Written and edited by Tammy 12th June 2023
It's exciting to get home with your brand-new trees, and you'll be keen to get them in the ground and established in anticipation of harvesting your very own home-grown fruit. There's honestly nothing more rewarding.
So, what do you need to know to give them every opportunity to get off to a good start and be successful?
Fruit trees planting requirements
Whether you're planting your trees in the ground or in a large containers or pot, you'll need to know what the trees requirements are.
The identification tags on your new trees will give you some information about their soil preferences, what type of fertiliser they need and how often, and their water requirements.
Soil Ameliorants
Once you have a bit more of an idea what their needs are, then you can focus on whether you'll need to make any alterations to your soils prior to planting them.
Most fruit trees prefer a soil pH of 6 to 7.5 to be able to take in nutrients, so it would be worth-while testing the pH of your soil where you'd like to plant them. If your soil is too acidic, you'll need to add lime to raise the pH. On the other hand, if it's too alkaline you'll need to add sulphur to bring it down back closer to neutral. You can read up some more on soil pH in a couple of my earlier posts.
If you have sandy soil, you'll most likely need to add compost and animal manure, to add texture and nutrients, and aid the soil's ability to retain moisture.
A heavier clay loam may on the other hand need to have gypsum added to help break down the clay component, along with plenty of compost so your trees don't end up with 'wet feet' and drown.
Water
It's also going to be vital to stick to a good watering regime particularly in the
beginning when your trees are establishing. Give them a couple of good long deep drinks per week especially when the weather is hot, and the rain events are few and far between.
Fertilising
Feed them with a controlled slow-release fertiliser tailored to the needs of fruit trees along with some organic nutrients for good measure. Neutrog Rapid Raiser or Yates Dynamic Lifter are both ideal.
Pest & disease prevention
Routinely inspect your trees too for signs of pests, diseases and disorders.
Peaches and nectarines are highly susceptible to a fungal disease called curl leaf which can be difficult to deal with once it takes hold. Prevention is better than cure, be pro-active and treat them with Copper Kocide each season at the point of bud swell.
Pear and cherry slugs will often give cherry and pear trees a hard time and can quickly destroy a lot of foliage if not noticed and treated in a timely manner.
If you're prepared to Invest good money in a lovely variety of fruit trees that will see you harvesting your own home-grown fruit for a very long time, it will definitely be worth investing that little extra into making sure you give them every opportunity to be successful.
Hopefully you might find a few helpful hints, tips and ideas here that you might not have known about.
As always, don't hesitate to get in-touch with me if you need to know a little more.
Have a wonderful week and enjoy your gardens.😘🌸🌳
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