Planting Guide

Fruit Trees

Planting

Dig a hole twice as wide and only as deep as the rootball of the tree. Be sure to adjust the hole so that the top of the rootball is 1" to 2" above ground level. Next, remove the container. Plastic pots can be removed by turning the plant upside down or laying it on its side and gently tapping at the pot until the plant slides out. Refill the hole with a blended mixture of 1/3 Sunshine Peat Moss or Soil Pep and 2/3 of your garden soil. Firm the backfill by tamping it gently. Build a watering basin around the plant high enough to hold 3" to 4" of water. Make the basin at least as wide as the hole that was dug. Immediately water the tree deeply by filling the basin with water once, letting it soak in, and filling it up a second time. If the tree is in a lawn, remove the basin after this initial watering. The use of Fertilome Root Stimulator at planting time will greatly reduce transplant shock and encourage your trees to resume their normal growing habits more quickly.

Pruning

Fruit trees can be pruned several ways. One way is to train it as a small ornamental landscape tree. Gradually limb up the tree by removing one or two of the lowest branches each year until it's at the head clearance is at the desired height. In this case, any other pruning is best limited to removal of dead, diseased, unsightly, or competing branches. An alternative method of pruning is to train it as an "orchard tree'. In this case, the tree is encouraged to branch close to the ground (18"-36") and then training the tree to form an upside down cone with the middle empty of branches. This has the effect of lowering the overall height of the tree, making it easier to prune, spray and harvest. There are also specific annual pruning techniques that can be employed on your fruit tree to maximize fruit production. Come see us at Bookcliff Gardens to get more information. All pruning is best done in early March. When pruning, it's very important that the pruning cut be made outside of the branch collar (the swollen area at the base of the branch). If you're unsure about where to make the cut, come on in to Bookcliff Gardens, we'll be glad to help you.

Watering

It is impossible to give a watering schedule that will be right for everyone all of the time. Factors such as the soil type, how big the plant is, how fast the plant is growing, air temperature, humidity, wind and light intensity all will affect how often a particular plant will need watering.

The basic rule of thumb is to water deeply, but infrequently. Get the water down a minimum of 18" at each watering. his encourages the plant to develop a deep, drought tolerant root system. Then give the soil a chance to dry slightly between waterings. It is common for people to kill or unnecessarily stress their plants by watering too frequently. he roots of a plant require oxygen in order to function. If the soil is constantly waterlogged, there is not enough oxygen available to the root system and the roots suffocate and begin to die.

Knowing this, our recommendation is to water deeply by building a basin around fruit trees that are not watered by lawn sprinklers. It should be wide enough to accommodate the root system of the plant (generally out to the drip line of the plant) and high enough to hold three or four inches of water when full. Fill the basin full, let it soak in, and fill it a second time. Then don't water the plant again until the soil in the basin begins to dry. Don't just look at the soil surface, dig down 5" to 6" to see how dry the soil is. The soil should be showing some significant drying down at that depth. One little trick is to scoop up a handful of soil from that depth and squeeze it into a ball. If the ball holds its shape after you let go, the soil is still wet. If the ball falls apart, it's time to water. Using this method several times, you will be able to determine your own watering schedule.

Pollination of Tree Fruits

Apples: Almost all apple varieties need another apple variety close by to produce fruit. 'Yellow Delicious' is the best pollinizer for other apple varieties.
Apricots: We consider apricots self-fertile and not needing a pollinizer.
Sour Cherries: Self-fertile and not needing a pollinizer.
Sweet Cherries: 'Stella' is the only self-fertile variety. All other varieties require a pollinizer. 'Black Tartarian', 'Sam', 'Stella', and 'Van' are the best pollinizers. 'Bing', 'Lambert', and 'Royal Ann' will not pollinize each other.
Peaches: The common varieties are self-fertile and not needing a pollinizer.
Pears: Pears will bear more heavily with a pollinizer. 'Bartlett' makes the best pollinizer.
Plums: 'Green Gage' is self-fertile. 'Satsuma' is best pollinated by 'Santa Rosa'.
Prunes: Self-fertile and not needing a pollinizer.

Feeding

If the tree is in a lawn, fertilize with Ross Fertilizer Spikes in the spring. Place them in a circle around the tree out at the drip line of the tree. This gives the tree a slow, even feeding throughout the growing season. Trees in non lawn areas can be fertilized with Bookcliff Gardens Choice Professional Turf Food. Apply it in late April after irrigation water is available and again in mid June. Be sure to water it in well after applying. Iron supplements may be needed for certain trees. Use Fertilome Liquid Iron two to four times in the spring and early summer.

Dwarfing Rootstocks

Apples and Pears are the only trees that we can offer with true dwarfing rootstocks. The rootstocks we use will result in a tree 2/3 to 3/4 the size of a standard tree. The rootstocks used on the other fruit trees, though they may be "dwarfing," only dwarf the tree 10%-15%. If you need a smaller tree, it can easily be accomplished with proper pruning.

Our Guarantee

Thanks for buying a plant from Bookcliff Gardens. Our goal is that you be successful with every plant you purchase from us. We'll try to give you as much information and instruction it takes to make this happen. If you have any questions, please ask! We'll do our best to answer them. However, since this is not a perfect world, and in spite of the best of both of our efforts, plants sometimes die. If this happens within the first year after buying the plant from us, we will replace it; give you an equal amount of credit; or refund the purchase price if you have your receipt. We limit our guarantee to replacing a plant only once, and the guarantee does not apply to annual bedding plants or house plants. If you're having a problem with a plant, come in and talk to us about it; we'll try to find out what happened so we won't lose another plant. It's in both of our interests that the plants you buy from us grow and thrive. We want you to be successful!

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Bookcliff Gardens
(970) 242-7766
755 26 Road (North 1st at I-70) • Grand Junction, Colorado 81506
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