Our tree sales is in November and March!

The best time to plant bare-rooted fruit trees is late in autumn or early in spring - either in November or March.

Autumn planting is to be preferred for almost all types of fruit, as far as it is still possible depending on the weather and browsing by game can simply be avoided.
Only fruits sensitive to frost such as peaches, nectarines, almonds, chestnuts and walnuts are best planted early in spring. If for some reason you want to plant these fruit species in autumn, you should integrate the trunk and the main branches with a windbreak (straw, reed, jute, plastic fabric, etc.). We also plant apricot trees in autumn as far as possible - preferably after the first hoarfrost, when the wood is well established. On very heavy, wet soils and in extremely windy frost conditions it is recommended to plant only in spring. However, planting must take place before the beginning of the vegetation period.

If you pick up the trees from the nursery, you should protect the roots from sun, drafts, wind and frost during transport. If you receive the trees shipped, you should remove the packaging and put the trees into the water overnight.

The stronger a fruit tree is and the later it is planted after clearing, the more important it is to water it before planting. Meaning: If a fruit tree is cleared in autumn and then only planted in spring, watering it until the first branching always makes it easier to grow. If you do not plant on the following day, you can put the trees in water for up to one week, but then you should cover only the roots. For a longer period of time the trees should be put back in soil. Watering after planting cannot replace a previous bath and serves to connect roots and soil properly.

Immediately before planting, all injured roots must be cut away and the main roots must be cut smooth until the cut is white.

Tip: Cut as many roots as possible, cut away as little as possible. The planting hole should be dug sufficiently large so that all roots have enough space to spread; if the soil is firm, twice as large as the root mass. If the soil is of poor quality or if there has already been a fruit tree in the same spot before, it is advisable to put some garden soil or very ripe compost into the planting hole and mix it with the "unmade ground". The application of fresh compost, manure or easily soluble commercial fertilizers to the root area must be avoided. It is better to spread them on the base of the plant after the planting is done. As a rule, the tree pole is put in place before planting and the tree is placed in such a way that it can grow straight and develop the crown evenly.

The tree is placed in the planting hole and covered with fine, loose soil; it is shaken and lifted slightly; the soil is pressed firmly and then watered. The wetter the soil when planting, the more important it is to water the tree after planting! The grafting point must always be above the future floor level, and when planted, it should not stand lower than it was in the nurser. With the final filling of the planting hole it should be waited until the water has completely seeped away and then the soil is firmly pressed. A final slight piling with loose soil reduces the drying out and facilitates the later weed treatment.

Pruning: If bare-root trees are planted, the number of buds above ground should be adjusted to the root mass, which has been reduced by clearing and root pruning.

The stronger the pruning, the stronger the shoots.

However, too vigorous growth in the first time delays the entry of yield. The more the shoots are shortened, the easier the trees grow, because the fewer roots have less shoot substance to supply.

In general, the plant pruning depends on the desired cultivation system. However, it is recommended:

• Shorten one-year-old apple and pear bush trees by about a third.
• Shorten one-year-old plum, cherry, apricot and wild fruit trees by about half.
• Shorten one-year-old peach, nectarine and almond trees by more than two thirds.
• Shorten every branch of trees of several years as well as of half standard and tall-stemmed trees of all fruit species by half.

If you get an unbranched tree, which is still often planted in commercial cultivation for reasons of cost, you simply cut it off above the desired trunk height and form the crown with the upper buds. Shoots that sprout too deeply are broken off after sprouting.

The fewer fine roots are present and the more problems are to be expected, the more intensive the pruning should be carried out in order to compensate for these errors. These errors may be caused, for example, by:

• a very long transportation route or dried out trees during storage;
• by a very late planting date and already slightly sprouted plants;
• for extremely strong young trees;
• if the trees cannot be watered in the summer of the planting year during drought or if the tree pit cannot be kept free of weeds.

It is often common to prune side branches obliquely and without a stump above an outward standing bud to form the crown and to then spread the cut surface with grafting wax. Especially the outermost bud often grows poorly and forms only a poor shoot. It is advisable to shorten the side branches while neither taking into account the direction of the buds nor the length of the stump and not to smear the cut surface; in May to June, the tree should be checked, stumps and upright shoots should be removed and at the end a healthy, outward-standing shoot that corresponds to the desired cultivating system should be left.

Control the young tree for disease and pest infestation during the vegetation period and, if necessary, support it with crop protection that is gentle to beneficial insects; water during droughts and...