Dwarf Fruit Trees Holed Up Together Can Spread Out the Harvest
Question: I read an article about planting dwarf fruit trees (such as apricot or peach) very close to each other, but I’ve also read they can be planted in the same hole. Any advice?
--A.W., Sylmar
Answer: High-density planting is the name of the fruit game now. That means stuffing two to four trees in the same hole, or planting them only 30 inches apart as a hedge. The idea is to get several different varieties in the space normally occupied by one. The additional varieties may ripen at different times to spread out the harvest, or may be needed as pollinators.
For instance, when I planted an extra-dwarf Anna apple last year, I put an extra-dwarf Ein Shemer variety in the same hole. While Anna technically needs no pollinator, I was told that the yield almost doubles if there is an Ein Shemer--the pollinator--nearby. I planted them so their trunks almost touched, and they may grow together in time. We’ll see what happens.
In my grandfather’s time, gardeners would graft different varieties onto one tree. He turned one apricot in my parents’ yard into a tree of many fruits, with grafts of several varieties of apricots and even peaches. With today’s dwarfed trees it is sometimes easier and more reliable (and you don’t need to worry about tissue compatibility) to simply plant several different kinds in one hole.
As many as four trees can be planted in a single big hole with the trunks spaced about 18 inches apart, according to Dave Wilson Nursery in Hickman, Calif.,--one of the largest growers of fruit trees. With careful pruning and the right varieties, the resulting “tree” will only occupy a 10-by-10-foot area. The density of planting will further dwarf the trees, according to the nursery.
With the same-hole technique, or when grafting, it is important to make sure that one variety does not grow faster or stronger and shade out the other. This takes a little research, but in the case of grafted trees, look for ones that have already been budded, such as the three-in-one, low-chill apples or peaches offered by some local nurseries.
Flat, espaliered trees--planted about 10 feet apart along a fence or wall--are yet another way to fit more fruit in a small space, and they are becoming available at many nurseries. In one hypothetical plan, Dave Wilson Nursery proposes planting 10 trees in only a 12-by-20-foot area--two sets of four trees (four to a hole) plus two espaliered trees against the wall. Now that sounds like space-saving!
For information on high-density planting and pruning tips send a business-size, self-addressed and stamped envelope to Bay Laurel Nursery, 2500 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA 93422 (https://www.baylaurelnursery.com), which also sells grafted, three-in-one trees.
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Q: Can you tell me how to successfully grow beets?
--M.C., San Pedro
A: In Southern California, beets are a year-round crop, but they are easiest to grow during the cool months.
Sow seed so they are spaced about one inch apart, and don’t be surprised when several seedlings sprout from each seed. Seeds are actually “seed balls,” according to Nancy Bubel’s “The New Seed-Starter’s Handbook” (Rodale, 1988)--”an aggregate of two to six individual seeds.” Bubel suggests soaking seed before sowing and making sure the seed is in good contact with the soil by tamping the planted soil with the flat back of a hoe.
Los Angeles Common Ground program manager Yvonne Savio scatters seed, pushing each seed into the soil up to her first knuckle, about a half-inch deep.
As beets grow, thin to two inches apart, but not by pulling. Snip off the leaves of unwanted seedlings with a small scissors so as not to disturb the roots of others. Some beets will grow faster than others so use them first, but the others will grow large after the first are removed. This prolongs the harvest for at least several weeks.
It takes at least two months for the first beets to be ready to eat. Others will continue to ripen for a month or more. You can use the tops and the roots. Should your harvest be too bountiful, it is said that it’s possible to store the roots for up to four years!
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Q: What can I do to minimize the effect of borers in the Italian cypresses that line our driveway? Short pieces of branches fall in the driveway, presumably caused by the bugs.
--B.K., Anaheim
A: The damage you describe is the work of the cypress bark beetle, according to arborist and pest control advisor Tom Wurster, with Mitchell Pest Control in San Gabriel. First, adult beetles feed on tender twigs and nearly chew through them, causing twigs to break off; later they burrow into the bark of the tree, to the critical phloem layer.
Wurster said there is usually a “brood tree” in the vicinity where most of the bark-burrowing occurs. Professional tree care companies may be able to locate the brood tree, and should remove it. The damage caused by the burrowing beetles is so severe--and control essentially impossible once they are inside--that the damaged portion of the tree will almost certainly die.
Beetles chewing on the twigs are easily killed by a spray such as Sevin, but new beetles will quickly take their place if the brood tree remains. Spraying a tall tree, usually planted on a property line, is a job best left to a professional. If you attempt it yourself, make sure neighbors are notified.
Because cypress bark beetles are so difficult to control, said Wurster, the best course is prevention, by keeping trees adequately watered with infrequent but deep irrigation.
Questions should be sent to “Garden Q&A;” in care of Southern California Living, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053. Please include your address and telephone number. Questions cannot be answered individually.
