FDB Gardeners: planting fruit trees

Now is definitely the time to plant. Plant 6 feet apart or more if you want to mow. I spaced 10 so I can get a riding mower between.

You don't need a tiller you have the tools. Just make the hole about twice as wide as the root ball and deep. The chop and backfill the hole and plant so the rootball is a few inches above grade so it drains well. Water and mulch. Keep moist. You can buy root stimulator if you want but I don't fertilize until roots are established-a few months at least.

Also pick the fruit the first year as soon as it sets and discard. This allows the energy to go into the root system and not the fruit and the second year you will see much better results.

Thought this was the beer thread. Was going to wish you lots of luck.

Good luck with the fruit trees anyway.

I planted a satsuma tree in late 2014, and it hasn't produced anything yet, and really hasn't grown very much. At one time, i had some very small budding satsumas, but a strong wind blew them all down. Any suggestions on revitalizing it? Just fertilize the hell out of it?

Took me a couple years to get some really good producing citrus trees. Fertilizer and patience is my best advice, but I am no green thumb.

yep, those LSU Ag publications will steer you right. I've got a smallish home orchard: meyer lemon, navel, satsuma, variegated pink lemon, moro blood orange, key lime, santa teresita/feminello lemon, a brown turkey fig, and a pomegranate tree. Also four arbequina olives (no fruit yet, but it's only been two years).

Satsumas are the most cold-hardy, so if you're north of I-10, you'll fare better with those. Lemons & limes are the most tender, so plant them in a south or easterly direction, or in a place sheltered from the north wind if you can. All citrus require a few years to become productive, so patience is key. And regular fertilizing on an every-3-months schedule with a good citrus fertilizer. Broadcast fertilizer is better than spikes, as the tree's feeder roots are very near the surface all around.

No need to till up the soil or haul in garden soil. If your soil is heavy clay or in a low-lying spot, don't plant too deep or the trees will drown.

As for pest control, I've found that UltraFine or other horticultural oil spray will handle most of our common citrus pests.

I have six mayhaw trees, but have not had any bear fruit yet. Mine are five years old and they claim it takes six years to fruit.

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Head to the LSU Ag Center site for tips on the best varieties for your area, pics of how to prepare the hole, and info on spacing, fertilizer, and pruning.

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The syndicated radio garden guy, Ron Wilson, from Ohio says that the LSU Ag Center site is the best in the South.

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You also have blueberries, blackberries, apple, fig, muscadine, peach, pear, pecan, persimmon, pomegranate, plum, and raspberry. There a lots of choices if you have lots of room.

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Maybe where you live. Where I live....blueberries aren't productive on the south shore (soil is not acid & not enough chilling hours). Ditto on the insufficient chilling hours for decent raspberry, apple, peach, and pear production (except for those hard cooking pears). Pomegranates are hit & miss...frequently, the humidity is too high for complete fertilization, so the fruit forms, but the interior contains no arils. It's just a woody clump.

So check your climate zone before you set your heart on certain plants.

I think it's too warm and wet here in Houston for our pomegranates. Just not enough chilling hours, and with all the rain last May-June, it was just too wet for fruit.

Was concerned about the chilling hours for blackberries, but we had a decent amount last year, and it was the first year. Hoping for more this spring, but it has not been nearly as cold as last winter. They haven't even dropped their leaves.