Fruit tree help, please

[jcatblum]

I purchased a few trees today that already have fruit on them (apples & blueberries ). Should I remove the fruit prior to planting. Thought I had read that once. Since tree takes lots of energy to produce the fruit & needs it's energy to help survive the transplant. Any thoughts?

I do know it is late & hot to be planting trees. I planted 4 pear trees 2 wks ago & they are showing new buds & thriving. I know it takes extra work to plant this time of year, but it is so hard to pass up blueberry bushes that have blueberries on them for $3 & 7 gallon apple trees for $10. Also scored several other different trees but they were not bearing fruit or blooms just leaves.

 

[speckledhen]

You don't have to remove the fruit, though it's a good idea, but water them super well and do it daily for a month at least, especially in high temps. Fruit bearing trees with fruit need tons of moisture to become established properly.

 

[CluckyJay]

I remove the fruit from trees I transplant. That way the newly planted tree doesn't expend energy trying to keep the fruit alive.

 

[jcatblum]

9 trees & 3 blueberry bushes are in the ground. Added some nice rich black compost & mulched around them. Gave each plant 2 gallons of water & took the fruit off. Ate the blueberries, they were yummy. Next year will be awesome to see the bushes grow & start getting fruit. Need to find a few other mature blueberry plants of a different variety to put with them. Guess I will search out some full price ones next spring.

 

[Dawn419]

Quote:
We just started our orchard last year and I do the same thing. We transplaned a peach tree from my aunt's this spring and it was loaded with fruit. I plucked 60 baby peaches off of it after we got it planted here. With the heat we've been dealing with, I laid the soaker hose around it and gave it a good, deep soak then covered the ground under it with wet newspapers and added shredded leaf mulch on top of the newspaper. The tree is looking terrific for that bit of babying.

Dawn

 

[gavinandallison]

Quote:
Good luck with your trees and bushes. This year they will need a lot of water to get them established. I normally tell people to plant in the Fall, as the roots still continue to spread and you get a better root system ready for the spring. What type of soil do you have?

 

[wilds of pa]

On our dwarf apple tree's i removed the fruit for the first three years, then on the 4th year removed 3/4 of the fruit from the tree and so the remaining got larger for use.. you can remove more or less depending on your tree's age and type, then you'l want to think about pruning as well in the next years ahead, I'm lucky we have a friend that has an Pa experimental orchard, who prunes ares for us..and then save and use the apple wood for smoking meat

 

[jcatblum]

I knew the 1st few years it is best to remove fruit & blossoms on the blueberries (correct?? ).

So hard to remove the fruit but I know it will be best for the tree. My sister had a peach tree she never picked the fruit off the first full year. She had broken branches from the weight of the fruit.

The trees are all doing very well. Only problem is the grasshoppers eating up the leaves!!!! Told the guineas they need to work harder, since I planted the trees in the field the roam the most.