Roots: How much do they matter?

                When we finally had figured out what trees we wanted and what trees would work for us

and then what trees we had room for we were finally able to start looking for those trees. We quickly realized though that we still had more to consider. One where would we find these trees? And two why is there so many root options and what does this information even mean…

                If you can find the tree you are looking for at your local tree nursery you are probably going to be bringing your new tree home in a pot. That’s how all plants come right? Well apparently not. We learned that there are 2 ways to buy trees bare root and potted. What is this bare-root thing im talking about? Well in short it means just that when you bring your tree home it just the tree with bare roots no pot and minimal to no dirt.

                The long answer reason trees come bare rooted is because they are much easier and cheaper to ship. But there are more long-lasting benefits then just that. The trees that are planted in your yard as bare root will take to your soil better they will have a stronger root system and live longer. They also tend to be cheaper. So why wouldn’t you always buy bare root trees?

                Well the catch is a bare root tree is hard to get from a basic gardening center (like Stuarts or Steins) you have to order them from a nursery and there are none of those near us so we had to order our trees from nurseries in other states. Then we had to wait weeks/months for our trees to come in. the other draw back to a bare root tree is that they take 1-3 years longer to start producing fruit.

                The next thing you will see is lots of rootstock types when you are looking for a tree bare root tree. This really stressed me out till I realized that information doesn’t mean anything to me. That information means little to nothing to most people unless you plan on graphing trees or starting your own nursery. In short for us (the people looking to just have some fresh fruit in the summer/fall) it doesn’t mean much more than the size your tree will grow and that’s the same as knowing if you are buying a dwarf, semi-dwarf or standard tree, and those three options are normally what you will find sellers advertising their trees as.

               

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?