Though not all apple trees need staking, all semi-dwarf bare root stock from Fruition benefit from immediate staking. If your back-filled soil to significantly more rich than the soil around your hole, your tree may resist growing beyond the hole, becoming partially root-bound. Our general sense is that if your soil is largely gravel and stones, making room for nutrient-dense soil may be best for your tree, though it’s crucial for the original soil to be returned fully to the hole. Rocks: Our mentors have shared diverse views, from removing all rocks larger than 1.5 inches to removing none. M olehills & Mountains are all relative! Create a small mound of loosened soil at the bottom of the hole that the roots can be spread over, helping eliminate potential for air pockets under the roots. When grass is up against the trunks of the trees, even for a short amount of time, they usually become infested by round-headed apple borer and other disappointments ensue. Keep in mind one of our goals is to always keep grass from touching the trunk. Mow the area surrounding the tree to decrease rodent habitat. In the meantime, a note on digging into sod: Removing grass is a lot easier when it’s mowed very short. Many times, we’ll just measure the desired radius and guess the rest of the way.Īre you digging into sod? Stay tuned for our blog sharing the pros and cons of diverse approaches of preparing soil well ahead of time - or not at all! If we really want to be precise in our circle making (which is entirely unnecessary), we use our measuring tape and spray chalk to draw a perfect circle as we do a loop around the stake. When we need to remove sod, we aim to do at least a 3’ diameter mulch ring. Loosening up soil around the edges will enable the roots to grow more wide and more easily! The wider the hole and subsequent mulch ring, the longer it takes for the surrounding grass to creep into the mulch around the trunk. Why? Tree roots can spread horizontally as well as down, with most of the ‘feeder’ roots growing in the top six inches of soil.Īs a general rule, err on the side of a wider hole. Apple trees thrive when planted into holes that are wider than they are deep, encouraging their wide feeder roots to expansively explore. Width: Three feet is a solid minimum which (you’re right!) is so much wider than the hole is deep. As organic matter builds up around the tree from mulching, it will eventually rot the base of the trunk if it is below soil level. This is because as the soil settles, the tree may sink a little. Alternatively, trees planted too high will eventually have exposed roots which will perish from exposure to air.Īs a general rule, it is better to err on the side of caution and plant a little high than too deep. If a tree is planted too deep, the moisture from the soil or mulch touching the trunk will eventually lead to rot and fungal issues, as well as suckering from the root systems. Why? Unlike roots, tree trunks do thrive with consistent moisture. Depending on the size of your bare root stock, your hole may be 10 to 24 inches deep or deeper. The bottom of the trunk is where the color changes to the root zone usually this is evident by a distinct line between trunk and roots. Fruition’s bare root stock won’t likely require any pruning, though other trees may benefit from a ‘heading cut’ to encourage branching.ĭepth: Your tree’s roots are your guide! Our goal is for the very bottom of the trunk to be level with the surrounding soil.

Clippers Broken branches, roots and small suckers are better clipped than broken off.In these cases, loosening or ‘leavening’ the hole’s edge with a digging fork helps reduce compaction and increase root expansion capacity. Digging Fork In loose, dry and sandy soils a digging fork may not be necessary, but when more saturated and heavy soils are sliced with a shovel, a sheer line may form around the hole’s edge that tree roots will resist growing into.In rocky soil, a pick mattock or nursery spade can be helpful for initially loosening up the soil to make for easier shoveling. If they’re slightly pointed at the end, they’ll be easier to use.

Shovel/Pick Mattock In most soils, the best shovels to use for planting trees are steel round-pointed ones, the standard type that probably comes to mind for digging holes.Here’s our checklist to keep it both simple and joyful: While none of these are hard-to-find, they’re so very handy to have on-hand for planting.

Apple tree growing from seed