Miniature Duo fruit trees (Daily Mail)

joho

Thank you. You've been very helpful and informative. 

BTW @twopenny and @RAS I like your taglines!

YoungBlueEyes

Can I ask please - is it just dual fruit trees that shouldn’t be planted this time of year, or all fruit trees…? 

twopenny

You may not believe it but we are heading for spring! And summer.

That is the time plants put on leaves and flowers. Autumn winter they put on root growth which is why if you want to take cuttings it's September onwards.

A reliable place will not sell bare root after Feburary usually. But if they've been grown in pots you can plant and water/feed through the summer.

It's just a lot more work and a bigger gamble.

One thing you can do is put them in a bigger pot and tend to them. Move to  the shade if there's a heat wave. The roots are more likely to grow when the water and food is contained so you know they've got it and then plant out next autumn.

I'll be moving plants while it's cold (perhaps) but know it's a risk. Newly planted last spring suffered, some terminally, with the drought because they hadn't had time to get established.

Gardening is a bit of a gamble, with practise the odds are stacked in your favour more than if you just take a stab at it

Farway

YoungBlueEyes said:

Can I ask please - is it just dual fruit trees that shouldn’t be planted this time of year, or all fruit trees…? 

Basically it's just bare root ones, but hey ho, if you spy ones for a fiver, maybe worth a MSE gamble

As 2P says, it will need lots of water and care come summer, but so will a newly planted pot grown one, having paid umpteen pounds best not to just dig a hole & bung it in and forget it

YoungBlueEyes

I’ll plant them in pots for now then 🙂

twopenny

I've done that with a lot of rescue plants. Essentially the same as the roots will have been dry for ages.

It works well. A few weeks in a pot to get them going and they heave a sigh of relief.

The way the weathers going you should have some time if you want to plant them out in a few weeks or so. Like so much of life, see how it goes.

YoungBlueEyes

The roots are wrapped in plastic so I don’t know what state they’re in.  I’m guessing the coddled in sand (or something) so I’ve punctures the bags so they have a good drink. I’ll stick em in buckets and see how they go. 

Edit - sorry to take over your thread OP. I’ll shurrup now! 

joho

YoungBlueEyes said:

The roots are wrapped in plastic so I don’t know what state they’re in.  I’m guessing the coddled in sand (or something) so I’ve punctures the bags so they have a good drink. I’ll stick em in buckets and see how they go. 

Edit - sorry to take over your thread OP. I’ll shurrup now! 

No problem. I'm learning too.

eDicky

When I buy bare root trees I keep them together in a bag of damp sand or coarse soil until I get them planted. A half hour dunk in the pond before going in.

Now I'm going out to plant my bare root red mulberry, having been reminded that it's getting late to do so .!