Soil Type, Sun Exposure, and Growth

               There are 3 basic types of soil (sand, silt/loamy, and clay) and from there they are broken down into lots more categories. Once you know your soil type you can then apply this information to what trees can survive in your location. And it might give you some insight to if you will have wet ground or dry.

You will also need to know this so you can plan watering times or know if a tree would drowned in the location you want to plant. It is important to have some insight into water patterns in your area, if you live in a wet area that has flooding often or standing water you probably won’t have much success with a tree that prefers dry ground. If you are buying for a new lot of land owner and are anxious to get started planting right away maybe ask your neighbors about this.

                When you consider where you will be planting your tree(s) also consider if your location will have lots of sun or very little. Most fruit trees will need at least half a day of sunlight if you want the good quality fruit. Planting them in a shaded area will hinder their fruit production when it is time to harvest.

                When you are considering the sun exposure your ideal planting location has don’t forget to consider what that location will be like in 5-20 years. Your young tree won’t stay 3-5 feet tall it will grow up to 15-20 feet maybe more and other plant around it will be growing as well. You wouldn’t want to plant your fruit tree next to a fast growing maple that in time will block out the sun from your fruit tree.

                When we picked our trees size mattered, I am terrified of heights so we chose dwarf and semi-dwarf trees. They wouldn’t grow as tall as a normal fruit tree would and we also would have more room for more variety of trees because we could plant them closer together. Have you considered what tree size you want or how many trees you want to plant?