When To Plant

The question of fall or spring planting is a less

important one with a comparatively hardy fruit like the apple than it

is with a more tender fruit like the peach. Apples may safely be

planted in the fall when soils are well drained and when the young

trees are well matured, both of which are very important if winter

injury is to be avoided. Fall planting has several distinct

advantages. During the winter fall planted trees become well

established in the soil which enables them to start root growth

earlier in the spring. Consequently the young trees are better able to

endure droughts. In the fall the weather is usually more settled and

there is better opportunity to plant under favorable conditions than

in the unsettled weather of spring. It is usually possible, too, to

get a better selection of trees at the nursery in the fall because

most of the trees are not sold until midwinter.



Still the fact remains that the common practice of spring planting is

the more conservative course. There is always danger of getting

immature trees in the fall, and of winter injury to fall planted

trees. Trees may be set in the fall any time after the buds are mature

which is usually after October 1st to 18th in the latitude of New

York. They should not be pruned back in the fall, as this invites

winter killing of the uppermost buds. The question of available time

must also be considered. On some farms fall offers more time; on

others, spring. To sum up the matter, plant at the most convenient

time, providing the conditions are favorable.