Picking the Perfect Spot for Your Fruit Tree
When growing a fruit tree, choosing the right place to plant it is very important. You have to consider its proximity to a building, electric line, sidewalk, or anything else that might disrupt its growth. Once you have planted a fruit tree, the chances of unearthing it and changing its spot without killing it are very slim. Therefore you must always be sure you know which size fruit tree you have (dwarf, semi-dwarf, or standard) and how big it will end up being once it is an adult. Dwarf trees need an area with an eight-foot diameter to grow. Semi-dwarf fruit trees can grow up to fifteen feet wide. Standard fruit trees can grow as wide as thirty feet. To keep the size of your fruit tree(s) at whatever level is best for you, prune them at least once a year.
Another thing you must consider when planting a fruit tree it whether or not it is getting all of the sunlight it needs to survive. You also have to be sure it doesn’t get too much sunlight. It will die if your tree doesn’t get the right amount of sun. Be sure that you do not plant it where the sunlight will be blocked by something. Also, be sure that it isn’t being constantly hit be the sun at every moment of the day. Either of these can be fatal to the tree.
An important thing to remember when choosing a spot for your tree is whether your spot will be convenient for watering, harvesting, and pruning. A place that would not be good to plant a fruit tree is close to your house or fence. Any of these things could get in the way of you harvesting and pruning. If your tree grows over your fence the fruit could drop into your neighbor’s yard, which might seem nice but would probably offend some people. You should also be sure to plant your tree where it will be easy to water; if you already have a sprinkler system in your yard, you could put your tree where the sprinkler could reach it. If you do not have a sprinkler system installed, you should put the tree within reach of your hose.
One of the most important things to remember when planting a fruit tree is whether or not the soil in your yard suits your tree. You have to ensure that it has enough nutrients and moisture, proper water drainage so your tree doesn’t drown and has the right texture. If your soil doesn’t have these traits then your tree won’t grow very well or produce good fruit. You can always alter your soil to be more suitable for your tree.
One way you can find out what kind of soil you have is by taking a sample and taking it to a lab. It may be expensive, but they can test it for what nutrients it has the most of. You’ll have the results back in a couple of days. If your soil is low in nutrients, you can go to your local nursery or any other store with gardening supplies, and get fertilizer according to your soil’s lack.
After you have checked on all of these things, you are finally ready to go choose what kind of fruit tree you want and get ready to plant it. When choosing your tree keep in mind the spot you picked, and buy the tree that would do best in that spot. The worst thing that can possibly happen is devoting time and money to growing a tree, only to end up having to remove it because of poor planning.
Cover Photo by Felix Mittermeier
