Crazy idea: If you are planting 3 cherries together, and you want the crop low and easy to reach, why not chop one off at 18", one off at 30", and one off at 42". That way each one can grow out in more of a 360 degree area, and each have more of its own height. Oriented with the short one in the south, and the other 2 behind that one. Like theater seating. Thoughts? (LOVED the video, btw. I have 3 bare root cherries waiting to be planted.)
Great video Kim. This is something Dave Wilson Nursery has been doing for years. It's called backyard orchard culture. They have tons of videos about it. One major point she didn't drive home enough is never let any of the trees get bigger then the weakest variety. In addition it is very import to insure the initial caliper of each of the trees is similiar
Really excellent! Great information much of it new to me, and presented without a lot of chit chat. This should be a training video for everyone putting videos on RU-vid.
Very informative video! 👍🌲 It would be interesting to watch footage of a few years later showing these or other trees that were planted using this high density method.
This is the most interesting video on high density planting I have seen. I planted plums and apricots approx. 24 inches apart and my neighbor said I didn't know what I was doing. I did this without knowing there was such a thing as high density planting. You are one of the few individuals I have heard that know what they are talking about and for that I thank you for making this video.
Great Great Great! Thank you for such a clear explanation. I'm saving your video so I can find it quickly to review. At my age, I need repetition. I've just started with fruit trees in my small urban garden. I have two in the ground and four more coming. Keeping my trees small for easy management is just what I want. Thinking through the tree planting position to allow the weaker tree to be south to get more sunlight is genius. It never occurred to me. Thank you.
You might add a caution when cutting back to be aware of where the tree is grafted so you don't cut it below the graft. Also, if your tree is grafted with multiple varieties already, not cut it back as you will lose the already grafted varieties. Great video with good information.
I love this method! I'm in Florida and just purchased my first home. I want to grow citrus fruit, but half the backyard is septic and drainfield which leaves me only a small area where the root system of the trees won't affect the plumbing. Thanks for the great tutorial. This is exactly what I want to do!
I've seen a really intriguing technique implemented where two trees are placed in the same hole, with the trunks about 4" apart. The entire middle area, the part facing the other tree, is pruned away, leaving the two trees to sort of make up one canopy.
Who in the heck would imagine Oklahoma would have something to offer the entire nation but we viewers in Virginia have come to appreciate the gardening videos from Oklahoma State whatever
Boy you cut them things low . Last year's tree purchases I selected low branching trees and didn't lop them off as shown here, then watch their leaves turn yellow and drop off . IN DISCUSS I pruned several ( plum, 3 apples, ) to two feet in about August . An unstated benifits to looping them low is the phenomenal growth I get to see instead of not pruning them and watching them not grow and suspect that they are dying. Here in this video you explain that the new spring growth should be pruned one third and again one third of the summer growth. That I haven't heard from any other RU-vid instructor and I will certainly do that particular on the plum I bought last year that I serverly pruned now it has many small dia. But long branches that I intend to espalier. Per your suggestion I could prune them 1/3 now and one third in July or August. Maybe Dave Wilson nursey probably explained that frequent warm weather pruning but I only caught it from this video
Another approach would be to plant one cherry tree, and graft 2 other varieties onto it, and manage them for balance. Do you ever do that? I've been experimenting with some chip bud grafting with cherries and peaches and plums and almonds. Which, incidentally, could all be grafted onto a single tree . . .
Just wondering how those cherry trees are doing now. I am doing a high density circle in my little garden (less than half acre) and some one told me and a nursery that cherry trees hate being pruned so now I am having second thoughts.
Kim: super video! I have two different semi-dwarf pears: a Conference and a Williams bon de Chretien). The maximum planting distance I have available at the desired location is only 10ft. Is it better to plant them 10 ft apart, or plant them both in the same hole? TIA!
Hey Kim, I am wondering how the three tree system worked. I am planing on using the same system for dwarf apples. Like a three legged stool, If they were attached to each other would they be self supporting? It would illuminate the need for a costly trellis.
I have some young apple trees that I planted as bare roots two summers ago. They really haven't developed much and I plan on transplanting them to a new area in my yard and try the high intensity planting. Now, my question is: being two years old, am I still able to cut them down to 24"? I would hate to make that heading cut and accidentally kill them. What are your thoughts?
If the Pluot is a hybrid of plum and apricot, doesn't that also mean that they are pollinators for each other? I would expect maybe that some pears are pollinators for some apple varieties also. And that ornamental cherries pollinate sweet cherries? And that if a person lives in a neighborhood full of both fruiting and ornamental flowering fruit trees, two trees of different varieties are not always needed they just need to flower at overlapping time periods
I had an apricot and almond planted about 2 metres apart and they distinctly leaned away from each other. i wonder if those cherries would lean starkly apart ?...
I have some 1 and 2 year potted apple and pear trees with 1 to 2 inch diameter trunks. Should I cut them off knee high like you did for high density planting? I mean are they too big for this?
Hi, I have just purchased a large cherry (over 7ft) and its trunk is quite a lot bigger than those on this vid. Would I still be able to cut back and have it recover well or will it be too much of a shock? Appreciate any help before I chop it. Very scary :/
Last fall I planted 14 fruit trees in a row about 4 ft apart. I amended the soil with a lot of compost but not much composted manure because I didn't want to encourage a lot of vegetative growth. I have not pruned the trees to 18" yet. When would you recommend pruning them in the OKC area?
I am planning to plant 4 trees in a similar configuration. The trees will be planted in mid November in mid Michigan. When would be the best time to make the big pruning cut to knee height?
