North Coast Gardening

Monday Miscellany: Multiple Fruit Trees in One Hole, Succulent Planters and Curing the Common Cold

I’ve been reading about this new trend of planting multiple trees in one hole, and my initial reaction was suspicion – overplanting goes against everything I know about tree health. But when I read about this technique from a few fruit tree dealers that I thought were credible, my suspicion turned to confusion. Could this really be a technique with some merit?

As usual, Linda Chalker-Scott of The Garden Professors comes to the rescue with some scientifically-minded words about this. She breaks it down by looking at the scientific research claiming higher yields with dense fruit tree plantings, and discusses how that relates to this new trend of planting multiple trees in a small area.

It sounds from her article as though this new recommendation on the part of fruit tree growers might be (newsflash!) a way of convincing people to  buy more trees than they truly have room to cultivate. New fruit tree planting myth: debunked.

Next up, two different bloggers have featured some very cool ways with succulents. Rebecca Sweet shows off some simple but lovely shell planters that she has incorporated into her garden, and Plantgasm has a futuristic Lithops planter that I just adore. (Unrelated story: When I was about eight, I successfully grew a number of Lithops, their main attraction as a houseplant being their strong resemblance to derrieres. Hey, I was eight!) Anyway, these are both fun, simple DIY projects that would make a great gift.

Last for this week – Tom out at Tall Clover Farm has discovered the cure for the common cold. Yes, it involves whiskey! A man after my own heart. A few of his commenters have some helpful suggestions for teetotalers as well.

Till next week…

Genevieve

13 responses to “Monday Miscellany: Multiple Fruit Trees in One Hole, Succulent Planters and Curing the Common Cold”

  1. Genevieve thanks for the kind shout out and also for the keen article on planting multiple trees in one hole. I first saw that practice suggested on the Dave Wilson Nursery site and then in an article in Sunset. Thanks to you, I now know the scientific scoop. Merci.

    • Yes, you’re right, it’s been on both Dave Wilson and Sunset. I’m certainly curious to know if anyone’s has success with this technique many years later.

  2. Makes sense more than the surprise recommendations to cram too much into too small a space. Eventually, that person gets to pull out much of what was planted!

  3. Dave Wilson has a bunch of videos on You tube.I have not tried the multiple trees in one hole but I have squeezed quite a few trees into a small space.

    • Tom, I’m curious how old your trees are that you’ve planted close together, and how close they are? I’m fascinated by the process but haven’t heard of anyone with mature trees who has planted them in the same hole, so I haven’t got much info to go on.

      • My trees are on semi dwarf rootstock.They are planted about 8 ft apart .Of the 28 tree I have about half are over 20 yrs old. .I have lost a few over the yrs and have added new varieties. I also have added 2 new new rows. The youngest trees have been in the ground about 3 yrs and were 2yrs old when I put them in.

        • Now, that sounds like good common sense. 8 feet is tight for semi-dwarf but with good pruning and care it seems like that could be very effective. The study mentioned in Linda’s post indicates that is appropriate spacing, too.

          Glad to know what’s working for you, Tom. Thanks so much for sharing that info.

  4. I’ve been reading about the ‘fruit trees close together’ thing as well. This guy in Fortuna describes planting apple trees in a row spaced five feet apart:

    http://humgardens.com/fruit_orchard/index.htm

    He planted in 2005 so he would be getting into the ‘danger zone’ by now. I will try and contact him.

    For the ‘Belgian fence’ style of espalier it is common to be advised to plant the fruit trees 2-3 ft apart, even by extension office resources(!). This guy plants six feet apart and claims to be doing well at 20 yrs:

    http://www.woodbridgefruittrees.com.au/resources/Articles/Espaliering%20Made%20Even%20Easier%20(KNNN).pdf

  5. I’m very curious as to how this all works, Amanda. I’m wondering if espalliers escape some of the issues due to planting close together because they are only crowded on two sides, not all around?

    I think the study Linda mentions says 6′ apart has been scientifically studied and given the OK under certain circumstances, but I dunno about 2′, or three plants in a 2′ hole, or some of those newfangled tips I have been hearing.

    Huh. I just used the word newfangled. Does that mean I am getting old?

    • It could be that some kinds of espalier were meant to be more striking than long lasting and assume the pampering of a full-time gardener.

      Maybe you’re reviving the term, starting a new trend. 🙂