On 07/10/2013 15:01, Bertie Doe wrote:


"Jake" wrote in message ...

On Mon, 07 Oct 2013 11:19:35 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

On 07/10/2013 11:12, Bertie Doe wrote:
Reorganising the fruiting area on the allotment. I need to move one each
of apple, pear, plum and cherry. These are the type that have been
grafted on to dwarf stock. When is the best time to move and will they
need watering in?

I have a couple of dozen raspberries, both summer fruiting and ever
bearing. When is the safest time for these to be moved please. Thanks in
anticipation. Location E.Cornwall, 8 miles inland, 500' amsl, East
facing.


You don't say how long the fruit trees have been in their existing
positions.
If it's a year or so no problem, If it's 10 years a lot of problems.

/To get a rough idea, the root system underground will spread to match
/the tree canopy above ground and then a bit more. For the columnar
/trees, the roots spread to match the height. I have a 7-year-old dwarf
/apple that fruits in a column close to the trunk. It's about a
/metre-and-a-half high and its roots have spread out about a metre from
/the trunk. Shifting that would involve a 2-metre-diameter operation!
/
/So digging them up could involve trenching round, and under, a very
/large root ball. As Dave says, even for dwarf trees, you'll have a lot
/of probs if they are 10 years old; I'd add that you may find the
/effort in moving 5 year old trees enough to justify investing in new
/ones.
/
/You will have to water them in, and probably continue watering them as
/needed for 12 months while the roots recover from the disturbance. If
/the trees don't look healthy as fruits develop next year, it would
/probably be best to remove those fruits as they appear so the tree
/puts more of its energy into itself rather than its fruits.
/
/Might also be worth checking your allotment rules. Some local
/authorities are getting tough on trees - existing trees are ok but no
/new ones are allowed. Shifting a tree may move it into the "new one"
/category.

David these grafted trees were purchased Spring 2010, the spread is
about 4 feet. Just one conference pear this year.

They are in the middle of the allotment and very exposed to the
Easterlies. Live or die, they will get moved closer to the terraced
houses. Added bonus - I can do just ONE nice run with the rotavator in
2014, instead of the two bites at present.

Jake I own the allotment. When the terrace was built for miners, the 24
allotments provided grub for the families. Each house had a stone
piggery at the end of the back garden. Sadly all (bar one) of the
piggeries have been demolished for car use.

So you are looking at 5 year old trees, I'd dig around the trees at
about 2ft out from the trunk, I wouldn't worry about trying to save a
root ball, I suspect the soil will come off unless you have heavy soil.
The thickest roots can be pruned back a little, but try to preserve as
much of the smaller roots.
Have the planting holes ready so that as soon as you lift you can move
the tree into it's new home with as little shock as possible, so that
it's not lying on the surface for any amount of time.