Growing Apples
Planting The Tree
There’s an old rule for planting, “Dig a 2 dollar hole for a 1 dollar plant”. Dig a hole twice the size of the rootball you have to plant.
Do this in the very early spring before the leaves have started to grow or last thing in the spring after the leaves have turned color. Do NOT do this when the leaves are fully formed.
Take the tree out of the pot.
Wash the soil away from the roots. We do this because we want the roots to have free access to the ground and if they’re pot bound, they’ve already started training themselves to turn back into the pot. Taking the soil away - and pruning off any roots that are turning back into the pot or around the pot. Prune where they first hit the side of the pot. If you can straighten them out and they don’t want to turn back, you can leave them. The objective is to get the roots straight and ready to grow into the hole you’ve just dug.
Fit the root into the hole. This should be easy because the hole has to be much larger than the rootball.
Do NOT add anything to the planting hole. If you feel you really *must* add something, then add a shovel of compost. Do NOT add peat moss, top soil or anything else to enrich the soil. Yes, this is contrary to much of what you read but is based on research that shows that when you make super-soil in the planting hole, the roots want to stay there instead of going out and helping the tree grow properly.
Backfill the roots The tree roots are now surrounded by freshly aerated soil into which tender feeder roots will charge.
Water. Water. Water. You’re going to to soak the plant to get the soil around the roots. This is critical. And you’re going to water regularly every day or every second day for the first two months the tree is in the ground. If you water it once and walk away, be prepared for low growth rates.
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