Fruit Trees Need Room For Growth

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31041, 22 April 1966, Page 8

Fruit Trees Need Room For Growth

Consideration must be given to accommodating fruit trees before buying. To grow properly the tree must have sufficient room.

Its root system requires sufficient area to absorb essential nutrients without having to compete with subjects too close to it.

Its position should receive maximum sunlight not only to assist in the ripening of fruit but to enable it to' carry out the process of assimilation. There must also be room to enable various cultural operations, such as spraying and pruning, to be carried out freely.

Consideration must also be given to other plants in the viqinity for unless there is sufficient room the smaller specimens close by will suffer as the fruit tree gains in size. Where space is limited one of the best methods of including fruit trees is by training subjects against a fence, wall or wire supports, a method widely used in England. Multiple grafts should also be considered. The listings given here deal with some of the more frequently grown fruit tree together with suggested minimum spacings. Many Types Apples are available on a number of different root stocks which give trees of different ultimate sizes. Those grown on dwarfing rootstocks could be spaced as close as six feet apart as they only attain a height of about six feet. Semi-dwarf trees will reach 10 to 12 feet high and require a similar spacing widthVigorous trees may grow to 15 feet and again the distance apart should not be less than that. Very vigorous apple stocks

are also available but these will grow into large trees in excess of 15 feet and as the days of the estate-size gardens have long since vanished they are really far too big to be considered. The desire to have a pear tree has frequently caused a disregard of the proNems it presents. Until fairly recently these fruit trees were generally only available propagated on pear rootstock, with the result that a growing pear tree soon dominated the scene. Lacking a suitaNe pollinator, either in the garden or in the vicinity, there probably was and still is a lack of fruit.

Multiple grafts, or perhaps a suitable pollinator for the neighbour’s pear tree, and a tree worked on quince rootstock which could limit the height to, say 12 feet, are suggested for the average sized garden. If more than one tree is required do not space closer than 14 feet. Stone Fruit

Under stone fruit one would include peaches and nectarines, apricots, plums and cherries, all of which could be grown on the same tree though some skill in pruning would be necessary not only to maintain shape and balance of the subject but also to ensure that each fruit receives their correct treatment for annual continuity of fruiting. Peaches and nectarines normally grow into mediumlarge trees but can be kept within reasonable limits by regular annual pruning. An allowance of 15 feet should be made between these trees. However, with the availability of dwarf root-stocks for both peaches and nectarines giving a maximum height of about nine feet little more than half this spacing need be given for them. Cherries are an expensive fruit to buy at any time but unless a dwarf tree is purchased, their ultimate height makes them a prohibitive in-

elusion. There is also a very definite necessity to keep the birds away as the fruit is maturing. Dwarf rootstocks will give a tree of ultimate height of about 15 feet. Again a multiple graft is worth considering and a check for suitable pollinators in the vicinity is also advisable before buying. Both apricot and plum trees tend to form trees perhaps a little too large and spreading for most areas though availability of stocks, variations in training methods and in the case of plums selectivity of varieties need not preclude their inclusion. Citrus trees are a worthwhile consideration as they can effectively be incorporated in the shrubbery or even as specimen trees. The Meyer lemon makes a small to medium sized tree on its own rootstock while others suitable for growing locally such as the New Zealand grapefruit, can be bought on trifoliata rootstocks which will also give a small and more compact tree.. Eight feet spacing is sufficient if planting trees budded on dwarfing rootstock. Tree Tomatoes The tree tomato is a tender sub-tropical plant which is rather frost tender. Undoubtedly it will and does succeed in some of the more sheltered localities such as in the Port Hills and attempts to grow it can be made from seed and cuttings as an experiment. Grow them six feet apart. In concluding, let me point out again that distances and heights mentioned in the foregoing are approximations only but spacing should certainly not be less than the figures quoted. Do not be misled by the size of the newly bought plant for it will grow, and overcrowding will only cause stunting and disappointment.