How to Plant Bare-Root Fruit Trees

When you move to a new state or purchase a new home across town, adding a fruit tree is one of the best ways to set down literal and figurative roots. It says you’re committed to remaining in the place and caring for the world around you. However, actually planting the tree is the first step!

While many gardeners imagine removing a lush apple or peach tree from a container and placing it in the ground, planting a bare-root fruit tree is another option. Although these seemingly lifeless plants aren’t much to look at, they’ll flourish with the proper planting and care.

Join me to learn how to plant a bare-root fruit tree.

What Is a Bare Root Fruit Tree?

During winter, delicious fruit trees like cherries, apples, and peaches enter a dormant state. Dormant trees are highly resistant to stress, which allows nurseries to ship and sell the plants without soil around their roots. This allows growers to pack the trees tightly together and lower shipping costs.

Not only are these plants easier to transport, but they offer numerous advantages over potted trees. Since the trees don’t have to acclimate from the potted soil to the native soil, bare-root trees often start growing before their potted cousins. And because you plant them during cool months, the roots can put on new growth before the trees begin producing leaves.

How to Plant a Bare-Root Fruit Tree

Although planting a bare-root fruit tree is similar to planting a potted tree, there are some differences between the two processes. Follow these steps to add a bare-root fruit tree to your garden or homestead.

Choose a Suitable Location

Before you plant or purchase a fruit tree, make sure you have a suitable location to plant it. While adding an apple or plum tree to your home is exciting, watching it slowly wither without producing fruit is a surefire way to suck out your enthusiasm. Look for an area with well-draining soil and six to ten hours of daily direct sun.

Along with checking the sun exposure and drainage, look for overhead obstacles like power lines and larger trees. Another thing to check are items like sidewalks and sewer lines that the tree’s roots may harm.

Conduct a Soil Test

While you can hope for the best and stick your tree in the ground, I always recommend conducting at least a basic soil test. Collect a few different soil samples from your intended planting area; each sample should contain the top six inches of soil. Submit your sample to your local agricultural extension office or a private soil lab.

You can easily correct most soil nutrient deficiencies by adding fertilizer, so don’t worry if your soil lacks phosphorus, calcium, or another essential nutrient. However, take a look at the soil pH since it can take years to lower the pH with sulfur. Most fruit trees prefer a slightly acidic to neutral pH ranging between 5.5 and 7.0. You also want to avoid planting fruit trees in soil with dangerous amounts of heavy metals like lead and cadmium.

Wait Until the Right Time of the Year

One of the main goals to remember when planting bare-root fruit trees is to create as little transplant shock as possible. Planting during the cool months of fall or early spring allows the dormant plants to settle into the ground without experiencing hotter or colder temperatures than they’re used to.

If you choose to plant in the spring, do so before trees start leafing out. Remember, your goal is to get the tree in the ground before it would naturally break dormancy! Planting the tree too late in the spring can cause unnecessary stress and lead to future health problems.

Fall planting should occur after the summer heat has faded but before the ground has frozen solid. In most regions, October and November plantings work well. Planting your trees in the fall allows them to settle into their new home over the course of a few months rather than a few weeks. However, fall planting works better in warm growing zones than in cold zones.

Prepare Your Tree for Planting

If you purchased your tree online, it will most likely arrive in a box. Unpack your tree as soon as it arrives, and check that you received the correct variety. While it’s best to plant your tree shortly after it arrives, you can store it in a cool area for a few days or weeks. Just make sure to cover the roots with damp newspaper or coco coir to prevent them from drying out.

Whatever you do, don’t bring your bare-root tree inside! Warm temperatures can cause plants to break dormancy. If you move the actively growing plants back outside, they’ll face serious stress when exposed to cold temperatures.

When you’re ready to plant, place the tree’s roots in a bucket full of water. Let the roots soak for at least one or up to 24 hours. This process helps the trees rehydrate and prevents them from drying out in the weeks following planting.

Dig a Hole

Now comes the fun part: digging the hole! The ideal hole size depends on the size of the tree. It should be deep enough so the taproot has room to fully straighten but shallow enough that the grafting union remains a few inches above the soil surface. 

I like to dig the hole a few inches deeper than necessary and then fill the bottom few inches of the hole with loose soil. This makes it easier for the roots to expand once they resume growing.

As far as width goes, ensure the tree’s horizontal roots have room to expand fully. There’s no harm in digging a hole wider than necessary, and a few inches of loose soil will help the tree get off to a good start.

Set the soil nearby so it’s easy to place back in the hole. If your soil is heavy in clay and/or low in organic matter, mix in coco coir or peat moss to improve the soil structure. Aim for a ratio of one part organic matter to five parts native soil. You can also mix in finished compost, but avoid applying any compost that’s high in nitrogen since this can burn the tree’s tender roots.

Set the Fruit Tree in the Hole

Once you’ve dug a large enough hole, set the tree’s roots in their new home. Aim to plant your tree so the graft union is two to three inches above the soil surface. 

It’s vital to never bury the graft union—the spot where the lower rootstock connects to the scion. If the scion ends up under the soil surface, it can form roots. And since the whole part of grafting a tree is to take advantage of the rootstock’s characteristics, this is not what you want!

Hold the tree so the graft union is at the proper height and the trunk is vertical, then begin to push soil around the roots. Spread the roots out across the width of the hole and continue to fill in with soil, ensuring the trunk remains straight. If you’re planting a tree on any kind of slope, form a slight berm on the downhill-facing side of the tree. The berm will trap water and ensure the tree receives adequate moisture.

The graft union should remain two or three inches above the soil line when finished.  Gently tamp the top of the soil to remove any air pockets that will later settle. Water until the soil is moist.

Apply Mulch

There’s no rule saying you must apply mulch after planting, but I think it’s worth spending a few minutes spreading wood chips, straw, shredded leaves, or another type of mulch. These materials will help conserve soil moisture and prevent the newly planted tree from drying out. The mulch also inhibits weed germination and growth so all water and nutrients can reach the fruit tree.

Keep the mulch four to six inches away from the tree’s trunk to avoid excessive moisture near the crown. A wet crown can eventually rot, which is a serious problem.

Stake if Necessary

If you planted your tree in a location with high winds or loose soil, use tree stakes to encourage the trunk to grow in a straight, vertical line. Staking is an especially good idea for trees growing on dwarf rootstocks. The stakes will hold the trunk in the proper vertical position until the tree grows roots that hold it in place.

Keep the Soil Moist

One of the great things about planting in the fall and early spring is the soil is typically moist. Low temperatures and regular rainfall prevent the soil from drying out, which helps limit stress on the plant roots.

However, if you plant in spring, warm temperatures may arrive a few months after planting. If you go over a week without rainfall, check the soil around the tree and irrigate if it is dry.

When you water in your newly planted tree, you want to provide a trickle from a hose for a long period of time. One to two hours of this will adequately water your newly planted fruit tree. This is a good practice regardless of the season.