Transplanting 3-5 yr old dwarf fruit trees?

General Fruit Growing
1

Hello everyone, I’m new to fruit growing over the past couple years but have caught the bug hard … thanks for all the wisdom on this forum I’ve learned a ton from everyone. After lurking for years I’ve finally made a profile and posting for the first time !

The short story is I’m in a life pickle and need to move my orchard … is that possible ?? The long story is below ,

I’ve always wanted an orchard and when we moved to our ‘forever’ home with some land 2.5 yrs ago I started buying trees…
Long story short, a major life change has occurred suddenly out of nowhere and looks like ‘forever’ home might not be the case anymore , so this means moving to new land / home(yet to be determined where)
With all the other upheaval happening my trees probably shouldn’t even be a concern but you guys know, I’ve spent so much time and $ creating the orchard and this year we are finally starting to get good fruit set on most trees! Just picked 40 peaches from our Earli Treat tree for the first time :yum:

So… can dwarf trees be transplanted?

Unfortunately I don’t know when this is happening exactly so can’t guarantee if the trees will be dormant or not, but I assume it would be far better to do this during winter dormancy …??

I am in Southern California high desert so we get 110 during the summer and then down to 20-30 in the winters.

I’ve built a 1800 sq ft enclosed structure (enclosed with 1/2” wire mesh) for keeping out the gophers, ground squirrels,rats,birds etc. with rows of raised beds inside. Bed soil was ‘planters mix’ from a nursery that was trucked in ( the desert soil here is rock hard ) I’ve been building the bed soil since day 1 with constant cover crops, mulch, compost, inter planting etc. - makes me sad to even just leave the soil behind even if I can take the trees :frowning:

The rows are filled with ‘high intensity planted ‘ (1.5-3’ spacing ) dwarf trees of all types, apple, pear apricot plum pluot peach nectarine jujube persimmon avocado along with grapes strawberries blackberries blueberries kiwi. Rootstocks are mostly dwarf such as Bud9 and some semi dwarf

There are about 125 trees total and also vines and fruit bushes. (Wasn’t planning on moving ever again in my life … !)

Most trees were ordered from online nurseries mostly mehrabyan , burnt ridge and bay laurel. Some from local big box stores. Planted in the past 2.5 yrs So most trees are probably 3-5 yrs old some newer maybe 2 yrs old. All are heavily trained/ pruned to be less than 7’ tall and 3’ wide so the trees themselves are not huge.

I guess my options are at the new property:

  1. start over with new trees (and wait a couple years again to get fruit starting) and the dollar expense of purchasing 125 trees again! Seems with inflation trees have almost doubled in the past couple years. I think I got most of the trees form under $20 each at the time. But would be new trees that aren’t stressed and no labor of digging out just order online and put them in the ground.

  2. somehow take these trees with me - lots of labor to dig out properly I assume, and will they even like/ survive the transplant? Will they even perform better long term than new trees?
    But If can be done then I get fruit immediately rather than waiting all over again…

HELP!! !!

1 Like
Best way to transplant 2" caliber fruit trees in fall
2

I’m tagging @alan. There are others here that can help, but Alan is one who I know has experience with moving established trees.

Oh, and welcome to the group!

3 Likes
3

I have moved small apple trees on Bud9 similar to the size you have when the trees were dormant. I took a fair amount of dirt with the root ball when I moved them. But I think cleaning the roots of dirt and moving them bare rooted would also work. You would need to keep the roots damp similar to how the bare rooted trees were shipped to you.

I think it would be harder to do this when the trees are out of dormancy especially during hot temperatures.

The easiest would be to start over with new trees but I can understand your reluctance to re-buy all the trees. But 125 trees is a large number to move. Especially if you have to do it quickly after your house sells. Are you going to actually have time to transfer the trees and also enough time to move all the stuff in your house? How far away are you thinking of moving two miles, twenty miles or more?

I know of an orchard with a similar number of trees that was moved in Chicago. All of these trees were small on M27, M9/M111, and M27/M111 rootstocks. They were mature trees. The trees were kept small, many were less than 5 feet tall and the tallest were under eight feet. The owner died and his widow wanted the trees to go to someone that would cherish the trees and take care of them. No property sale was involved so they had the ability to plan the move and take their time.

You might consider only moving ten or twenty trees. The amount of work would be more manageable and you would have a small orchard immediately.

2 Likes
4

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately a lot of the parameters are up in the air as far as distance of move, timeline, etc., so you make good points about timing of things. It’s possible there will be no time to make it work and the trees just stay as is. But, it might also be possible I have a few months to chip away at it. I guess at this point I’m trying to figure out if it’s even plausible enough to be worth having on the ‘maybe to do’ list …,
Good idea about bringing a few trees at least. Didn’t even think of that option… haha

5

I’ve had to move mature (dwarf apple) trees a couple of times out of necessity, but I only moved them to a new spot in the yard. The work was substantial even for just 2 of them. Both survived and are now doing fine, but they both took a year to bounce back.
I can understand your pain. I would absolutely hate to leave my orchard if I moved. However the thought of moving 125 trees to a new location seems pretty daunting. Like mroot suggested I might take 10 of them and call it a day.

2 Likes
6

I have a bearing age fruit tree nursery and move well branched 2.5" diameter trunk trees bare root as a fundamental part of my business. These trees are over 10’tall with a similar spread. If you don’t have especially heavy soil you can use a heavy metal spade and a sturdy cultivating (potato) fork to dig them up when they are dormant. Just get as much root as you can and tie the roots in wet leaves within a tarp, or use old cotton sheets soaked with water instead of leaves tied all the way around the roots. Some of my trees have up to 9’ diameter root spread. The problem is that digging is a skill- buy the time you’ve dug up about 50 you should have the hang of it.

Peaches are a pain because their roots are very brittle and all the trees I move take a growing season to recover and begin bearing fruit again.

7 Likes
7

Sorry to hear you have to move/restart your orchard.

It is ideal to move when the trees are dormant.

If however you have to move before dormancy, de leafing (removing the leaves) is a good idea. If only had to move trees twice out of dormancy. Both times i removed the leaves and they did fine. If given this advice to others to. The trees they removed the leaves on all survived. The trees they didn’t had some casualties. (but not all)

A lot depends on how much damage you do to the rootsystem, and weather etc.

in my experience, most of the time there is plenty of stored nutrient’s/energy in a tree’s stems/roots to regrow leaves once or even twice. Hoever if you damage the roots to much and the leaves evaporate enough water to dry out stems. There is no going back.

either way, expect 1-2 years before their “back”

If your moving your tree’s your effectively pruning their roots. This might force some trees into earlier/more fruiting. That sounds good, but often a recently moved tree is not in the best state to support the extra fruit load, and establish well at the same time.

I always prune tree’s that i move or help move above ground. To keep a “balance” between the roots and top growth. I obviously won’t remove spurs or any framework branches i want to keep. But anything that’s easily regrown or has to go eventually is a good candidate for some pruning. You don’t have to go overboard with this though.

if moving becomes impractical and you have to start over. I would advise you to learn how to graft. And buy some extra rootstocks (of all kinds) first year and build some stoolbeds to harvest your own rootstock in the future. Since you seem like a “fruit tree addict” like most of us here. I don’t think you will regret either of those options. And it will save you a lot of $$ in the long run. And open up new possibilities. (getting different size/rootstock trees and cultivars than you can find on sale locally for example)

“triage”
If you don’t have to time or resources to move all your tree’s. I would also consider disease issues in my choice to decide which tree’s to move and which to leave. Some species depending on your local growing conditions are more susceptible to diseases than others. In my experience older tree’s that get moved have a higher chance to get diseased. So i would rather “restart fresh” on the species that are less suited to my climate/disease pressure. And move those that can more easily handle the move without getting diseased.

in my climate if seen most of the prunus trees that get moved get quite a lot more gummiosis than those that didn’t get moved. Where most of the pitfruit (apples, pears, asian pears, medlars, quince etc) where hard to distinguish from unmoved tree’s 2 years later.

4 Likes
8

Your overall advice is very good, but this point is controversial and Carl Whitcomb did a series of experiments that indicated that automatic reduction of the top of trees did not consistently aid their recovery from transplanting bare root. However, as I understand it, his work was on sexually immature trees, and not with anything like peach trees, which are almost immediately mature and therefore devoting energy to blossoms and/or fruit. Peaches are the rare tree that sometimes end up bigger at the end of the season when pruned more.

I mention this because it is still common advice to cut back even whips when transplanting any fruit species and I don’t do this and still get very good results. I’m in a rush to get trees above the deer browse line, so this method works for me.

I have only stripped leaves when fall transplanting trees still in leaf here because I’ve never had to move trees during summer, but I was aware it was an old landscapers trick. They also sometimes use mist spray while trees recover and shade cloth as well.

I saw very large trees moved in the middle of summer at one estate. I was amazed at the volume of soil they Band B’s to accomplish the task. The tree didn’t skip a beat, but it cost a fortune to have done.

3 Likes
9

your right. The trop pruning i only do on larger tree’s when transplanting. You don’t need to “balance” a whip or young feathered tree.

topic starter has mostly trees 3-5 yrs old. The 3y olds can probably be transplanted without to much root disturbance. A 5 yr old dwarf (sexually mature, or close to) could benefit from some pruning after/while transplanting. It is also convenient for easier moving the top pruned trees.

I wasn’t aware of the experiments Carl Whitcomb did. Some googling did not yield the experiments. (did show some nice other info and cool looking containers.)

Do you by chance have a link to the experiment?

10

I found it. file:///C:/Users/aland/Downloads/p0155-0157.pdf

I know you hate it, but ChatAI reminded me of the importance of mulching when transplanting. I always do it with my trees. I use about 6 cubic feet of compost I buy from a yard that makes it mostly out of wood chips and leaves and spread it in a 5-6’ diameter circle around the trunk after planting a bit shallow. Then I spread an equal volume of shredded wood or arborist wood chips over that. I use a single stake that I tape to a branch to support the tree. Neglect, drought or deluge, my trees almost always survive and thrive.

I see it as duplicating a typical mulch-soil parfait that the trees of the forest often create for themselves.

Anyway, just for laughs- Does aggressive pruning of existing branches help bare root trees establish when transplanting?

ChatGPT

Aggressive pruning of existing branches is generally not recommended for helping bare root trees establish when transplanting. While some pruning can be beneficial, excessive pruning can be detrimental. Here are the key points to consider:

  1. Balanced Approach: When transplanting bare root trees, it is important to maintain a balance between the root system and the above-ground parts of the tree. Light pruning can help achieve this balance, but aggressive pruning can remove too much of the tree’s capacity to photosynthesize and produce the energy needed for root development.
  2. Encouraging Root Growth: The primary focus after transplanting should be on encouraging root growth. By maintaining a reasonable amount of the tree’s branches and leaves, you support the tree’s overall energy production, which is crucial for root establishment.
  3. Removing Damaged or Diseased Parts: It is advisable to prune only the damaged, diseased, or dead branches. This helps the tree to direct its energy towards establishing roots rather than trying to sustain non-viable parts.
  4. Structural Pruning: Some light structural pruning can be done to shape the tree and remove any crossing branches that might cause problems later. However, this should be minimal and not aggressive.
  5. Water and Mulching: Proper watering and mulching are more critical for the establishment of bare root trees than aggressive pruning. Ensuring the tree has enough water and protecting the roots with mulch can significantly improve its chances of successful establishment.
1 Like
11

that file is on your computer. You did not upload it. So no-one on the forum can see it.

1 Like
12

Journal of Arboriculture 7(6): June 1981 155
EFFECTS OF PRUNING AND FERTILIZERS ON
ESTABLISHMENT OF BAREROOT DECIDUOUS TREES
by Steve Shoup, Rick Reavis, and Carl E. Whitcomb1
Abstract. Bareroot deciduous trees of 11 species were
planted with 0, 15, 30 or 45% of the tops removed immediate-
ly following planting. A total of 528 trees were evaluated over
a 2-year period. Top pruning had no effect on survival or initia-
tion of growth of any species except pecan which was slightly
slower to break buds when the tops were not pruned.
Likewise, adding fertilizer to the soil surface following planting
had no detrimental effect to survival or initiation of the 6
species tested. There was no advantage of the indiscriminate
pruning of tops of bareroot deciduous trees at planting time
and pruning more than 15% of the top appeared to be
detrimental to the structural development and natural form of
the species. Apparently the moisture stress from leaving the
entire plant top intact is offset by the more rapid development
of a supporting root system from the additional carbohydrates
produced.
Top pruning of bareroot and balled in burlap
(B&B) trees at planting time is nearly a universal
practice. The most common explanation offered
for this practice is the need to balance the top with
the roots lost at time of digging. Likewise, the
recommendation to not fertilize newly planted
trees or shrubs during their first growing season
has been widely publicized. As with many general
gardening recommendations, little or no ex-
perimental evidence exists to support either of
these practices.
An experiment was set up in the spring of 1978
to evaluate effects of pruning and fertilizing at
planting time of six bareroot deciduous species;
pin oak, Quercus palustris, redbud, Cercis
canadensis; Bradford pear, Pyrus calleryana
‘Bradford’; Hopa flowering crab, Malus spp.
‘Hopa’; Summit green ash, Fraxinus penn-
sylvanica ‘Summit’ and Kwanzan cherry, Prunus
serrulata ‘Kwanzan’. All plants were 6 to 8 feet
tall, dormant, bareroot stock when planted on
March 16,1978. Treatments were removal of 0,
15, 30 or 45 percent of the plant height before
the spring flush. Trees were fertilized or not fer-
tilized at time of planting with 4 lbs. of N/1000 sq.
ft. using a 10-20-10 analysis dry fertilizer (1742
lbs./acre) applied to the soil surface following
planting. All treatments were replicated 12 times
in a randomized complete block design. All trees
were planted in a sandy loam soil and watered
thoroughly following planting. Spring rains were
accommodating, but after June 20, no further rain
fell during the summer. Drought stress was al-
lowed to progress sufficiently to defoliate some
trees before any supplemental irrigating was
done.
A second study was started on March 20,
1979 to confirm the findings from the previous
season. Treatments were 0, 15, 30 and 45%
removal of the crown of the dormant bareroot
trees before the spring flush. However, no fer-
tilizer treatments were used. Tree species were:
red delicious apple, Malus domestica ‘Red
Delicious’; Keiffer pear, Pyrus communis ‘Keiffer’;
dwarf Alberta peach, Prunus persica ‘Elberta’;
Stuart pecan, Carya illinoensis ‘Stuart’ and Arizona
ash, Fraxinus velutina. All trees were planted in a
sandy loam soil and watered thoroughly following
planting. The experiment was replicated 12 times
in a randomized complete block design.
Pruning or fertilizer treatments had no effect on
initiation of growth or survival of any of the tree
species planted in 1978. Out of 288 trees
planted 242 or 84% survived. Numbers of basal
suckers on Bradford pear and crabapple in-
creased significantly when tops were pruned back
30 or 45% (Figure 1). Pruning in excess of 15%
reduced the visual quality (natural form and branch
development) of all species.
All species planted in 1978 made similar flushes
1 Graduate Research Assistants and Professor of Horticulture,
Experiment Station.
respectively. Journal Article #3799 of the Oklahoma Agricultural
156
Shoup et al: Establishing Bareroot Trees
t on initiation of growth or
of growth during the spring of 1979 regardless of
pruning treatments. This suggests that all trees
had recovered from the initial transplant distur-
bance and assumed normal growth. Except for
some unnatural branch development from the
severe pruning treatments, all plants were similar
in size and vigor at the end of 2 growing seasons.
Fertilizing at planting time had no effect on tree
growth the first growing season and was only
detectable as darker foliage color the second
season This was not surprising in this instance
since the fertility of the field was high. The fact
that no detrimental effect of the fertilizer could be
detected is important in light of the widespread
recommendation that no fertilizer be added at
Planting time. In good soils such as those used in
this study adding fertilizer at planting has little im-
pact on plant growth.
ST^SZS^^1 "^^ ^ ° *
Pruning treatments had no effect on survival of
any of the species planted in 1979. Pecans broke
buds slightly earlier when pruned 15% compared
to no pruning. Plants pruned 30 or 45%
developed slightly more branches as a result of
more bud breaks as compared to the unpruned
trees. At the end of the growing season, all leaves
were stripped from the dwarf Alberta peach and
Kieffer pear and weighed fresh. Weight of leaves
per tree were similar regardless of the pruning
treatment. The fact that all treatments had similar
quantities of leaves at the end of the first growing
season suggests a rapid recovery of the tree from
the severe pruning treatments. There appears to
be no advantage to pruning at planting time and
pruning more than 15% of the top appears
detimentel to the structural development and
natural form of the species. These studies sug-
Journal of Arboriculture 7(6): June 1 981 157
gest only corrective pruning should be recom-
mended since excessive pruning reduces visual
quality, increases suckers on some species and
does not aid in establishment or survival.
Initial root development of newly planted
bareroot trees is supported by carbohydrates
stored within the stem and root tissues. As soon
as top growth begins, however, total car-
bohydrates within the plant are rapidly reduced.
When a portion of the top of the plant is removed
the leaf surface area and the capacity to replace
carbohydrates used in the initial flush of growth is
also reduced. Apparently the moisture stress from
leaving the entire plant top intact is offset by the
more rapid development of a supporting root
system.
This study supports the hypothesis that the
most important factor in transplanting is the inter-
nal condition of the plant when it is dug. All the
lavish precautions such as soil amendments, “root
stimulators,” top pruning, and other practices are
unlikely to help an unthrifty plant and a thrifty plant
doesn’t need it.

3 Likes
13

According to Whitcomb, the most important thing you can do for a tree to be transplanted is to assure it is growing vigorously the season prior to transplanting- that it has good reserves of stored energy. For peaches, that might mean removing much of the crop as well as providing supplemental nitrogen.

1 Like
14

If you know 100% you’ll have to move them but not when, and you can’t do it during dormancy, then I would try to dig them up and pot them now.

Save the soil and as many fine roots you can and put them in pots until you have to move them. Advantage is all the work is done before the stress of the move, and any that will die from it can be pre-discarded.

Obviously doing it bareroot or as big rootballs would be preferable!

5 Likes