchard nearby or neighbors have some you're good there too. They're not cheap but they're selling grafted apple trees now that have 3 or 4 varieties on 1 tree. They don't grow super big and take a while to get going. I had to fence mine off from the deer, but with the multiple varieties they self pollinate and it's good for a whole bunch of apples a year. Now I don't really care about it as I manage 20 acres of apples, plums and peaches and have more than I know what to do with. But it's nice to grab an apple off the tree in the back for a snack. 

[Paula]

I would have loved a peach or plum but it's way too wet here

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, Paula said:

I would have loved a peach or plum but it's way too wet here

yeah no fruit trees love wet soil, even have had apples struggle some with it. Wet often means shade too which makes it more difficult. 

[SpacemanSpiff]

15 minutes ago, Belo said:

yeah no fruit trees love wet soil, even have had apples struggle some with it. Wet often means shade too which makes it more difficult. 

Especially small trees on trellis. They have a shallow root system and die easily in poorly draining soils. I pattern tile my orchards so there is a tile every 36 feet. 

[G-Man]

4 hours ago, Paula said:

I decided not to get any. I don't have a big yard, I would have to get two and i don't want that. 

You could of gotten dwarf trees  only take 6 ft of space vs  semi dwarf 10 to 15 and standards 25 ft...

[LET EM GROW]

4 hours ago, Paula said:

I would have loved a peach or plum but it's way too wet here

My wifes grandmother has a single peach tree in her yard, not sure if it was a pit that grew from seed or if planted but its young(less than 10 years old) and put on a ton of fruit every year. Would do better if she listen to me about pruning it properly. 

[crappyice]

How about a fig tree? They may be a bit finicky but once established they pump out fruit. My uncle had a fig tee in his Brooklyn backyard- he tried to kill that tree 3 times and it came back stronger and more fruitful
Every time!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Untwisted Pretzel logic]

On 6/21/2022 at 6:16 PM, wolc123 said:

Today is the absolute worse day of the year to plant a tree.  

Yes, summer is not an ideal time to plant a fruit tree.  Spring is ideal.  Paula, please do a search on the internet if you need more information, as there are some on this forum that will bash good information due to personal differences they have with others over something else.

On 6/27/2022 at 8:02 PM, crappyice said:

How about a fig tree? They may be a bit finicky but once established they pump out fruit. My uncle had a fig tee in his Brooklyn backyard- he tried to kill that tree 3 times and it came back stronger and more fruitful
Every time!

I have a few fig trees and have started several that I have given away, so I know a little about these trees.  In very cold temperature zones, fig trees are best moved inside the garage.  This is best done by planting them in big containers (think cutting a 50-gallon plastic drum in half) and keeping them on top of a large moving dolly (I use the heavy- duty plastic covered metal ones you can get at harbor freight) so you can move them off the driveway into the garage in the winter).  They produce a lot of fruit in late September which is delicious.  If you plant them in the ground, you will need to bend them over and cover them up in the winter, which is a lot of work, and I can't give you details about how this is done successfully.

Deer will not bother fig trees.  They will however absolutely destroy any other small tree that you plant and do not protect with fencing around it.  So, if you are in a neighborhood with deer, make sure to protect what you plant.

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, cutbait said:

there are some on this forum that will bash good information due to personal differences they have with others over something else.

 

Or... and just hear me out. Maybe sometimes people share incorrect information. As previously mentioned, this is not the best time to plant, however with some watering and proper hole preparation there is nothing wrong or would Paula be wasting her time and money by planting now. The ground is harder, so hole prep is more difficult and we get less rain and more heat which makes watering a newly planted tree more difficult and time consuming, but not impossible. 

There are a few of us here who chimed in that have fruit trees or even manage small orchards, but if that's not good enough we could follow your advice and learn from the masters. With regards to planting, see page 18. Nothing about when to NOT plant, but they will tell you when to NOT prune and spray.

https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/67/Cornell_Guide_to_Growing_Fruit.pdf

Edited June 29, 2022 by Belo

[Paula]

I am not interested in figs. I am still open for a tree in the spring, maybe. I will continue to read what I can 

[Five Seasons]

6 minutes ago, Paula said:

I am not interested in figs. I am still open for a tree in the spring, maybe. I will continue to read what I can 

the first few pages in what I linked to are a great starter. The whole thing is fantastic for understanding how to be successful with fruit trees. 

[Untwisted Pretzel logic]

His initial advice was sound - Summer is the worst time to plant a fruit tree for a variety of reasons. Obviously, to be totally ridiculous you could say the dead of winter is worse, however, no sane person would even begin to consider this, so it's not even part of the conversation.

Your link to the Cornell site was a good one, and I learned a lot.  Good to see on page 18 that early spring is the best time to plant.  

I do have the following fruit bearing trees/vines on my small property - 2 peach, 4 pear, 5 crab apple, 2 mountain ash, 4 apple, 2 grape ,2 service berry and 2 cherry. Also 2 figs in large pots.

Grape Vines are a good and easy thing to plant on any property for privacy and also good to eat. Also consider service berry trees for a small property. 

[turkeyfeathers]

On 6/21/2022 at 6:16 PM, wolc123 said:

Today is the absolute worse day of the year to plant a tree.  They should only be planted in months with “R’s” in them.  Let the nurseries care for the potted trees thru the summer.  Take some time to figure out what you want, pick it up and plant after September 1st. 

FebRuaRy

[Paula]

I have grapes and a pear. I like cutting my lawn so I don't want to clutter it with too many trees. My yard is small. 

What is mountain ash @cutbait

 

[wolc123]

10 minutes ago, Paula said:

I have grapes and a pear. I like cutting my lawn so I don't want to clutter it with too many trees. My yard is small. 

What is mountain ash @cutbait

 

I just cut a dying mountain ash over at my parents house this spring.  Apparently the emerald ash borers kill them just like they do the regular ash.