Hello. I’m Mike Parker the Tree Fruit Extension Specialist with the North Carolina Cooperative
Extension Service at North Carolina State University. Today we’re at the Sandhills
Research Station in Jackson Springs, North Carolina to look at how we would plant, prune,
and maintain peach trees.
We’re going to discuss today properly planting a peach tree. One of the first considerations
when planting peach trees is to select a site. Sunlight is one of the key criteria when we
select a site. So you want to select an area that is wide open, that receives full sunlight
throughout the day, stay quite a ways away from fence rows and tall trees that will shade
the trees during the growing season.
We also want to look at the soil characteristics. And for that in North Carolina in our (unintelligible)
soils, we’re concerned about nematodes. Those can be analyzed by the North Carolina
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We use a soil probe. We’ll probe fifteen
to twenty samples in the area to be planted. We’ll put them into a plastic bag. And the
plastic bag we’ll put into a box and send off to the Department of Agriculture for analysis.
With that same soil sample we can also take a box or pint to be analyzed for nutrient
content.
In North Carolina, one of the main criteria we’re looking at is soil acidity or the
PH of the soil. So you’ll, from your sample you’ll take a box full of soil, and then
you’ll send that off to the Department of Agriculture for analysis. There are forms
that will accompany these samples. The nematode sample, as well as the soil nutrient content
bio-essay. What you’ll do is take several samples. Make sure that you notate where you
sample with a code that you put on this sample form and keep it in your records, so that
when the results come back you’ll know what needs to be done to modify your soil.
Once we’ve identified your site, we’ve taken our soil samples and nematode analysis
and modified the soil to approximately eighteen inch depth, then we must dig the hole. We’ll
dig that approximately twice the size of the root system both in width and in depth.
And a hole dug with a shovel or an auger many
times will have a smooth wall. They’ll act as a barrier to penetration of surrounding
soils. So, we do is when you’re done with the hole take a shovel and just scour up the
wall so that it is no longer smooth and that will allow easier penetration into the surrounding
soil. We are planting this tree today in light sandy soils, which could be very easily done
with a hand shovel. Our growers that plant many number of trees will use a sub soil shank
that they will till a furrow down the tree row. Then they will go perpendicular to that.
And where those sub soil shanks intersect is where they’ll dig the hole to plant their
trees.
For growers planting trees in heavier soils many times an auger is used on the back of
a tractor. An auger approximately eighteen inches wide will drill a hole approximately
two and a half foot deep in which the tree will be planted. For growers planting many
acres of trees, a tree planter will be used. A tree planter is an instrument that’s attached
to the back of a tractor. Basically a plow that growers sit behind there and drop their
trees into that furrow as the tractor moves continuously down the tree row.
When purchasing trees, you can buy bare roots trees which will come to you with the roots
exposed. Many times they’ll be wrapped in a moist media, or sawdust, or possibly paper,
shredded paper. You can buy large trees or smaller trees or things, tree you want to
try to look at is where the graft, all the fruit trees that we plant are grafted. They
have a root system with a variety grafted on top. You must know where that graft unit
is when you are planting your tree.
The way to identify the graft unit is to start at the base of the tree and move up. There
may be a juncture where the tree sort of jags a bit. Or there may be an area where the bark
changes colors. Many times that will be in a diagonal cut. Or there may be even a v shape
where the grafting unit has taken place.
The tree we are planting today is a bare root tree. However, you can purchase trees in a
pot and plant those as well. When planting bare root trees, you need to plant them in
the dormant season to allow the root system to settle in before the growth starts in the
spring. With trees that come in a pot, those can be planted at any time. However, care
must be taken when the plant is pulled out of the pot to cut through the root system
to disturb any roots that may be circling the pot that will continue to grow and strangle
the tree over time.
Once we have our tree we identify the graft union. Dig our hole so that it is much deeper.
But the graft union will remain two inches above the soil surface once the tree has been
planted and settled.
Once we place soil in the hole, we’ll come in and firm the soil. Identifying our graft
unit is here. So, we’re still in good shape. So we may hold the tree here while we press
the soil around it. And our graft union is two to three inches above the soil which will
allow for some settling to occur once the tree is watered in.
Once we have planted the tree, we will then water the tree thoroughly around the base.
Once the soil is settled, we’ll apply a light application of fertilizer around the
base. We’ll go around the edge of the hole spreading the fertilizer in and out, but making
sure to keep it off the trunk of the tree, where it may burn the tree. And larger scale
plantings, at this time an irrigation system would be installed. Either a drip or a micro
sprinkler irrigation. Peach trees need to be irrigated during the growing season after
planting. Water them frequently, allowing the soil to dry out in between applications.
After we have planted our trees, in many cases we’ll come in and paint the bottom eighteen
inches of the tree white. This is done with a white latex paint. Make sure white latex
paint is used. If an oil base is used it’ll kill the tree. This is to help protect the
tree from possible sun scald during the summer or late winter, and also to protect the tree
if herbicides are applied to the base of the tree.