Planting your new fruit tree at home
First, get your tree home safely
When you have decided on which kind of fruit tree you would like, and where you would like to put it, you can finally plant it. If you purchase your tree from a nursery, be especially careful when you are taking it
home. If it's a tall tree already, make sure you have enough clearance once you have it in the tray of your ute, or truck, or trailer. You don't want your tree to be damaged by driving under something too low for it. Bare rooted trees can be placed in the trunk or boot of the car, they come with their roots wrapped up and no leaves, so just slide the root end in and you leave the bare branches hanging out. Drive, carefully, home.
Check the size of the root ball
When you have arrived with your tree safely at home, look at the bottom of it and see how big the root ball is. It may seem like a lot of work now, but you want to dig a hole that is ideally twice as wide as the ball, and just a little less deep. Making the hole slightly bigger than the root ball allows room for the soil that you dug out to be put back in. Otherwise you would be stuck with a giant heap of unwanted dirt, and nowhere to put it. After you have dug the hole, line the hole with some compost or some aged cow poop, so that the tree will grow better. After you have done this, plop your fruit tree into the hole, and gently spread the roots out evenly so that the tree will be strong and stable. And, er, make sure it's in straight.
Re-fill around your tree
When all of this business is done, take the soil that you dug up and fill in the hole completely. Kids love this part. Unless you want big piles of dirt everywhere, be sure you use all of the dirt even is it is a couple inches
higher than the rest of your yard. This is because it will compress when watered. Before you firm up the soil, make sure that the tree is completely vertical (important for visual pleasure ) and will not fall over. After you have checked (again!) that the tree is perfectly vertical you can gently firm up the soil.
Does your tree need staking?
If the tree's trunk is not yet completely sturdy and can be bent, you need to tie the tree to a stake with a bit of rope or tape. If using rope, be sure not to tie it tightly to the tree, as you don't want it to cut into the trunk. Once the tree is sturdy enough to withstand all types of weather, you can pull the stake out. When all of this is done you should mulch around the base of the tree, leaving a clear space around the actual trunk. If you live in an area where wildlife can access your yard, put a fence around your tree, because some animals
will eat the bark off of young trees and chew on the tender young leaves.
Water it in well
Give the tree a really good water. You can add some fish emulsion to the water, this helps the roots to settle in well. The liquid, or 'worm juice' out of a worm farm will have the same effect.
Any fruit yet?
Once you have successfully planted your fruit tree it should hopefully start to bear fruit after it is three to five years old. Once your tree starts to carry a lot of fruit you should periodically pick some of the immature fruit so that the branches aren't weighed down too much. If the fruit gets too thick, the branches can actually snap off. On some years your tree might not bear as much fruit as others, but this should not worry you. Healthy trees often take years on “vacation” where they produce little or no fruit. Weather conditions can also have an effect, with too little or too much rain or heat having an impact on fruit production.
Two young blueberry bushes ready to go in the ground.
Taking care of pests
After you've planted your tree you might start to have some problems with pests. To help keep these pests away, always rake away old leaves, brush, or any other decaying matter that could be holding bugs that could be harmful to your tree. Gall wasps will ultimately not kill your tree, though they will disfigure it with branches growing at odd angles. Careful pruning can help this problem. Scale will need to be taken care of but a good spray with white oil will help this problem.
Prune carefully
To make sure that your tree always stays healthy, careful pruning is a must. When to prune will depend on what tree you have. Deep water your tree once or twice a week during dry times, and be sure not to hit your tree with a lawn mower or a weed eater because it could severely damage the growth process. Judicious use of compost or specialist fertilizers should help the produce a fine crop of fruit and as the tree grows, so will your knowledge of how to care for it.
Now get planting!
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