FRUT TREES ON MOUNTAIN TOP -WALES

[Wild winds]

Hi folks
I live in a very rural part of Wales, on an exposed ,isolated, mountain top.... I wish to plant eight fruit trees...
I am concerned about the strong winds here in winter time...I have been advised, by an expert, to use stakes for the saplings..
However, I am wondering if this is such a good idea ?

I refer to a well known fable ....The sturdy oak was torn down before the onslaught of the mighty winds , yet, the tiny,humble conifer that bendt and yeilded before the high winds, surived and flourished..

Thinking along this principle, I am wondering if it is better, ~Not, to restrain the young fruit trees by attaching support ?

With the ,same principle in mind, I am, also concerned about using tree guards around the trunks... The problem is there are rabbits and moles where I live so the trunks will be vulnerable to attack...

Finally, another tree planting recommendation which,rather, concerns me is the use of ~ Rooting powder, placed in the hole when planting saplings .... What concerns me is that the tree's will become dependant on the nutrients from the powder, which will mean the tree's will, actually, be weakened by use of the additional, unatural nourishment ?


To illustrate ~ There is an absolutely, massive cherry tree, directly, in front of my house, which receives the ~Full force of powerful winds coming up across the open fields.... it has, quite obviously, planted, ~Itself, there, many,many years ago... with no help from man !
and it has remained strong, healthy and robust, no doubt for centuries...

With this in mind, should I plant my eight sapling trees,
without , what is , in actuality, unatural, manmade invention, and thus, inferior to what nature, if left alone, to it's own devices, can do ?

[applestar]

Welcome to the forum!
You have an interesting dilemma.

And where there are gnawing critters tree guard is essential — they WILL turn to the young fruit trees and girdle them as well as eat any tender branches they can reach when food becomes scarce, and I imagine windy mountaintop would definitely qualify. Are larger munchers like deer not an issue? You may need to cage the trees as well.

As for your cherry tree, I’m thinking seed that grows without interruption would manage to grow deep taproot, but saplings from the nursery you intend to plant would have been cut. So you would need to support them for at least one full season of growth until their new roots have found their way into the ground and anchor the trees and then harden over the winter.

If you have heavy snowfalls, you would want to support them against being bowed down from ice storm+blizzard as well.

For support, I’m thinking maybe something in-between. How about a shorter stake to splint the root stock and the sapling to strengthen the graft joint, then a three or four-way tent peg tether that will allow the tree to bend some but not completely over?

...hopefully JONA will share his expertise since I’m just a hobby gardener.

[JONA]

The big difference between that old cherry tree and oak trees and your fruit trees... is rootstocks.
All fruit trees that you buy will be on some form of rootstock, and most of those will be of a dwarfing sort to some degree.
This alone makes for a far less substantial root system.
Anything weaker than a 106 stock will need staking and if you suffer from high winds even this stock will need support for the first few years.
Tree guards will be required if you’ve got rabbits.
I would use chicken wire around the trees though rather than plastic guards.
Just a loop of the wire supported by four sticks around eight inches from the trunk will allow you to see if any cankers or other damage should appear. Plastic guards act like shields and trouble can be hidden away if you forget to look very often.
I would not put anything into the soil at planting.
Giving the tree extra feed at planting can stop the tree roots seeking food in the surrounding soil. You need those roots to go seeking quickly to give your tree stability.
Mulching the surface with straw or rotted manure in the early spring to retain moisture will be fine for the first couple of years. ( keep away from contact with the trunk though ).