Bare Rooted Fruit and Nut Trees
fruit & nut bareroot
Planting bare rooted fruit and nuts into your garden is a very cost effective way for you to obtain more advanced trees in your garden. Planting bare rooted trees now, is the time to establish them in your garden before spring and in readiness our usually hot summer. Once established and matured, these trees will offer a 'free' food source that you will enjoy for many reasons.
Growing your own fruit and nuts is a very healthy way to obtain food that you can be certain that the fruit is healthy and of premium quality for you and your family. A fruit and nut trees offer many attributes other than providing food. The blossums of fruit and nut trees are always a lovely way of recognising the onset of Spring. The colours of the blossums add to the freshness of your garden and the scents that are given off, are always a delight to experience as you walk around your garden. Of course, there is nothing more pleasurable watching the growing of the fruit and nuts on your own trees, while noting the colour changes that they offer your garden, as they approach ripeness.
The kids will also be eager to eat the food that they have grown or watched growing in their gardens. Of course, they themselves are also becoming more aware of the issues assuring that they are eating healthy food, without dangerous contaminants. It is a certainty that they will appreciate the improved quality in the taste of home grown fruit and nuts.
FRUITS AND NUTS FOR EVERYONE !
We have a large selection of sizes and varieties of trees, which you can now take a stroll through and just browse. We are eager to help with any advice or guidance relating to your requirements and general enquiries. Such an opportunity for you to obtain your own producing fruit and nut trees, could never be better, or so well timed. These trees will give you years of pleasure, fruit and nuts for many years.
We also have a fantastic range of locally grown cold climate plants, seedlings, raised vegetable gardens, summer flowing annuals, hedging plants, perennials, herbs, flowers, climbing plants, indoor plants and many more! Call us or come down and see our nursery stock in Goulburn to find what you’re after.
Planting Bare Rooted Trees
If you are unable to plant your bare rooted fruit and nut trees for a while after purchasing them, it's important to protect them until you can tend to the task. The most important consideration is to protect the buds and keeping the roots moist. Open any plastic wrapping around bare roots, and refresh roots in a bucket of water if you will plant them within 12 hours. Otherwise, sprinkle roots with water and leave them wrapped in plastic for a few days, while keeping the roots in darkness.
Alternatively, if you need additional time before planting, it's best to 'heel' them in a bare spot in the garden or the kid's sand pit is a practical option. Other materials that can be used to cover the roots and keeping them moist are water soaked wood shaving, saw dust, or sphagnum moss, in a large pot. Either convenient way, water your bare rooted ornamentals as often as necessary to keep the roots moist. Then plant as early as possible to avoid damaging new roots and top growth.
Note: take care to not have the roots soaking in water for a prolonged time. This can result in soffocation of healthy root tissue, which may lead to the onset of disease. Also allowing the roots to dry out can be be very damaging to the tree.
To provide your fruit or nut tree with the right environment to promote good health and vigorous growth, you need to provide a location where they'll receive at least six hours of sun in the summer. The site should be permanent, away from competing trees and shrubs to provide an good air flow through the foliage. Always plan ahead for the size of the tree at maturity, or the size that you intend to keep it. This will assist in the control or avoidance of many diseases, pest infestation, and provide an environment avoiding competition with surrounding trees.
1. Planting your bare rooted trees and shrubs as soon as possible after purchase is most desirable. Doing so, it is likely to enable you to plant your tree without fuss. However, depending on the durration of the roots being exposed, it may be beneficial to soak the roots in a bucket of water for about least two hours. Do not soak the roots soaking in water any longer than 12 hours. Prune roots that are broken, injured, or too long.
2. Dig a hole deeper and wider than required to accommodate the roots to allow the addition of compost and/or manure, keeping the backfill close. Add two shovels of composted manure or compost to the hole, then mix it into the bottom soil forming an inverted cone in the bottom of the hole. Set the plant in the hole and spread the roots evenly around it.
- grafted fruit and nuts; position the plant so that the graft union, the swelling near the base of the plant where the top part of the plant joins the 'rootstock', is well above the soil surface.
- own-rooted fruit and nuts, differ from grafted or budded stock. These are grown from cuttings, they develop their own root systems and therefore, don't have a knobby graft union. Simply plant them about 30mm to 50mm deeper than they were previously planted. This location is easily identified by either a soil mark, or a yellowing of the stem.
3. Backfill the planting hole two-thirds full, add water, then allow it to drain. This helps settle the soil. Fill the hole with more soil; water again.
4. Prune the canopy by about one-third, to concentrate the plant's energy in growing roots; remove any dead or broken wood to foster strong growth. When planting container-grown trees, keep pruning to a minimum at planting time. Wait several weeks until growing resumes, then feed with a quality fertiliser.
The Gehl Garden Centre staff are always happy to give further information regarding all of your garden requirements, fertilisers, mulching, watering, pests, diseases and any other associated issues concerning you. We are always happy to help.