Establishment and Management of Compact Apple Trees 



William J. Lord and Joseph Costante 

 University of Massachusetts 



Parts 



Purchasing Trees 



Quality trees are the foundation of a successful orchard; 

 anything less is a gannble. Thus, the following points are 

 worthy of nnention. 



1. Plan ahead (a year or two is best), thereby making 

 it possible to plant the trees you want when you 

 want them. 



2. Tree quality rather than price should be the major 

 consideration. One-year-old trees, 4 to 6 feet in 

 height and at least 5/8 inches in diameter usually 

 grow faster than lower grades. 



3. Insist on 1-year-old branched trees or whips budded 

 14 to 16 inches above the bottom of the rootstock. 

 Trees budded lower than this may have to be staked. 



4. We suggest purchasing from nurseries that dig their 

 trees in the fall and store them. 



5. Don't accept second best even if it means waiting a 

 year or more for quality trees on the desired root- 

 stocks and/or of the desired cultivar. The time waiting 

 usually can be well spent on site preparation. 



6. When ordering interstem trees be sure to specify a 6 

 to 7 inch dwarfing stem piece grafted on a 7 to 10 

 inch long understock. Degree of dwarfing varies with 

 interstem length— the longer the interstem, the great- 

 er the dwarfing. 



Care of Trees on Arrival From the Nursery 



Check the trees to determine if tree count and cultivar/root- 

 stock and size agrees with order and to determine if injury 

 to the trees might have occurred in handling and shipping. 

 Do this where it is cool and the roots will not dry out. 



If planting conditions are not suitable, open the bundles 

 of trees and store them in a cool, well-ventiled area and be 

 sure the roots are kept moist, or heal them in a shady area, 

 or cover the roots with wet soil, peat or sawdust in an open 

 shed. DO NOT store trees with apples or where they have 

 been stored. It is possible that residual ethylene in the stor- 

 age atmosphere might break dormancy of the trees and when 

 planted they may fail to grow properly or even die. Pear trees 

 are especially sensitive to injury. 



All photographs in this and subsequent parts bv Louis J. Musante. 



Time of Planting 



Fall planting of apple trees is not recommended for Massa- 

 chusetts because there is too much risk of winter injury to 

 the trees. The trees should be planted in the spring as soon 

 as the frost is out of the ground and the soil easily worked. 

 Most years, planting can commence in late April, thus the 

 target for receiving trees from the nursery should be April 1 5. 

 Late planting is a frequent cause of unsatisfactory tree 

 growth. 



Planting 



The soil should be in a good workable condition at planting. 

 Do not plant in a wet "soggy" soil. The hole for the tree 

 should be large enough to take in the entire root system. It 

 is important to dig the holes the right depth because if dug 

 too deep the tree may settle after planting and the graft 

 union will be below ground. To the contrary, the hole should 

 be deep and wide enough so that the roots will rest on the 

 bottom without having to "pin-them-down" with soil. 

 Plant the trees in good loam soil. When the hole is hand-dug, 

 place the top soil on one side and the subsoil on the other 

 side. This will enable you to place the top soil around the 

 roots when setting the tree. Putting 2 to 3 pounds of high 

 calcium lime on the soil scheduled to be returned to the 

 planting hole may improve the calcium level of the trees for 

 2 or 3 years. Haul in some rich soil if the soil is not good. 

 A half bushel of good soil with 2 to 3 pounds of high cal- 

 cium lime mixed with it will help the trees off to a good 

 start. 



Planting holes are most frequently dug with tractor 

 mounted augers. A 9-inch auger is suitable for trees on M.9 

 rootstock. However, a 12-inch auger is needed when the post 

 for supporting the tree is going to be placed in the planting 

 hole. A 2-foot auger orbackhoe is best on a poorly prepared 

 soil and for trees on rootstocks other than M.9. 



Soaking the tree roots in water for 12 to 18 hours prior 

 to planting is a good practice. During planting, keep the roots 

 moist by covering them with wet burlap or canvas or keep 

 them in water to prevent drying. At planting, the broken 

 roots should be removed and the trees set in the holes so 

 that the largest roots, and if possible, the heaviest branched 

 side is toward the prevailing wind. Plant the tree with a slight 

 slant in the same direction. When planting on dwarfing root- 



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