North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Thomas Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hi,

Last summer my neighbor asked if I wanted a good sized dwarf apple tree in
his backyard, that he was going to take down.  The tree was there when he 
bought the house.  I agreed to move the fruit tree instead.

In summer I root pruned it with a shovel all the way around, and as deep
as the shovel would go, 18" out from the trunk.  I then pruned the top 
of the tree back by 1/3rd.  Since it was so wet/rainy last year, I did not
have to water it.  This was to prepare it for the move in the fall.

When the tree had gone dormant in the fall I took a rootball as big as 4
people could carry.  First trenching around the tree outside the root
pruning circle, and then undermining the tree.  So I had a ball 36" across
and 18" deep.  This was wrapped in burlap and then tightly wrapped with
rope/chicken wire.

Each person took a corner and lifted the tree out of the hole, and placed
it on a tarp, which we slid across the lawn.  I was lucky enough to have a
loader tractor with a wooden pallet waiting to transport to the orchard,
but a pickup truck would do.

We then planted in a nearby orchard. and I wrapped the tree from the
ground up with feed bags cut into 4" strips.  The wrapping was done after
I sprayed it with antidesicant spray.  The spray and wrap were to prevent
water loss.  And the tree was well staked.  The trunk and all main
branches were wrapped  (to a height about 6' up from the ground).

I watered it weekly with 25-30 gallons of water for a month or two until
the snows set in.  Used a plastic trash barrel to move the water into the
orchard.

The tree is flowering heavily this year, and although I will remove the
fruit this year (let roots grow), I know it will survive.

So once you know your variety, place and advertisement in your local
paper, looking for a fruit tree looking for a new home.  There are a lot
of Home Depot trees, with yuppie owners who no longer want them and would
pay you to take them away.

Regards,
Tom  
--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Hardiness Zone 6a

On Sun, 13 May 2001, Ginda Fisher wrote:

> My father has fond memories of a small, hard, sweet pear that grew in
> his yard in Boston 60 years ago.  Any guesses what it might have been?
> 
> Also, can bearing age pears be purchased and successfully transplanted? 
> We're thinking of planting a pear in his yard, but saplings take ages to
> bear, and he's old enough that time is worth more than money.
> 
> Thanks,
> Ginda
> eastern Mass., zone 6
> 
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