Scott

Scott, I appreciate hearing your input about them being in a straight row. What if I allow three feet between trees instead of 18 inches. Would you still say not to plant the diagonal? Your idea of one row of trees at two feet spacing is very interesting. How far apart would I need to put the pomes from the stones, though? I was trying to keep ten feet between them so that they don't interfere with each other. I'm curious why apples and peaches can grow so much closer together than plums and apricots.

Skyjs, thanks for the suggestion to separate the trees with another kind. What grouping is Fuyu Persimmon in? As far as rootstock, the pomes will be M11 and the stones will most likely be Citation.

In the first bed I have 2 plum, and one evans cherry, the other has one apple and one pear. The other trees are a bit more scattered. Pears get wide and tall. Think of a 20 year old ash tree, very oval shape and tall. Mine are spaced about 5 feet apart, too close but these are 2 trees, not 15. Its much easier to get around.

The amount of pruning you will need to do will negate the positives that this close method of planting is supposed to do. I see the trees in the centers of the line being pruned to a spindle just so they can get enough light. If you were interested in this many trees, space then evenly through out that entire area.... No need to waste space in the middle there. Youll even have space to interplant with beneficial plants, still have the same number of trees yet still let them have some breathing room..

Plums and peaches get wide, very wide. This is why peaches and most plums are recommended being pruned in a vase shape (open center), that is their natural growth habit.

I just forsee too much pruning, and way too much work that should be needed for a home orchard. DW style was created to get more bang for the buck in orchards, where there is room for error and to fix spacing issues.

My advice would be to plant them 5 feet apart in offet lines (the next row being planted a few feet infront of the previous and planted in the spaces between that row) This way you have enough light to grow a nice ground cover, lets you have enough space between the trees. You could also get around interplanting other species like shrub fruits or beneficial trees which fix nitrogen, lessening the need for synthetic fert.

Of course, results would likely vary region to region, soil to soil, species to species, variety to variety, root stock to root stock.

I don't plant my trees nearly that close, do frequent summer pruning and they are still too close to give optimum sun to all parts of the trees, so fruit sweetness seems to vary more than it should on the trees. On sites where I give trees conventional space there is less work and possibly slightly higher brix fruit- at least more consistently high brix throughout the tree.

It might prove to be a superior approach just to graft multiple varieties on trees- at least superior for the growers themselves. Of course, if you want a lot of patented DW varieties, this wouldn't be legal.

By the way if the sun exposure is not really good you will be in trouble from that as well. For close plantings you need areas with really good sun.

Scott

Scott, when you say insufficient sun exposure, are you speaking of all seasons or in the spring and summer. The yard is in full sun during the summer, but in the winter is at least 50% shade. Would this be a problem?

Scott