When to Plant Apple Tree: Step by Step Guide

When & How to Plant Apple Trees: 10 Best Tips & Tricks: If an apple tree (Malus Domestica) is to call your garden it’s a new home, planting the tree needs to be well planned. The location and available open space are crucial: is there enough room for a standard trunk, or do you want the apple tree to be a companion on the balcony? In the latter case, a columnar apple tree is the means to the end.

But even after the apple tree has moved into its new place, things can still go wrong. We give an overview so that the planting of your apple tree succeeds with certainty. When planting an apple tree, many things can go wrong and make the difference between life and death. We will show an overview of when to plant apple trees & how to plant apple trees successfully.

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Planting an Apple Tree: From a Pot or as a Root Ball?

 

 

At first, you need to opt for the best way to plant apple trees. Apple trees are divided into potted apple trees, known as containerized apple trees, and root ball apple trees. The balled product is cut out with a root ball and replanted in the same way. However, this only works during the deciduous season without risk, so balled ware is only available in the fall and early spring. Containerized plants, on the other hand, are available all year round and can therefore be planted all year round. However, this convenience also comes at a price: container plants are usually significantly more expensive than comparable balled plants.

Planting an Apple Tree: When is Planting Time?

Choosing the right time to plant apple trees is very important. While containerized apple trees can be planted all year round, balled apple trees can only be planted on frost-free days. The ideal planting time, however, is in the fall. Due to the usually wetter weather compared to spring, you can save yourself a lot of watering. By spring, the trees take root and have more growth in the first year. If the tree is not planted until spring, comparatively more care must be taken to ensure that the tree is always adequately watered until it grows. This may mean a few more watering cans and linear meters than would be the case with fall planting.

When to Plant Apple Tree: The Procedure in 10 Steps

 

 

Before you ask when to plant apple trees, you must learn the right approach to planting your apple tree can be critical to successful growing. Follow these steps when planting – whether containerized or balled:

1. Water the apple tree before planting

Water the apple tree well before planting. If the bale size allows, place the tree in a water-filled tub for a few hours. If you do not have a sufficiently large container at hand, you can simply moisten the root ball with water from a watering can and soak it well.

2. Perform planting pruning in the spring planting

As long as the tree has not yet landed in the planting hole, it is easier to prune the tree. If necessary, this may be necessary at least for planting in the spring. How to perform the so-called planting pruning apple tree, you will learn in detail here.

3. Digging a planting hole

The depth of the hole for the apple tree should be about 20 cm more than the height of the bale. Also, dig the hole twice the width of the bale.

4. Set stakes

As a rule, for any planting, it is recommended to provide additional stability to the tree with one or more stakes, thus helping it to grow straight in the long term. 60 to 70 cm, the stakes should be driven into the ground – soil conditions permitting – and reach above ground to the level of the crown.

5. Prepare the planting hole

Loosen the bottom of the planting hole. This will make it easier for the developing roots to penetrate the soil and provide the tree with water and nutrients. A layer of compost on the bottom of the planting hole will also have a positive effect on the growth of the freshly planted apple tree.

6. Planting an apple tree

The nuts and bolts of this step: crown up, root down. Kidding aside – align the apple tree so that the trunk is as straight as possible. The grafting site should be at least 10 inches above the soil surface to make it more difficult for the grafting site to become infected. Care should also be taken to ensure that the tree does not sit too high so that over time the root system is flushed free.

Tips: Balled stock usually comes with a baling cloth attached with wire. Neither should be removed under any circumstances so as not to reduce the stability of the bale. The wire and bale cloth will rot in the soil without leaving any residue.

7. Fill the planting hole

Simply reuse the excavated soil from the planting hole for this purpose. The amount of excavation will be sufficient in any case. If you want to do something good for your new protege, you can mix the excavated soil with some compost.

8. Tie up the tree

Tie the tree to the support stakes that have been set. A coconut rope is best suited for this purpose due to its stretchability. Clear videos on the Internet describe very well and in small steps different techniques that are suitable for tying a tree.

9. Create a watering edge and press on the soil

After planting, you can press the soil – but not too firmly. Over time, the soil will settle anyway due to rain and watering. It is more important to create a watering border. Excess excavated soil is piled in a circle at a sufficient distance from the tree and fixed with a shovel or shoe sole.

10. Watering

Even if you plant in the rainy autumn, watering the freshly planted apple tree is necessary. The loosened soil will not settle properly until then, and this will ensure that the developing roots can reach the water in the soil.

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Final Thoughts: When to Plant Apple Tree? 

It is also important to know the aftercare along with when to plant apple trees. For the apple tree to grow well, it must be watered long after planting. Even in the year following planting, the watering can still be used regularly to ensure safe growth and future harvest success. In addition, it can be useful to pamper the apple tree with nutrients from time to time. Regular pruning ensures a healthy, well-developed, and high-yielding apple tree, so be sure to learn more about apple tree pruning.