How to plant a fruit tree

Step 1

Pick a sunny spot that drains well

Fruit trees need full sun, at least 6–8 hours a day, and soil that drains. Drainage matters more than almost anything else. Roots sitting in water through a wet spring is one of the most common ways young fruit trees die.

Fruit trees don’t love heavy clay. To check your spot, dig a hole about a foot deep, fill it with water, and look the next day. If water is still standing, the soil drains poorly, so plan to plant high (step 4) or pick a better spot.

Step 2

Dig a square hole, 2–3 times as wide as the root ball

Make the hole two to three times the width of the container or root ball, but no deeper than the root ball. The tree should sit on firm, undisturbed soil so it doesn’t sink after planting.

We prefer square holes over round ones. When roots reach a corner they tend to grow out into the surrounding soil, instead of following a smooth, round wall around and around the way they did in the pot.

Step 3

Scratch up the sides of the hole

A shovel or auger leaves the walls of the hole smooth and glazed, especially in clay. Roots have a hard time getting through that surface, so they stay inside the hole and circle as if they were still in a container. That’s the “bowl effect.”

Rough up the walls with a garden fork or the tip of the shovel so the roots can grow out into the native soil.

Step 4

On clay, plant a little higher

If your soil is heavy clay or stays wet, set the tree higher: the top of the root ball a few inches above the surrounding ground, with native soil sloped up to it in a gentle mound. Water then drains away from the trunk instead of collecting around the roots.

This is especially important for stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums and apricots). They don’t like wet feet at all.

Step 5

Get the roots ready

Take the tree out of its container right before it goes in the ground, and keep the roots moist and out of the sun and wind.

If roots are circling around the outside of the root ball, gently tease them loose so they point outward. Cut any that wrap tightly around the root ball; left alone, they can strangle the tree years later.

Step 6

Set the height: don’t plant too low

This is the step that matters most. Look for the graft union: a bump or bend on the lower trunk where the fruiting variety was joined to the rootstock. The graft must never be covered with soil. Keep it several inches above the soil line, and keep the top of the root ball at ground level (or higher on clay).

If the graft is buried, the variety above it can send out its own roots and take over from the rootstock. You lose the size control and other traits the rootstock was chosen for, and soil against the trunk invites rot. Planting too deep is one of the most common mistakes we see.

Lay a shovel handle across the hole to check the height before you backfill.

Step 7

Backfill with native soil only

Refill the hole with the same soil you dug out. Don’t add compost, potting mix or other amendments to the hole.

Roots that start out in rich, fluffy soil tend to stay in it instead of reaching out into the ground around them. In clay, an amended hole also acts like a bathtub: water runs into the loose soil and can’t drain out. Trees grown in native soil from day one root out faster and stand up better.

Break up clods, firm the soil gently with your hands (don’t stomp it), and water when the hole is half full to settle out air pockets. Then finish filling.

Step 8

Water deeply, then mulch

Water slowly and deeply right after planting. Through the first summer, give the tree a deep soaking about once a week, more often in hot, dry spells. Check the soil first: on clay, too much water is as harmful as too little.

Spread 2–3 inches of wood-chip mulch in a wide ring to hold moisture and keep grass and weeds from competing. Keep it a hand’s width away from the trunk; mulch piled against the bark holds moisture and invites rot and rodents.

Step 9

The first two years: roots before fruit

Don’t let the tree bear fruit for the first two years. Pick off the flowers or the young fruit as soon as they set. A young tree that carries fruit puts its energy there instead of into roots and branches, and it can stunt the tree for years. A strong tree with a good root system will out-produce a rushed one for the rest of its life.

Don’t fertilize the first year. Fertilizer pushes soft new growth before the roots can support it, and it can burn new roots. Let the tree settle in; from the second year on, feed lightly in early spring if growth is weak.

Step 10

Follow a spray schedule

A spray schedule is what keeps fungal disease and insect damage from ruining the fruit and weakening the tree. In our humid South Jersey summers, diseases like apple scab, brown rot, cherry leaf spot and peach leaf curl, and pests like plum curculio and oriental fruit moth, are near-certain without one. The key is prevention: by the time you see the damage, it’s usually too late for that season.

A basic home schedule follows the tree’s stages:

• Dormant (late winter): a dormant oil for overwintering insects, and for peaches and nectarines, a spray against leaf curl.
• Green tip and pink (bud) stage: fungicide to prevent scab, rust and other spring diseases.
• Bloom: no insecticides, to protect the bees pollinating your trees.
• Petal fall and cover sprays: once the petals drop, fungicide and insecticide on a regular interval (usually every 10–14 days) into early summer, then as needed toward harvest.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension publishes detailed schedules for New Jersey home orchards, with what to spray at each stage:

• Apples: Apple Pest Control Schedule (FS112)
• Peaches and nectarines: Peach and Nectarine Pest Control Schedule (FS113)
• Cherries: Cherry Spray Schedule (FS115)
• Plums: Plum Spray Schedule (FS116)
• Grapes: Grape Growing in the Home Garden: Pest Control (FS100)

Exact products and timing depend on the fruit. Always follow the product label, including how long to wait between the last spray and harvest. For a detailed schedule, Rutgers Cooperative Extension and your county extension office publish guidance for home fruit growers, and we’re always happy to talk through what we do.