Bare Root Fruit tree spacing - Ask Extension
Bare Root Fruit tree spacing: How far apart should i plant the following
BARE ROOT TREES FROM EACH OTHER? AND THEY ARE: 2 SEMI DWARF CHERRIES,
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Bare Root Fruit tree spacing #172024
Asked March 28, 2014, 6:16 PM EDT
Bare Root Fruit tree spacing: How far apart should i plant the following
BARE ROOT TREES FROM EACH OTHER?
AND THEY ARE: 2 SEMI DWARF CHERRIES, 2 SEMI DWARF PEACH, 2 SEMI DWARF APRICOT, 2 SEMI DWARF NECTARINE, AND NUT TREES: 2 WALNOTS and 2 ALMONDS
AND THEY ARE: 2 SEMI DWARF CHERRIES, 2 SEMI DWARF PEACH, 2 SEMI DWARF APRICOT, 2 SEMI DWARF NECTARINE, AND NUT TREES: 2 WALNOTS and 2 ALMONDS
Jackson County Oregon
Expert Response
Wow! You have set yourself up for a lot of work and a few challenges. We hope you have space enough for what is a very ambitious home orchard. First of all, your walnut tree should not be included in the orchard--even at semi-dwarf size, it requires a huge amount of space (depending on the variety and its vigor, up to 30 or 40 feet spread). Again, depending on the type-- black walnut or English walnut and the variety of your selection--it may need a second tree as a pollinator. Although the very commonly grown Franquette variety is self-fertile, it will produce a much better crop if it has a pollinator.
As for the orchard proper, again you need to take into consideration the vigor of the rootstock, the vigor of the variety selected, the fertility of your soil, and the drainage when determining how to space them.The easy answer is to space them the mature height of the tree. In general, semidwarf peaches and nectarines can be held to 10 to 12 feet in height by careful pruning. We would recommend you space them 15 feet apart. Allow more space for the apricot (18 to 20 feet) and the sweet cherry may take as much as 20 to 24 feet depending on the variety. Sour cherries take less space as they are more bush shaped.
Stone fruits are more difficult to grow in our area than fruits like apples or pears. They tend to be more sensitive to spring rains that can cause disease, less frost hardy( fruit blossoms will be killed at 30 degrees or below according to USDA publication 408), and have shorter life spans than other fruits. Pollination is an issue with sweet cherries (Lapins, Stella, and other varieties may be self-fruitful, but varieties suchas Bing need another cherry for pollination). An excellent source for everything you need to know about planting, pruning, fertilizing, spraying, etc. is OSU Extension publication EC819-E Growing Tree Fruits and Nuts in the Home Orchard and publication PNW400, Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard. There is also a publication on growing walnuts, EM8907. All of these brochures can be downloaded as pdf. files at extension.oregonstate.edu/publications. Good luck and happy eating!
As for the orchard proper, again you need to take into consideration the vigor of the rootstock, the vigor of the variety selected, the fertility of your soil, and the drainage when determining how to space them.The easy answer is to space them the mature height of the tree. In general, semidwarf peaches and nectarines can be held to 10 to 12 feet in height by careful pruning. We would recommend you space them 15 feet apart. Allow more space for the apricot (18 to 20 feet) and the sweet cherry may take as much as 20 to 24 feet depending on the variety. Sour cherries take less space as they are more bush shaped.
Stone fruits are more difficult to grow in our area than fruits like apples or pears. They tend to be more sensitive to spring rains that can cause disease, less frost hardy( fruit blossoms will be killed at 30 degrees or below according to USDA publication 408), and have shorter life spans than other fruits. Pollination is an issue with sweet cherries (Lapins, Stella, and other varieties may be self-fruitful, but varieties suchas Bing need another cherry for pollination). An excellent source for everything you need to know about planting, pruning, fertilizing, spraying, etc. is OSU Extension publication EC819-E Growing Tree Fruits and Nuts in the Home Orchard and publication PNW400, Training and Pruning Your Home Orchard. There is also a publication on growing walnuts, EM8907. All of these brochures can be downloaded as pdf. files at extension.oregonstate.edu/publications. Good luck and happy eating!
