Planting Plum Trees

Growing your own plums is a satisfying hobby. Like any specialty gardening, raising fruit trees requires specific methods depending on variety and species. Most plum trees are sold as immature 2-year old saplings (or “whips”). When selecting a planting site, choose an area in your garden with well-drained soil that receives at least 8-10 hours of sunlight on most days. This article offers simple instructions on how to plant and establish your new plum trees, plus basic information on propagation and maintenance. During hot weather, plums should be watered regularly and given as much as an inch of water per week. Plums ripen during June and July.

Things You'll Need

• Bare-root, 2-year old plum tree
• Bucket of water
• Shovel
• Pruning shears
• Wheelbarrow
• Potting soil
• Straw Mulch
• Blunt, wooden stick (2-by-4 will work well)
• Thin rope (at least 15 inches long)

Instructions

1. Place the roots of the young tree into a bucket of water as soon as possible after you receive it. Leave it there for at least two hours to rehydrate them. Only the roots need to be covered by the water in the bucket.

2. Lift the tree out of the water to examine the roots. Most of the compacted soil should have been loosened by the water. Trim away any roots that seem badly damaged or unusually long. Spread the roots out with your hands to loosen the root ball for better air circulation. Lower the roots back into the bucket of water. Set the bucket with tree aside.

3. Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the loosened root ball and at the same depth as the plant was in the garden nursery or farm. There is usually a line of demarcation on the trunk of the tree showing where the bark was buried beneath the soil. A good rule of thumb is to plant your tree 6 to 8 inches above the roots.

4. Remove the tree from the bucket of water. Put the tree, with its roots spread, into the hole. Support the tree with one hand, and refill the hole (you may need someone to assist you with this step). Potting soil may be added here if the soil in your area needs amending--for example, if it has too much clay or sand, or it lacks nutrients. If you are unsure of the quality of your soil, add potting soil as a safeguard. Mix about two shovels full of potting soil with the dirt removed from the hole. Use this blended soil to fill the hole and to cover the roots and the lower trunk of the tree.

5. Compact the ground gently with the back of your shovel, making sure that the tree is as upright as possible. Water the tree well and add a layer of straw mulch. The ground around the tree should be wet to a depth of at least 1 inch. Allow the water to soak in for five minutes then test it with your finger to see how far down the water has penetrated. Add more water if necessary.

6. Position the blunt 2-by-4 close to the trunk of the tree and push it into the ground several inches. Tie the rope around the 2-by-4 and the trunk, pulling them together and leaving no more than 2 inches between the two. Staking the tree now will help to “train” its growth and give it more stability. Allow the stake to remain in place until the trunk of the tree has increased in circumference enough to make direct contact with the stake. For a 2-year-old tree, this could take about one year. By the third or fourth year, the stake should no longer be necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Plum trees should be planted in early spring after the first thaw and as soon as the soil is dry enough for cultivation.

• Apply fertilizer to younger trees starting in April with 1 cup of fertilizer sprinkled over a 3-feet-diameter area at the base of the tree. Do this again in early June and at the beginning of August with a half-cup of the fertilizer. The following year, apply fertilizer only twice annually, in early March and August. Starting with March of the second year, then annually thereafter, apply 1 cup of the fertilizer per year of the tree's life (but no more than 10 cups for mature trees). In August, use 1 cup of fertilizer for each year (but no more than 4 cups for mature trees).

• Never crowd plum trees tightly together or with other plantings. To easily walk around the tree at maturity (for harvesting and maintenance), you may need as much as 20 feet to allow for the huge root system and to ensure the tree’s health.

• Do not allow multiple plum trees to interlock their branches and grow into one another. Plum trees can even grow into nearby building structures (both their branches and roots) when poorly maintained.

Resources

• More detailed information on planting plum trees