I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:27:51 -0800, "Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice
dot us wrote:

I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?


This ought to help out. You may want to do a search on fruit trees in
your state. This should be consistent across most of North America:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag30.html

By this, the trees should be 20 to 25 feet apart. First year is
recommended to prune to three sprigs.

Thunder

"Rolling Thunder" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:27:51 -0800, "Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice
dot us wrote:

I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?


This ought to help out. You may want to do a search on fruit trees in
your state. This should be consistent across most of North America:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag30.html

By this, the trees should be 20 to 25 feet apart. First year is
recommended to prune to three sprigs.

Thunder

An interesting article, but it didn't specifically address semi-dwarf trees
(are peach trees assumed to be semi-dwarfs?)

In article , "Zootal"
nousenetspam at dead ice dot us says...
I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?




http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_what-is.html

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/hidensity.html

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:27:51 -0800, "Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice
dot us wrote:

I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?


Zootal, I wish I knew what kind of fruit tree you are talking about.
I have done some experimenting with dwarf trees. I have 8, seven year
old dwarf peach trees that I set out 6 ft apart and pruned them in
several configurations over the years. I probably average about 7 to
10 bushels of peaches per year total.

The concept behind this is spray and water conservation. I am also
experimenting with growing dwarf apple trees on a wire(like grapes).

On your pruning, it too depends on what you have. If it is a peach,
it should have been headed back at time of setting out. If it is
apple, no, second or third year light pruning to control size and
shape of tree.- -you must know what wood produces fruit. For example,
a peach only produces fruit on wood that is grown last year. So in
February (when I prune) don't cut off all the new wood or you won't
have a fruit crop.

I know this may well be contradicted by some of the more "well read"
individuals. This is only my opinion based on experience, not some
book. I pruned my first peach tree around 1946 as I recall, and have
pruned several since.

Have a good day--The Oldtimer.

Seems like you have planted them at about the minimum spacing. There are
many variations of size of dwarf trees depending on the exact type of
rootstock
and the vigor of the scion. You may have to do some pruning, if they start to

bump into each other.

No need to do any pruning while they are still young, assuming they were
initially
trimmed by the supplier. They should have a distinct leader branch, so if
this is
not evident, I would select that branch and trim off any competing branches.
No need to trim off the smaller branches, unless they are too close to the
graft.

Most fruit sets on the new growth of branches, so excessive trimming of
them will effectively eliminate their giving fruit for the next season. It is

recommended to remove any fruit that appear the first season of production,
assuming they only number a handful. This will encourage the young tree to
put
it's energy into the roots to give a stronger tree. You can then harvest
fruit in
successive seasons. In general, it is better to do your pruning when the tree
is
dormant, although one can do some lighter pruning in the summer.

Sherwin D.
Zootal wrote:

I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?

I think this Dave Wilson Nursury is way out of line with their recommendations.
Dwarfing rootstock IS the best way to control tree size. Excessive pruning as
he
suggests results in a butchered tree with no shape and much retarded fruit
production.

Sherwin D.

Bill wrote:

In article , "Zootal"
nousenetspam at dead ice dot us says...
I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?




http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_what-is.html

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/hidensity.html

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

Don't worry 'old timer'. You are right on target about pruning retarding fruit
production. Peach trees generally don't get too large, even as seedlings, but
cutting
down the tops to encourage spreading of branches seems to work well for that
kind
of fruit, certainly not apples. I'm not sure what kind of rootstock you have,
but most
peach trees being sold are only slightly dwarfing. The really stronger
dwarfing peach
rootstocks seem to still be somewhat experimental, and many of them have
problems
such as poor cold tolerance or bad compatibility in the graft union. I'm still
waiting
for them to develop a suitable dwarfing rootstock that will take a peach tree
significantly smaller than a standard seedling.

Sherwin D.

Rogerx wrote:

On Tue, 28 Mar 2006 08:27:51 -0800, "Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice
dot us wrote:

I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?


Zootal, I wish I knew what kind of fruit tree you are talking about.
I have done some experimenting with dwarf trees. I have 8, seven year
old dwarf peach trees that I set out 6 ft apart and pruned them in
several configurations over the years. I probably average about 7 to
10 bushels of peaches per year total.

The concept behind this is spray and water conservation. I am also
experimenting with growing dwarf apple trees on a wire(like grapes).

On your pruning, it too depends on what you have. If it is a peach,
it should have been headed back at time of setting out. If it is
apple, no, second or third year light pruning to control size and
shape of tree.- -you must know what wood produces fruit. For example,
a peach only produces fruit on wood that is grown last year. So in
February (when I prune) don't cut off all the new wood or you won't
have a fruit crop.

I know this may well be contradicted by some of the more "well read"
individuals. This is only my opinion based on experience, not some
book. I pruned my first peach tree around 1946 as I recall, and have
pruned several since.

Have a good day--The Oldtimer.

In article , says...
I think this Dave Wilson Nursury is way out of line with their recommendations.
Dwarfing rootstock IS the best way to control tree size. Excessive pruning as
he
suggests results in a butchered tree with no shape and much retarded fruit
production.

Sherwin D.


I'm sure your opinion has him worried to death. Then again, he's running a
succesful nursery, and your just running your mouth.

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.

you are fine. in fact, Bay Laurel has a good read on back yard orchards and that
includes planting 2 or more small trees in the SAME HOLE.
I dont prune them at all when planting unless there is a crossing or broken branch.
the basic idea of semi dwarf or fully dwarf trees is to prune IN SUMMER when what you
cut off will not stimulate new growth or suckers AND will prevent growth in the
direction of the branch that was cut.
http://weloveteaching.com/landscape/...d/orchard.html
the best part about cutting in summer to control height is that you KNOW which
branches are producing fruit and where the fruit spurs are. I have had a problem
with over setting of fruit and find it hard to thin the fruit off. I keep waiting
for natural "fruit drop" and then never get around to thinning. I now have trees
produce every other year. and I let them grow out of control one year. this last
summer I seriously headed them back. I cannot believe how vigorous they are in those
100 gallon rubbermaid pots. Ingrid

"Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice dot us wrote:

I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

I ordered 10 different dwarf/semi-dwarf fruit trees after moving here (4
apples, 2 pears, 2 peaches,and two cherries), and the instructions said put
them 10 to 15 ft apart. If they try to bother each other, you can always
prune them in a way to control how they grow. I think your spacing will be
fine.

Dwayne

"Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice dot us wrote in message
...
I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely should
they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to prune
them?

Thanks to all that responded. My trees were purchased at costco, and consist
of 2 cherries, 2 pears, 2 apricots, 2 peaches, 3 apples, 2 plums...and I'm
missing something but there were 13-14 trees, all semi-dwarf. I read
somewhere to put them 10-15 feet apart also, so I settled on 12 feet because
they fit better into the space I wanted to put them - I have a *huge* apple
tree that dominates a good chunk of my yard.

BTW, how big can apple trees get? This thing is huge - trunk about 3 feet
diameter, branch spread about...um...30+ feet or so. And each year it drops
a bazillion apples. Which cause me to ask - what was I thinking when I
bought 3 more apple trees? :P


"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
I ordered 10 different dwarf/semi-dwarf fruit trees after moving here (4
apples, 2 pears, 2 peaches,and two cherries), and the instructions said put
them 10 to 15 ft apart. If they try to bother each other, you can always
prune them in a way to control how they grow. I think your spacing will be
fine.

Dwayne

"Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice dot us wrote in message
...
I have about a dozen "semi-dwarf" fruit trees, each planted 12 feet apart.
Does anyone have experience with such trees? Did I plant them too close
together?

Also, when initially planting them as bare root trees, how severely
should they be pruned? And once they start to bud out, is it too late to
prune them?

well... the whole idea of dwarf fruit trees is they produce very young, like the next
year after you plant them = precocious.
you can control them, spray them, prune and pick them without a ladder.
they produce less on each tree, and the idea is to get trees with fruit ripens at
different times to spread your "take" out over a longer season.
it is even possible to have them in cages to keep the critters out, have fine netting
around them to keep the moths and other bugs off them so much less spraying.
Ingrid

"Zootal" nousenetspam at dead ice dot us wrote:

Thanks to all that responded. My trees were purchased at costco, and consist
of 2 cherries, 2 pears, 2 apricots, 2 peaches, 3 apples, 2 plums...and I'm
missing something but there were 13-14 trees, all semi-dwarf. I read
somewhere to put them 10-15 feet apart also, so I settled on 12 feet because
they fit better into the space I wanted to put them - I have a *huge* apple
tree that dominates a good chunk of my yard.

BTW, how big can apple trees get? This thing is huge - trunk about 3 feet
diameter, branch spread about...um...30+ feet or so. And each year it drops
a bazillion apples. Which cause me to ask - what was I thinking when I
bought 3 more apple trees? :P


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Just because he's running a nursery, and has a busy webpage, DOES NOT
mean he know what is "right". I've read a lot of bad suggestions on
DAVE'S page. Sounds like Bill is running his mouth too. (so am I ...)
It means he's good at marketing.

Severly pruning a tree, repeatedly, will lower the production, and be
LOTS of extra work.

bahB

In article om,
says...
Just because he's running a nursery, and has a busy webpage, DOES NOT
mean he know what is "right".

OTOH, if he gave out bad infirmation, he probably not stay in business
long.

I've read a lot of bad suggestions on
DAVE'S page.

In your opinion.

Sounds like Bill is running his mouth too.

Not yet.

(so am I ...}
It means he's good at marketing.

Severly pruning a tree, repeatedly, will lower the production,

Yes,

and be
LOTS of extra work.

No.


bahB


Perhaps you should reread the article again, It's for back yard gardening,
not farming.

Bill
--
Gmail and Google Groups. This century's answer to AOL and WebTV.