How to Plant or Prune Fruit Trees for a Bountiful Harvest

Every garden should have trees. Learning how to plant or prune fruit trees for an abundant harvest does take patience, though. Fruit trees reward gardeners with spring blossoms, summer shade, and sculptural forms in winter. Plant carefully and prune regularly for the best reward.

Choosing fruit trees

Consider the varieties you select with care. A variety suited to your climate zone will be hardier, require less care, and produce better crops. Check your USDA zone by asking at a local nursery. Also consider native fruit particularly suited to your climate, such as persimmon or pawpaw trees.

However, clever gardeners can create a microclimate for a tree with careful site selection. Sheltered locations, or training to a south wall can sometimes stretch climate zones slightly, though it requires extra work. Some of the most beautiful fruit trees are trained to traditional forms on trellises or against sunny walls.

Planting fruit trees

Choose a site in full sun, out of building shadows. Give the tree room to grow, considering its mature size. Make sure it has good drainage; do not plant a fruit tree in a low spot on your property, where water stands in wet weather.

Choose trees suited to local conditions, rather than trying to improve soil radically. Tree roots spread wide, and will hit local dirt eventually. If your soil is hopeless, however, improve a large bed, and plant dwarf trees.

Bare-root trees

Bare-root trees are the most economical choice, and may offer the widest selection. The bare-root tree you choose should be fully dormant, with no growth showing. It should have well-balanced roots growing out all around, not concentrated on one side. It should not be damaged or dry, and should ideally have no broken branches.

Container trees can be planted almost any time, but bare-root trees are planted in fall or earliest spring. Keep the roots moist and covered while you prepare to plant, and soak the tree overnight in a bucket of water. Then dig a hole two to three times wider than the tree roots, but relatively shallow.

Measure the tree from the soil line where the bark changes color to the tips of the roots, and make the hole about two inches shallower. Loosen the soil around the edges of the bottom of the hole, but not in the middle. Make a mound of dirt in the center of the hole.

Prune off any broken roots. Center the tree on the mound and spread the roots around it. In windy areas, hammer in a stake about a foot from the trunk on the side the wind usually comes from. Fill in dirt around the roots, carefully but firmly.

Make sure that the trunk is vertical, and that the old soil line is now one to two inches above ground level. Press the soil in around the tree. This keeps air off the roots, and settles the tree in place.

Make a basin with a four-inch rim around the tree, and water the tree in. If this causes the tree to lean, gently push it straight, and press in more soil to cover exposed roots. Carefully trim the stake to just below the lowest branches, and tie up the tree with a tree tie looped in a figure eight.

Keep the soil damp, not wet, until new leaves appear. As days grow warmer, increase watering. Never let the tree dry out completely in its first year. There should always be moisture a few inches down. Do not hurry to prune the tree, except for removing broken branches.

Pruning fruit trees

Pruning is an art and a science. It's impossible to communicate the method in one article, or to fully understand it in one summer. Remember to let each branch have its share of sunlight, by removing branches that crowd each other or cross, and especially ones that rub.

Remove branches that look damaged, or that have split. Let a knowledgeable nursery guide you to proper tools for the work. At the same time, bear in mind the overall shape of the tree.

Each fruit tree has particular forms that suit it, and many gardeners come to prefer certain shapes. While your tree grows, study books about pruning, and talk to other local gardeners. Look at trees of the same variety as your own, and notice their shape.

Begin pruning with clean tools, preferably on a winter-dormant tree. Proceed slowly, and remember that you can do more next year.

Trees improve your property value, and working among trees will usually improve your mood. By the time your first tree bears fruit, you will understand how to care for it. You already know how to enjoy the harvest.