Planting fruit trees in the fall – a guide

Autumn in the garden is not only cleaning and harvesting late varieties of fruits and vegetables. It is also a good time to plant young trees fruit trees that will already bloom in the spring. Planting fruit trees in the fall is a really good idea. Find out why.

Although September is primarily associated with the end of garden work, it is also a also the time when you should decide to expand your fruit garden. This will benefit the spring vegetation of new trees. Moreover, proper fertilization will protect the roots of fruit trees from frost.

Planting position of fruit trees:

The planting position of fruit trees should be sunny, so avoid shady places, as the trees will develop less well, which will reduce the fruiting.

Before placing young fruit trees in the ground, we need to find out what size the adult specimens will reach and choose a suitable space for them. Usually, we plant trees of large size in rows every 4 meters, and trees of medium size every 3 meters. You also need to take into account the size of the plot: it is its area will determine the number of trees we can plant.

An important factor in planting fruit trees is the weather conditions. If we choose cloudy but windless weather, they will take root much more easily.

Deadline:

We can plant fruit trees both in spring and autumn. In the spring, plant trees that are not very resistant to frost, such as: apricots, nectarines, or peaches. Remember that this should be done before their budding begins, otherwise they may wither.

Therefore, if you do not want to take any risks, it is advisable to opt for planting trees Fruit trees in the autumn. This will give them time to take root in the soil before the the arrival of winter. For autumn we can plant, among others: apple, plum or pear trees.

Fruit trees planted in autumn will have time to regenerate their root system before the onset of winter – they will renew roots damaged during digging and produce brand new ones. The amount of moisture that is in the soil in autumn will help them to take up residence in the soil, which we have prepared in advance for this. It will shorten the time their regeneration  in the spring. In addition, if the trees are planted in autumn, already in early spring they will take up water and nutrients from the soil. Therefore, we will be able to harvest the first fruits earlier.

Soil preparation:

The soil for fruit trees should be light and humus. Before you decide to to buy new specimens, we need to properly prepare the soil.

How to do it?

☑ determine the pH of the soil – If we want our efforts in the garden to be effective, at the beginning  let's check the pH of the soil on which we plan to plant fruit trees. Using an acid meter will help determine the pH of the soil. What should be the optimal pH of the soil? It all depends on the species of fruit trees, that we plan to plant. It may turn out that the soil on the plot is too acidic – then its liming will be necessary.

☑ get rid of weeds – if this is not done, young tree seedlings will will have to compete with them for valuable nutrients;

☑ fertilize the soil – we can use compost or a solution of  natural BioGarden preparation, which will strengthen the soil structure and help protect the roots of the trees from frost, as it will increase the amount of humus in the soil;

☑ dig the soil;

What is the soil pH for fruit trees?

Examples of fruit tree species that can be planted on soils with pH:

✅ neutral (6.7-7.2) – peach, cherry, apricot, walnut, plum, cherry;

✅ slightly acidic (6.2-6.7) –  apple, pear;

✅ alkaline (above 7) – apple, plum, cherry, pear trees;

Planting fruit trees in the fall:

We can buy fruit trees or shrubs in pots or with exposed roots. If we choose the latter solution, it is important to remember, that they must be stored properly. What to do so that the roots of the trees do not dry out? They should be covered with soil or wet sawdust.

When transporting the roots, wrap them with foil, and then take it off and plant the trees in the garden. If you want to wait with planting, you can pit them  – so prepared they will survive for several weeks. However, we should remember that planting of trees and shrubs with exposed roots should be completed by mid November.

The size of the pit depends on the width of the tree's root system – the pit must be wider than it by 70-80% and deeper by 10-20%.Before planting in the garden fruit trees we need to trim too long or damaged roots. The next step is to mix the soil and compost in a ratio of 1:1.It is important that at the finally trample the soil around the planted tree and  water the plant generously.

How to improve the planting of fruit trees? It is easiest if the fruit trees are planted by two people. Then one holds the young tree and shakes it lightly so so that the soil reaches the areas between the roots, the other slowly backfills the the dug hole and trample the soil. If our fruit tree requires staking, then into the dug hole we put a support, which will facilitate the growth of the plant.

Summary – planting fruit trees for autumn:

Planting fruit trees in autumn makes them easier to care for and speeds up the vegetation of these plants in the spring. The most important factors that determine the adoption of trees are the air temperature (you should time it before the first frosts) and proper preparation of the soil (remember that fertilizer should be found not only in the hole intended for planting, but preferably on the entire surface of the plot).

In addition to compost, a good solution is to fertilize the soil with BioGarden. This natural preparation will immunize fruit trees against diseases by offsetting phosphorus deficiencies in the soil and eliminating pathogens.

How to use BioGarden for planting fruit trees?

Dilute 20 ml of the preparation (two caps) in  about 10 l of chlorine-free water. chlorine, and then water  about 10 m² of soil.

Do you like ecological and proven solutions? Like us on Facebook and be always up to date: