Planting 3 fruit trees?

Question

I have 3 fruit trees and I am planning to plant them into the ground. My question is how far of a distance should i give them. The fruit trees are apple, pear and nectar, so these trees can get pretty big. I can always prune them if they grow out of control too... so, is it safe to plant them about 5 feet apart?

Thanks

Answer 1

I am assuming that your trees are standard size trees and not dwarf or semi dwarf. Standard apple trees get about 20-25 feet tall and need 35 X 35 feet worth of space. Pear trees can grow to 30 feet and need about 20 X 20 feet of space. Nectarines can grow to about 20 feet tall and also need 20 X 20 feet. You may also want to know that pears and apples are not self pollinating so you will need more than one of each of these trees to cross pollinate to get fruit. Dwarf trees generally still need about 10 X 10 feet worth of space per tree. I hope this was helpful!

Answer 2

Valkyrie had an excellent answer. You don't tell us whether your trees are dwarf, semi-dwarf or standard, and of course that makes all the difference. If you actually don't know and have lost the tags, call the nursery where you bought them. Look at the color of the paint splashes on the base of each trunk. The nursery can key the color to the type of tree.

Apples are not self-pollinating, she's right. You will need a second tree if there is not another apple within a mile. Better check!

Don't expect to prune them "if they grow out of control"...you prune to increase production, not to maintain size. Plant them far enough apart to begin with!

Do not fertilize. Fruit trees thrive on native soil. Do water them thoroughly once a week right up until freeze-up.

Answer 3

It is most likely that you would need 5m/15f between, standard type, trees for optimal growth, good exposure to sun light and warmth for fruit development. (trees planted closer could shade each other and temperature can drop 10 to 15 degrees.
However, if the trees are the dwarfed type you would need half that space.
To answer more directly your question, 5 feet it is too little of a space between your trees.
Good gardening!

Answer 4

In Calif(where I am), the deciduous fruit trees you mentioned tend to grow about 10 feet wide. That would be 5 feet on each side. I think 5 feet apart is too close to plant. They are trees, you know :-) They will give some shade. Please take this under consideration. Better not too close than too close later, right?

Good luck :-)

Answer 5

You might want to consider that flowering trees are asexual and need a mate (boy trees need girl trees). You might not get the crop you were looking for if they have to self pollinate.

Get your trees in groups of three, to achieve better success.

Answer 6

try more like 20 feet unless you plan to espallier them and keep them very controlled.