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Fruit Trees · growing reference
| To first harvest | ~2.5 years – ~6 years, by type |
|---|---|
| Spacing | 180″ in the row × 216″ between rows |
| Planted as | tree |
| Water | ~1–1.5 in a week |
When to plant
In USDA zone 6, for example: Plant around Mar 4, while the stock is still dormant — bare-root wants to be in the ground before it leafs out.
| Spring | |
|---|---|
| Zone 3 | Apr 3 |
| Zone 4 | Mar 26 |
| Zone 5 | Mar 15 |
| Zone 6 | Mar 4 |
| Zone 7 | Feb 18 |
| Zone 8 | Feb 1 |
| Zone 9 | Jan 9 |
Dates are the typical window for each zone's average frost dates — your own last frost can differ by a couple of weeks. Zone 10 and warmer is effectively frost-free: plant to the season, not the frost. Southern Hemisphere: shift six months.
Size Classs
- Dwarf · ~2.5 years · 40–80 lbs/plant — M.9/M.26 rootstock — bears in 2–3 years, picks from the ground, but needs staking for life.
- Semi-dwarf · ~4 years · 75–150 lbs/plant — MM.106/MM.111 — the homestead default: 12–18 ft, ladder-free picking, bears around year 4.
- Standard · ~6 years · 150–300 lbs/plant — Seedling rootstock — 25–30 ft, 6–8 years to fruit, then outlives you. The old farmstead tree.
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