So we just planted some fruit trees. I have two pear trees, peach and plum. I read up to 20 feet apart from one another I don’t think they are that far but just wanted to make sure they are not too close. Any thoughts are suggestions I appreciate.🙂
by Ok-Host-5146
17 Comments
Spacing is whatever you want. 20 feet is fine. I have 6 apples in an espaliers each 10 feet apart.
Here’s how to tell if they are too close: measure the distance between them.
The spacing is fine. The soil and lack of mulch might not be.
Depends on what you have. If they are on dwarf rootstock, that’s 4x what they need. If they are on standard, it might be half.
All depends on what you’ve got and what you want.
The spacing is fine but I would use tree tubes or screens to protect the bark from rodents and rabbits.
Take it from someone who lost almost 20 trees to a buck rubbing its antlers last fall.
PUT PIPES ON THE SAPLINGS ☹️
(Spacing seems fine)
So some trees are on a big rootstock, which means they which means grow very large. Some are on what is called dwarf rootstock, so they stay small. Different rootstocks and not only a good way to control how big a tree gets, but also depending on your soil type, some rootstocks are better suited to different areas. Always ask someone in the “tree store” about what works well, or ask at the local farmers market what rootstock they use. Do not stress too much, as you could always put other tress in between later on if the gap seems too big 🙂 You might want to stake them though, and it always good to have a type of mulch around the base in the first year or two. Also make sure you note the type of variety of tree too, not just plum or peach etc. You will thank me later when you know which specific variety performs well or not. :)Great first effort though. Growing fruit is so fun. Feel free to DM if you need any advice.
We’ve planted both apples and peaches spaced 3-3.5’ apart in hedgerows.
We also use a pruning technique that keeps the trees short but spreading. As soon as we planted the bare roots we cut the trunk to about 18”. This forces branch growth at that elevation. You keep pruning to create a goblet effect with the branching…open in the middle. We have trees that have a 3-4” trunk, 4’ diameter but they’re only about 4’ tall.
Had an old timer tell me 8 to 10 feet , like most old timers though take the wisdom with a grain of salt lol
12 ft web on a canopy for many dwarf fruit and nut trees in maturity. When they are young it’s easy but as they get bigger you manage the web.
Depends.
Are they dwarf? Semi-dwarf? Full size?
Read the info that came with each tree.
A bit late to worry about now isn’t it?
Cut them all down to 18” height and keep them pruned down to “dwarf” size!
you can prune or espalier them to keep high production & medium size
These guys need pruned down to just above knee height right now!
I like it for mowing reasons. My husband planted ours a little too close together for mowing. But it’s all good, we weed whack around them where needed. So you’re good! Happy growing.