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About Growing Fruit Trees

The following information is courtesy of Gurney's Seed/Nursery :

Planting Nursery Stock:

Plant At Once
Soak roots of trees, shrubs and roses for several hours before planting. Soak strawberries and perennials ½ hour. If you can’t plant immediately, see No. 3.
Protect Plant Roots
Don’t expose roots to air or sun–keep covered with wet burlap or towels.

When Planting’s Delayed
IF WEATHER IS WARM: Heel in trees and shrubs by digging a trench in a shady spot and temporarily planting the roots under 6 inches of moist soil.
IF WEATHER IS COLD: Sprinkle roots of trees, shrubs and roses with water, rewrap and store in a cool basement. Do not allow the stock to freeze. Plant as soon as possible.
Store strawberries and perennials in your refrigerator vegetable drawer until conditions are right for planting. Wrap roots in damp paper toweling and cover with a plastic bag to prevent drying.
Do not be alarmed if the roots on some perennials have a powdery appearance. A few varieties are susceptible to rotting while out of the ground. This is not a problem once they’re planted. Plant as soon as you can. Keep bulbs and onion sets at 50 degrees. Store potted plants on a sunny windowsill. Remove the cardboard sleeve and water well until planting conditions are favorable.
If potato sets show signs of mold, spread them out to dry in an airy room.

Dig Hole and Set Stock
Dig wide enough to hold the roots with out crowding and deep enough to set stock at the same depth it grew in the nursery. Trim damaged roots before planting. If the ground is hard, break up the soil at the bottom of the hole and add a little topsoil. Position the stock and add several inches of soil. Firm soil gently to remove air pockets, then water. When water has soaked in, add remaining soil and water again. When you finish, the plant should sit level with or 1-2 inches above the surrounding soil to allow for settling. Water frequently the first year and mulch with straw or hay.

Prune the Stock
Most stock is pruned before shipping to avoid damage in transit, so only minor pruning is needed. Remove crossed limbs and broken branches.

Keep Watering!
The biggest mistake people make with dormant bareroot stock is to assume that it is dead. One tree or shrub may bud and leaf out quickly, while another will take much longer. This is normal. Don’t give up – keep watering on a weekly basis. If in doubt, lightly scratch the bark with your fingernail. If the wood is green, the plant is alive.

Plant fruit trees as advised above, following the spacing recommendations below.

This spacing, less than 50 feet apart, ensures good pollination. Even trees that are self fruitful bear heavier crops with a second variety planted nearby. At planting time, properly pruned fruit trees should have only 3-4 branches. As your trees grow, prune in early spring, removing crossed or injured limbs and any branches which rub against each other. This allows light into the center of the tree. Don’t cut short spurs from the main stem since these bear first fruit.

At maturity, your trees should have been pruned to one of two different methods. The central leader system consists of a main stem pruned to 3-4 layers of scaffold branches. The vase, or bowl, method opens up the center of the tree by pruning out the central leader. Four or five main scaffold branches are left to grow in all directions, forming a bowl-like shape.

Always prune fruit trees just above a plump bud, sloping the cut at a 45-degree angle. A too-long stub invites disease, while a cut that’s too close will probably kill the bud. A cut angled toward the bud causes water to collect and encourages disease.

Regular spraying stops insects before they can damage your crop. Apply dormant oil before buds begin to swell. Spray trees with liquid fruit tree spray when flower petals fall. Make follow-up applications every 10 days or so until the harvest nears.

If cared for properly, most trees bear heavy crops–sometimes too heavy. This exhausts the trees, causing them to bear a full crop only every other year. To prevent this, it may be necessary to thin the fruit out evenly on the branches.

Fruit-Planting Chart

Variety	Planting Distance	Approx. Height	Years to Bearing	Average Yield
Dwarf Apple	10-15 Ft.	8-15 Ft.	3-4	3-4 Bush.
Std. Apple	25-35 Ft.	20-25 Ft.	4-5	10-20 Bush.
Dwarf Apricot	10 Ft.	8-12 Ft.	3-5	2-3 Bush.
Std. Apricot	15-20 Ft.	15-20 Ft.	5-7	3-5 Bush.
Bush Cherry	5 Ft.	4-8 Ft.	2-3	1-2 Qts.
Dwarf Pie Cherry	10 Ft.	10-15 Ft.	2-3	1-2 Bush.
Std. Pie Cherry	25 Ft.	15-20 Ft.	3-4	2-5 Bush.
Dwarf Sweet Cherry	8-10 Ft.	8-15 Ft.	3-4	1-2 Bush.
Std. Sweet Cherry	25 Ft.	25 Ft.	4-6	3-7 Bush.
Nectarine	15 Ft.	15 Ft.	3-4	3-8 Bush.
Dwarf Peach	8-12 Ft.	8-12 Ft.	2-3	1-3 Bush.
Std. Peach	15-20 Ft.	20 Ft.	4-5	3-8 Bush.
Dwarf Pear	10-15 Ft.	8-15 Ft.	3-4	2-3 Bush.
Std. Pear	20-25 Ft.	20-40 Ft.	4-7	4-8 Bush.
Dwarf Plum	8-10 Ft.	8-10 Ft.	2-3	1-2 Bush.
Std. Plum	15-20 Ft.	10-25 Ft.	3-4	2-3 Bush.