Guide to Planting Fruit Trees for Successful Growth

Planting fruit trees and berry plants is most effective in soils with a loose, small-clod structure that contains the necessary nutrients, water, and air.

Pre-Planting Soil Preparation

Pre-planting soil preparation includes fertilization and irrigation. If irrigation is not possible, gardeners should employ all means to accumulate and preserve moisture in the soil from rain and snow.

The roots of fruit trees, which absorb nutrients from the soil, are mainly located at depths of 10 to 80 cm from the soil surface. This explains the need to loosen the soil under trees to a greater depth than for other crops and berry plants.

Before planting an orchard, if possible, the area should be plowed with a deep plow to a depth of up to 80 cm and fertilized with 4-6 kg of manure per 1 square meter.

Planting Fruit Tree Saplings

To plant fruit tree saplings of seed-bearing species, dig pits 1 to 1.5 meters wide and 60-70 cm deep; for stone-bearing species, dig pits 0.8-1.2 meters wide and 50-60 cm deep. The top, more fertile soil layer is set aside separately from the lower layer. To better moisturize the soil in the future root zone of spring plantings, pits should be dug in the fall. Fall planting positively affects sapling survival and the subsequent growth of trees, especially in arid steppe regions where water is scarce to fill the pits days before planting.

In dry regions, soil can often be quite desiccated during spring digging. In such cases, fill the dug pit with water and plant the tree only after the water has completely soaked into the bottom and sides of the pit.

In wet years in steppe areas, the best period for planting apples is from October 15 to November 5. Pears, plums, apricots, cherries, sweet cherries, and peaches are recommended to be planted in early spring as soon as the soil thaws. Late plantings with spring dry winds can dry out trees, and they may not survive, while those that do may remain stunted for a long time.

In pre-mountain and mountain areas, as well as in the regional center zone, saplings of stone-bearing species (except for peaches) successfully survive when planted before November 15.

Peaches are better planted in spring everywhere. If autumn planting is delayed, it is better to postpone to spring, and saplings should be heeled in over winter.

Saplings are removed from the ground just before planting. The root system is inspected, and any damaged, frayed, or dead roots are trimmed with a sharp garden knife. The cut should be smooth and directed downward. If saplings were dried during transport, bury them in moist soil or submerge them halfway in water for a day before planting.

Before planting an orchard, mark the garden lot with stakes and measuring tape according to the accepted row and inter-row distances. Accuracy is checked by careful sighting.

Before planting, fill one-third of the pit depth with the top fertile soil mixed with a bucket of well-rotted manure. It is not advisable to use fresh or poorly rotted manure. If manure is unavailable, it is better to apply mineral fertilizers in a solution after the initial watering post-planting.

Per bucket of water, use a tablespoon of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. On rich black soils, only phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied. In dry areas, potassium fertilizers are either not used or used sparingly.

The bottom of the pit is compacted into a cone shape, onto which the tree is placed. Roots are spread and covered with soil, ensuring no air pockets remain around or between them. While filling the pit, compact the soil two to three times with foot pressure (more firmly near the pit walls), taking care not to break the roots.

When the pit is nearly full of soil, water according to the planting time. Pour 2-3 buckets of water per tree. Ensure the tree is positioned facing the same direction as it grew in the nursery. Trees planted facing north when they originally faced south or vice versa will establish poorly and grow poorly in their early years.

In nurseries, grafting is generally done on the north side of the rootstock, meaning the place where the thorn was cut near the root neck should face south. The brighter bark color on sapling stems usually on the southern side can also help determine the correct planting orientation.

The root neck of the sapling, when leveling the soil in the pit, should be 3-5 cm above the pit edges because after settling, it may align with the ground surface. Adherence to this rule is crucial, especially when planting saplings grafted on rootstocks. Violation can lead to prolonged sapling illness or even death.

For example, if apple plantings grafted on dulina, paradise stock, or pears grafted on quince are planted 8-10 cm deeper than they grew in the nursery, it won’t harm the sapling. On the contrary, it'll promote better root system development.

The well-known tree planting with a stake involves driving a stake into the center of the planting hole and tying the tree to it to prevent wind-induced rocking.

But there is also planting without stakes. In this method, after filling the pit with soil and soaking the water, a cone of soil 50-60 cm high is piled around the planted tree, and slightly compacted. The soil supports the tree, protecting its roots from winter freezing and drying out from spring winds. Level the soil in June once the tree roots are well established.