Here at sunny acres, we have 25 dwarf fruit trees planted in the spring of 1952.
These include apples, pears, plums, and cherries. This fall, there will be fruit on all trees and good crops on the Number Nine Dwarf Mailings, especially the Macintosh and Red Gravenstein.
In recent years, there has been an increased interest in growing dwarf fruits. Commercial apple growers are also becoming interested, and last fall, I visited Donald C. Prince of Turner, Maine, who has several acres of Number Sevens and a planting of Golden Delicious Number Seven.
We cannot have an adequate understanding of dwarf tree fruits unless we differentiate between the dwarfing rootstocks.
Many home gardeners who have bought trees simply labeled “dwarf” have been disappointed and will continue to be. One should always order by rootstock number.
Historically, the Mailing rootstocks were selected in the East Mailing Research Station in Kent, England. The numbers given to the rootstocks indicate dwarfing characteristics.
Two factors determine the size to which a tree will develop: the rootstock on which a given variety will grow; and the variety itself.
Growing Number Nine
Where space is limited, the Number Nine is an excellent choice. This is a true dwarf and usually grows to 6’ or 8’ feet in height and the same in diameter. The Number Nine will produce a bushel or more of fruit.
Incidentally, a dwarf tree of any number of Nialling rootstock produces full-sized apples. The dwarfing characteristic applies to the size of the tree, not the size of the apples.
There is one very important point in growing Number Nine successfully. It must be kept staked! Watching a tree grow well for three or four seasons and then topple over after a fall or winter tempest is very discouraging.
Also, the graft union of Number Nine is weak. What happens frequently is that a home gardener uses wooden stakes and rope.
Use of Wooden Stake
Unless a wooden stake is well creosoted above and below surface level, fungi work and weaken the wood just at and just below the surface during the summer when the soil temperature is favorable.
My experiments prove that a dry hardwood stake, soaked in creosote for several days, will last for 10 to 12 years. A non-creosoted stake will deteriorate in three to four years.
This is why I now use steel fence stakes for the Mailing Nines. I use three stakes per tree and tie them with aluminum wire. The tree can be braced in all directions with this combination of three stakes.
Number Seven Mailing
The Number Nine is the tree to set in small gardens where space is at a premium, but if the area permits, my favorite tree is the Number Seven Mailing.
The Number Seven grows 10’ to 12’ feet high and about the same in diameter.
It can produce several bushels of fruit per tree. With it, such chores as pruning, spraying, thinning, and other operations can be done from an eight-foot aluminum step ladder.
Only those who have worked in orchards where they had to use 20’ feet or longer heavy wooden ladders can realize what this means.
It is the high labor costs of handling old-fashioned, high-growing trees that are turning commercial growers to studying the possibilities of semi-dwarfs, such as the Number Seven.
Comparing Trees in Full Production
In addition, I have grown Number Twos, which develop into trees about two-thirds the size of a normal tree.
I need all three kinds for my experiments and for comparing results when the trees are in full production. The Number Nines can be planted from 10’ to 12’ feet apart, and the Number Sevens from 15’ to 20’ feet.
Number Two should be planted 25’ by 25’ feet. In visiting orchardists recently, I have noticed that more and more commercial growers are setting Number Sevens 20’ feet instead of 15 to facilitate machinery movement in the orchard.
Tree Fruits Soil Conditions
Tree fruits are like fertile, well-drained soil and need plenty of moisture for the biggest production.
In my experience, apples and plums do not stand “wet feet,” but pears and cherries will do fairly well in heavier soil that holds moisture longer. In setting the dwarfs, keep the graft union an inch or two above the soil level.
Otherwise, roots will come out at and above the union, and some or all of the dwarfing characteristics will be lost.
Second, when digging the hole to set the tree, dig it large enough so the roots can be well spread out.
Keep the good, dark topsoil in a pile by itself, and when you fill in the hole, put this good topsoil in first over the roots.
After digging the hole to the correct depth, my technique in planting a tree is to set in the tree and fill the hole half full of good soil.
Avoid Tramping Soil
I do not tramp or tamp the soil, as so many writers recommend. I pour in a pail of water and let the water settle the soil around the roots.
I wait half an hour or more for this to settle. Then I pour in a second pailful and again wait until the water disappears.
Then I fill in the balance of the hole and leave a depression about 12” inches in diameter around the trunk. Each day for a fortnight, unless rain comes, I pour a quart or two of water.
Fertilizing and Pruning
I also avoid any fertilizer in the hole.
After the tree is planted and the fortnight of watering is passed, I mulch the tree with 10” to 12” inches of hay, extending out to the drip line of the branches.
The fertilizer problem is simple. Beginning the second year, I use four ounces of nitrate of soda, or two ounces of ammonium nitrate, for each year of age of the tree.
With dwarf fruit trees, very little pruning is necessary in the first few years.
Take out branches that cross each other, and you may need to remove one or more branches with a sharp crotch. The same pruning principles apply to dwarf fruits as to standard-size trees.
44659 by Haydn S. Pearson