Planting fruit trees in upstste SC

Well, somehow in the last week I've aquired a small orchard, which is now waiting to be planted. Because of some "beginner" goofs, I have more than I had planned, but, I'll get over it :). I'm looking for any tips on planting from people who have done it before. Anything that you've found works well, and, maybe more important, what didn't. I have peaches, apples, pears and cherries. Any help appreciated,
Margo

Should be straight forward. No real tricks to planting fruit trees just the usually from what I know. You did get fruit trees with the right chill hours, right?

The chill hours is one thing i DID check :). I also asked about pollinators, but got wrong info, as well as a bum steer on varieties that would do well in my area. My problem is that I've never planted anything but citrus in S. Florida, and this may be a different prospect, but i don't know. Just wondering if anyone has any sage advice:).
Margo

Peaches are the hardest of those to grow. Lots of pests. I would read up on peaches. I just planted peach trees so I don't have real life experience with them yet. My apples were plant and forget. I also started growing cold hardy citrus this year, we'll see how that works out. Harvey lemons, mandrin oranges, bloodsweet grapefruit and tangerines.

Hi, if you have poorly drained clay soil you might mound soil up and plant the trees a little higher than the surrounding terrain. You might want to install a drip irrigation system from irrigationmart.com http://cgi.ebay.com/Orchard-Kit-S-Drip-Irrigation-Water-System-w-emitters_W0QQitemZ7701209689QQihZ018QQcategoryZ29522QQcmdZViewItem You definately do not want to dig the hole any deeper than what it was planted in before as it can sink. Dig it extra wide and then back-fill and the roots can extend sideways easier. I drowned alot of trees the last three years. I assume that since you have trees to plant now that they are in 5gallon or 10 plastic pots as I think it is a little late for bareroot trees. Be sure to mix some root stimulator also to put in the planting holes. I was told in the past from garden store employees to water twice a week, once a week every other week or whatever depending where I bought them. It really depends on what kind of soil you have along with the obvious such as rain and heat. Might check a couple of inches down with your finger or a screwdriver before watering and if still wet, do not water. Hope some of this helps, Mike

Thanks Mike, that's exactly what I was looking for. They're a mix of balled and bareroot, so I do expect mixed results, and I KNEW better, but they just followed me home....(the other) Margo

Hi Margo, for the bareroot trees I believe you are suppossed to dig a hole wider but not deeper just like the others so the roots can spread easier through the loosened dirt on the sides but not sink deeper, except with these your suppossed to make a mound of soil in the middle and place the tree on the mound and spread the roots around it in a draping fashion. Backfill the soil and water it in in stages so as to remove air pockets and again use root stimulator. You definately need to use some sort of support stake for these and you might want to for the balled and potted ones also, but some say not on the others so the trunk can sway in the wind making it stronger. The pear trees are very susceptible to fire blight so watch for a scorching effect on the leaves. The only thing that I have found to help is a beordeau(spelling?) mixture but that does not cure it. They say if you have it you have to prune to 12" below the lowest infected part, but that can be a future question if you run into it. Be sure to mulch out to the drip line to help retain moisture and prevent competition with grass. Do not let the mulch get within 6" or so of the trunk to help prevent blights and pest on all trees. Make sure you never over fertilize pear or apple trees as that also contributes to blights. We had over 5" of rain today and are expecting more this evening on into the night so my garden may be doomed. Talk to you later, Mike