BioProducts Division

Care & Maintenance of New Fruit Trees

Planting Your Fruit Trees by Hand

Site preparation is important. The orchard area should be prepared and desired rows marked and between-plant spacing prior to planting. If spring time fertilization is necessary (DO NOT OVER APPLY), do this prior to digging plant holes and plant placement by working it into soil.

If planting is delayed, store the boxes in a cool place and keep the plants well watered.

Place tree in hole with base of stem about 2 to 5 cm deeper than they were in the propagation container. Plant roots should be disturbed as little as possible and not allowed to dry out. The roots should be slightly spread and facing downwards. If the roots are tightly packed, lightly slit with a clean, sharp utility knife. DO NOT OVER HANDLE.

Replace soil around tree and pack firmly to remove all potential air pockets. Water immediately after at a rate of ¼-½ gallon per tree.

Then every 2 to 3 days for the first two weeks at a rate of ¼-½ gallon per tree. Then switch to watering each tree ½-1 gallon per week, taking into consideration the amount of precipitation that has fallen.

If applying mulch (highly recommended), this should be done immediately following transplanting.

Ensure that trees are kept free of weeds, diseases and insects.

Monitor and record conditions in your orchard regularly to circumvent problems.

Until the plant’s roots are established, ensure the trees receive adequate water. The peat moss in the plug may act like a wick and draw moisture away from the root ball under dry soil conditions.

Planting by mechanical planter

Site preparation one year before planting is essential for all shelterbelt plantings.

Stake the rows prior to planting to ensure trees are planted at the recommended distances. This allows for easier planting and maintenance.

The tree planter is pulled by tractor with a minimum of 40 HP. The planter opens a furrow into which a seedling is lowered. Ensure the roots are not bent. If there is insufficient room for the roots, adjust the furrow opener.

Plant the seedling at the same depth as it was grown at the nursery. Lower the seedling into the furrow immediately behind the furrow opener, at a 45° angle towards the mechanical tree planter and the packing wheel. Hold onto the seedling until soil falls in around the roots as it progresses towards the packing wheel. Release the seedling when it is held by the soil. The packing wheels will pull the seedling into an upright position.

The speed of the tractor and the planter's rhythm will control the spacing of the seedlings. Spacing can be gauged by a mechanical beeper or by dragging a light chain behind the planter with a flag attached at the recommended distance. Plant a seedling when the flag passes the previous seedling.

Have someone walk behind the tree planter to pack the soil around each seedling, to cover the roots if necessary, or to uncover buried seedlings.

Hardening off Your Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants that have come straight from the greenhouse have been grown in ideal conditions, protected from the realities of our natural environment. Although these plants look lush and healthy in the greenhouse, too radical of a change in growing conditions can put them into shock from which they may or may not recover. To prevent shock, a period of hardening off should be performed, which will greatly enhance their chances for survival.

The term "hardening" refers to any treatments that result in a firming of or hardening of plant tissue. Such a treatment reduces the growth rate, thickens the cuticle and waxy layers on leaves, reduces the percentage of freezable water in the plant and often results in a pink color in stems, leaf veins and petioles. Hardened plants often have smaller and darker green leaves than non-hardened plants.

The length of time needed for the hardening off process is mostly dependent on night time temperatures and day time sun exposure. Three to four days is usually long enough. Typically, during the active growing phase, our greenhouse plants experience night time temperatures no lower than 16˚C. During the day, the poly of the greenhouse protects them from the full exposure to the sun’s UV rays.

We suggest following these steps to prepare your plants for the great outdoors.

Arrange for shipment or pick-up of your plants so that they arrive with sufficient time for the hardening process.

Place plants in a sheltered, shady spot outdoors. Allow for 2-4 hours of sun exposure depending on intensity.

Bring plants back indoors each night if temperatures are freezing or close to freezing.

Each day, increase the length of time spent in the sun and in the evening in the cool temperatures.

After a few days, the plants should be able to handle sun all day and stay out at night. If the weather is warm, keep an eye out that the soil doesn't dry out and bake the plants.

When your plants are ready to transplant, try to do so on a cloudy day and be sure to water well after planting.

These steps can be completed in fewer days depending on the type of plants you are growing and temperature fluctuations, so be flexible. Exercise your own discretion according to the time of season you are planting in.

Suggested Row Spacing

	Commercial		U-Pick
Examples	between	within row	between	within row
Saskatoon Berry	20 ft (6.2 m)	3 ft (1 m) min	12 ft (3.5 m)	6.5 ft (2 m)
Dwarf Sour Cherry	16 - 20 ft (5 - 6 m)	4 - 5 ft (1 - 1.5 m)	11 - 13 ft (3.5 - 4 m)	5 - 7 ft (1.5 - 2 m)
Haskap	16 ft (5 m)	3 ft (1 m)	8 - 10 ft (2.5 - 3 m)	4.5 - 6 ft (1.5 - 2 m)

What is Micropropagation?

All of the plant material provided by Prairie Plant Systems Inc. is produced via micropropagation, or tissue culture, techniques. Tissue culture plant material provides a number of advantages for the orchard grower:

1. Plants within a variety are genetically identical, providing uniform berry quality, production and orchard development.
2. Plant material is produced from disease free stock material.
3. Plants are derived from vigorous, high quality material.
4. Established plantings may produce fruit one year earlier than seedlings and yields may be higher.

Place your order early as quantities are limited and orders are filled on a first-come,
first-served basis.