Thank you Drew for being open enough to consider the other side of an argument. Because you considered my points and I tried listening to yours we came up with a more complete perspective of fall transplanting of bare root plants (and perhaps the use of mychorizal amendments).
I completely overlooked that most forum members are dealing with shipped bare root plants, although the original post seemed to be about on-property plants.
Fall planting of shipped plants is a subject worthy of its own topic. It is also one I’m far from expert in and would be interested in other’s experiences with it.
Yes we were not even talking about the same thing! Dolt!! Yeah I found doing quick transplants seems to work very well. Well you have done it for a quarter century and I did it once. The results were the same though, piece of cake!
I did this in the spring with some currants and a couple died. It was a few hours between digging up and planting though. I brought some home from my cottage. Most took, but two died on me, Bummed one was Rovada red currant. I need another now! The other was Poorman gooseberry and a member here sent me some.
I prefer to Fall plant in my location (7B). From my observation the trees get off to a better start in the spring and endure the hot/dry Alabama summers with less stress.
I think some seasons fall planted material also does better here. Spring is sometimes too wet and muddy in certains soils to plant until too late. You get best results if you plant before trees start to bud out (if trees have been in cold storage they do best if they start to grow as soon as existing trees of same species on a site start to grow). Fall planted trees tend to come out of dormancy with trees already established, although it is not always the case.
Even during dormancy you may get some fine root growth in the fall or even warm days of winter which may give you a head start.
I’d love to see a research study comparing fall to spring planting. Here’s what MSU has to say on the subject.
“We have routinely advised growers in the upper Midwest to plant bare rooted trees mid- to late March, April or June. Several research studies have demonstrated the advantages of planting as soon in the spring as the soil conditions will allow. Trees planted in April have a decided advantage over those planted even one month later. As temperatures increase in late spring, trees planted late will break bud sooner and struggle initially without a regenerated new root system developed. Avoid planting trees in frozen or water-saturated soils. Some growers have experimented with fall planting, but this method has its risks associated with subjecting young trees to severe winter temperatures. Additionally, many nurseries cannot sell and ship these trees in time for a fall planting. We have tried planting trees in mid-November and were pleasantly surprised with the outcome of some Tall Spindle apple trees. Trees that were not pruned following planting not only survived fully, but had a crop of several fruit in the first growing season. Certainly, this approach is discouraged for more tender stone fruit.”
That last sentence doesn’t seem very scholarly. It is not certain, IMO and merely a logical leap. Academics shouldn’t state logical leaps as certainty but they often do. The writer already admitted to being surprised at the good results of fall planting “tender young apple trees”. Maybe a similar surprise would occur with peaches if they were properly mulched- maybe not.
Found it. Over a hundred years ago the Missouri agricultural station did a study and found great benefit to fall planting over spring planting apple trees. Funny how this kind of info gets lost.
Thanks Alan appreciate the link. I have fall planted a few trees already that are working out fine. We seem to be running warmer lately. El nino seems to be s friend at the moment rather than an enemy.
I should point out that the article above states that peaches should be transplanted in spring only, with no reference to research that verifies this. I have been successfully fall transplanting bearing age (up to 3" diameter) peach trees for 25 years now and have not suffered any apparent liabilities. From observations over this time, I suspect they benefit from fall planting in the same way apples do.
Of course, I’m not in Kansas. I don’t see how results would be different in Z5-6 NY, but who knows.
Planted this peach seedling today a friend brought here from the Dakotas. Today is Nov 12th 2022 the ground is still warm its 23 degrees out today. This seedling was just started from seed this year. We will find out together what it is and why it is considered very special in the Dakotas where it came from.
That is a seed from this year. There were 7 trees that sprouted this year im told. They are all over now. 1 went to oklama , 2 to missouri , 1 went to Georgia and so on.
Ive never seen a seed from the same year grow into a tree that big. It must be a good variety. The seeds i plant are from the year before and i have to cold stratify then it grows. Very interested in a tree that produces that much growth from same year seed without stratification.
So if it fruited in July of this year and was quickly planted and grew that much it would be an incredible rootstock to say the least.
