How to plant a bare-root fruit tree

Choose a site in full sun, making sure there's room for the branches to grow and develop over time. To grow different varieties of fruits in a small space, consider a family fruit tree, which consists of two to three fruit varieties grafted onto one tree.

Get your tree off to the best possible start with the help of our step-by-step planting guide, below.

You Will Need

• Bare-root fruit tree
• Spade
• Tree stake
• Mallet
• Saw
• Rubber tree tie
• Mulch
• Watering can

Total time: 30 minutes

Step 1

If you're buying mail order, open the package straight away. The tree pictured is a bare-root and doesn't come in a pot.

Step 2

Plant the tree immediately. If you can't, heel the roots into damp soil, firm well and water to prevent them drying out.

Step 3

Dig a deep, wide planting hole and check that it's large enough to accommodate the entire root system. It's a good idea to have this done before your tree arrives.

Step 4

Add compost to the base of the hole and fork it in, and also mix compost with the soil you removed to improve it.

Step 5

Hammer a stake firmly into the hole and position the tree. Saw off the top of the stake just below the bottom branches.

Step 6

Hold the tree so that the roots are well inside the hole and fill in around them with the improved soil.

Step 7

Press soil down firmly around the roots as you fill, to remove air pockets and give good soil contact with the roots.

Step 8

Use a plastic tree tie to secure the trunk to the stake. Ties come with a rubber buffer to stop the stake rubbing the trunk.

Step 9

Water well, then mulch with compost to keep it moist but, to avoid rotting. Don't pile it against the base of the tree.

• Apples
• Pears
• Apricot
• Peach
• Cherry
• Plum
• Quince
• Medlar