I have 4 apple trees we grafted last season on G890 rootstock. They grew very fast. They are in 2½ gallon pots.
I would like to plant them early next month in October instead of waiting until early spring. Our first frost is usually around the end of October. Should I plant them in October?
Also when planting the apple trees should I mix in some compost with the native soil dug from the hole? Or any other amendments?
You can plant them even later as long as the ground itself is not frozen. But if you have them in pots, I would think the sooner you plant, the sooner they can start growing out their roots and getting established.
When I planted rootstock in the ground from pots I tried the trick Treco said. I lightly trimmed the edge of the roots. Seems as though it really wakes up the growth drive. The trees are already picking up size.
I’m curious if others have tried doing this.
Plant them yesterday 
Seriously, I agree with @Tana in that potted plants should be planted as soon as is feasible, to give more time for the roots to adapt. The only thing to be careful of is if the weather is really hot or dry, but we are past that already. I have planted potted plants in all seasons, this year I planted one in July for example. I was careful to keep it well-watered.
@Tana thanks for the help
@dannytoro1 thanks for the help
@scottfsmith thank you. Should i mix some compost with the native soil dug from the hole? Or any other amendments?
I personally don’t add anything to the hole, you can trap the roots in the more-rich soil if you overdo it. Supposedly up to 1/3 of the soil can be replaced with compost and you should be OK. I sometimes top-dress with slow release pellet fertilizer, raking it to get it just below the soil surface.
I agree with everyone here because I have already planted my Golden Russet apple 2 weeks ago. It was in the period of 80 - 90 degrees. Now it’s 90 - 100 degrees next week. Summer is making the the last push this year. The apple tree was bare root in June. It was way too hot and it was potted until Fall and received partial sun. Then it was planted into the ground. I just throw some dry leaves at the bottom and mix with the regular dirt. Sprinkle some slow release fertilizer when putting the dirt back. Hope for apples in couple of years.
I think I planted in November last year. We had a fairly mild winter here and they weathered it with no problems and took off in the spring.
I would reserve your compost for mulching to a foot beyond the drip line. If you have leaves this fall or wood chips even better mulch them with that also but only very thin about 2” near the trunk increasing to 6” a foot beyond the drip line
Dennis
Kent wa
I don’t add anything even to the bottom when the hole is deeper because, besides all the reasons mentioned above, I’ve found that in my clay soil adding compost into the hole attracts earthworms, that in turn attract moles, or it attracts voles, or it generally provides better digging consistency for rodents that would like to extend their living room and snack on the roots while they’re at it. So I add some crunchy sand into the hole and mulch with compost as described by Dennis.
I think in my soil mixing compost or any lighter spongy organic matter also results in making a wet pocket where the roots are more likely to rot during a wet mild winter even 2 years after planting.
I actually prefer to plant in usally early fall. It seems to work best, fall and early spring are our rainy seasons. If I plant in the late spring I have to supplement water a lot more and I grow tired of lifting 5 gallon buckets of water. Even dragging the garden hose around is tiring.
Just a little fun fact… when they say a fruit tree needs 1" of rain a week. That really means 10 gallons over a 4x4 foot area (9.97 gallons to be exact). The more the tree grows the more water it needs. 4x4 is as a good of a place to start as any for a newly planted apple tree. Some nurseries say 10 to 15 gallons of water every week. Thats 1 to 1.5 inches of rain per week. Be perpared to water when the sky water faucet shuts off.
I also dont add any soil amendments for the first year while in the ground, other than lime or sulfur and only if the soil PH is out of range. I found adding anything that increases the soil nitrogen does more harm than good, especially with sap sucking aphids.
But thats just me, your milage may vary.
We are very sandy soil; so we pour a slurry of liquified composted manure over wood chip mulch. Have not had problems with voles or mice as we have a very healthy snake population for that. We have moles; but they are more of a garden menace.
@scottfsmith @smilemore @dgerdem @DennisD @Tana @JesusisLordandChrist @dannytoro1
Thank for all the help everyone.
Im going to take everyone’s advice and plant them now and only top dress with the compost then mulch
Yes, ditto planting them in October. Good luck with them in the ground.
They look great! Nice work!
I’d like to see a pic of the roots of one of the big ones when it’s pulled out of the pot. I got a few in pots but I am afraid they are going to be badly rootbound when I plant them. Hate to chop up roots and have to cut why back to balance. Hopefully just some loosening of the roots will be all you need.
I have had great success w Oct planting in 6b.
Don’t plant them now if you are in the middle of a drought unless you plan to pay close attention to keeping them properly watered.
I have cherry and pears to plant that I grafted early spring. I found its best to wait until they drop thier leaves and go into dormancy. They wake up late winter / early spring in their permanent location. With the soil around their roots all settled in and ready to grow. I’m in zone 7A.
