Anyone experienced with planting fruit trees? Trying to avoid another disaster. (Dallas: buying a house, buying)

[jerzstyle00]

Last march I planted 5 fruit trees(apricot,peaches,fig,plum,pear).I would water 2-3 times a week.By the time october came around,all seemed to have died except the apricot as it still had its leafs on it.The rest had no leafs and the branches were brown and weak.So I pulled them all out except for the apricot.
Not sure why this happened.Some say i didnt water enough, some say its the clay dirt.I even mixed the clay dirt with shell and compost like a gardner recommended by no luck.
So now that a new year has arrived, I'd like to give it another try.And I'm asking you gardners out there for some help and recommendations.
This time around, Im thinking of digging my holes and not adding any clay dirt at all but instead purchasing good clean dirt and dump it in instead.

I'd love to hear from someone that has planted fruit trees in clay dirt here in north dallas and how the results were? if it worked how did you plant it?
Not sure if i missed something or is it that fruit trees do not work in clay soil.
thanks.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by jerzstyle00

Last march I planted 5 fruit trees(apricot,peaches,fig,plum,pear).I would water 2-3 times a week.By the time october came around,all seemed to have died except the apricot as it still had its leafs on it.The rest had no leafs and the branches were brown and weak.So I pulled them all out except for the apricot.
Not sure why this happened.Some say i didnt water enough, some say its the clay dirt.I even mixed the clay dirt with shell and compost like a gardner recommended by no luck.
So now that a new year has arrived, I'd like to give it another try.And I'm asking you gardners out there for some help and recommendations.
This time around, Im thinking of digging my holes and not adding any clay dirt at all but instead purchasing good clean dirt and dump it in instead.

I'd love to hear from someone that has planted fruit trees in clay dirt here in north dallas and how the results were? if it worked how did you plant it?
Not sure if i missed something or is it that fruit trees do not work in clay soil.
thanks.

Did you dig the holes wide enough? I can't remember the formula, but I think it may be twice as wide as the root ball. I only have a Satsuma orange in the ground, and it's thriving even in this weather!
You might want to try planting in the fall so the trees can focus on developing a really strong root system during the next winter.

[Pintea]

I'm not trying to be mean, but the trees do lose their leaves around that time. I don't know why you decided to take them out.

[loves2read]

clay soil is horrible for almost anything -- it holds water and basically drowns the roots and does not release nutrients that plants need...
frankly if you watered that much all the time the trees were planted then you probably drowned them--once a tree/plant is established (in the correct location/soil) you frequently for the first week or so--then not so much...

have your soil checked for acidity or alkalinity--Callaways does it every spring I think for free--
and check what type of soil those trees need--they may not thrive in the same environment so trying to grow all of them might be doomed to failure

you will need to add something to the hole to improve the quality of the soil--what you add depends on the trees, and your soil--
it might be possible to dig a hole 2-3 times bigger and add in better quality soil but beware of just adding weeds/seeds in what you add
there is company in Dallas that supposedly guarantees that its soil has been irradiated/treated to kill any seeds...
any tree should be planted so that the natural ball of the tree is about third to halfway ABOVE the level of the soil--if you cover all of the tree ball then you stiffle the roots and the tree/plant might not make it...
Googled this --
Peach Fort Worth TX - Fort Worth TX, peach growing, Fort Worth TX gardening tips, Fort Worth TX garden plants, Fort Worth TX gardener skills, Fort Worth TX growing a garden
note this link says peach trees need SANDY soil--that does not mean pure sand--but a loose type of soil that does not compact like clay soild...

use this link as well--usually very reliable info from people who are in TX--can search for DFW info
specifically
if you join--you can post questions
Gardening in Texas - GardenWeb

there is even a GARDEN forum on city data--just go out to the US menu and toggle downward...

[bluescreen73]

IMNSHO, having a bunch of fruit trees in your yard is not all it's cracked up to be. We've got clay soil and we have a veritable freaking orchard in our back yard courtesy of the previous homeowner. 2 plum trees, a kieffer pear tree, and a peach tree that usually produces a couple hundred (sour) peaches.

The trees are a pain in the ass to care for (the pear tree has a raging case of fire blight), and managing a bunch of half-eaten, inedible fruit that's being swarmed by fire ants and wasps is not my idea of a good time. Makes mowing around the peach tree sporting when you have to dodge a bunch of territorial, divebombing wasps.

Meanwhile the silver maple tree in the front yard has more foliage than all four of the fruit trees combined and it's biggest problem is the bermuda die out that's caused by shading.

[ChristieP]

I totally agree. We've lived in a house with fruit trees before, and they are a MESS. We learned the hard way that unless you spray the peaches with insecticide when they are small, ALL of them will end up with worms! And then the birds always managed to eat holes in the decent fruit before we got out there to pick it. We usually ended up with enough peaches to make a cobbler or two, and the rest had to be thrown out. For all of the time and effort, I would rather have bought gorgeous peaches at a farmer's market!!!

Personally, I would pass on buying a house with fruit trees just because of the maintenance.