Fruit Tree Care: Preparing Soil for Fruit Trees and More

How to dig the best hole, then plant, mulch, water, stake and prune your new fruit trees.

Reader Contribution by Mary Lou Shaw
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by Unsplash/macu ic

Start your trees off right with the best method for preparing soil for fruit trees. Tree trunk wrap, stakes, and mulch also help to establish healthy trees.

Once you’ve invested in new fruit trees, you want to make sure you get them off to a good start. Every step from digging, planting, mulching, watering, staking and pruning is important to their long-term health and survival. You’ll be able to do a good job with your fruit trees by following these steps.

Preparing Soil for Fruit Trees

New fruit trees that arrive by mail are best left in their box, in a cool place, until you have time to plant them. Before planting, soak their roots in water at least an hour to overnight.

The best holes for fruit trees are dug to fit the diameter and shape of the individual tree’s roots. Never prune roots to fit the hole! The depth of each hole is determined by the graft line. This line is recognized by a change in bark color or by a diagonal scar in the bark. This graft line must remain just above soil level to prevent “suckers” that will continually need removing.

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