In this day and age, people are wanting to become more self-reliant, especially with growing their food. Biting into a juicy peach or apple that you grew yourself can feel like the best thing in the world. But, if you grow your own, can you plant apple and peach trees together?
Apple and peach trees can be planted together! Both apple and peach trees have the same requirements of full sun, well-draining, and acidic soils. They can also both grow in the same USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8.
In this article, we’ll go into just why you can plant apple and peach trees together! Keep reading to learn why these fruit trees can be planted together!
Basic Apple Tree Care
Despite what you might think, apple trees can grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 3-8. That was a shock to me since Zone 8 is most of the southern United States.
When we think of apple trees we picture apple orchards where you can go apple picking in the fall. But, did you know that there are dwarf varieties of apple trees that make it easy to grow in small or urban spaces?
Yes, dwarf apple tree varieties that reach only 10-12 feet tall instead of the standard, which is around 30 feet tall.
If you want to start an apple tree of your very own from the start, consider getting something like this Big Pack Of Red Delicious Apple Seeds!
Additionally, according to the University of California, during the summertime, a mature apple tree can require 50 gallons of water per day!
Unlike some stone fruit trees, apple trees need what is referred to as cross-pollination. They require a different cultivar of apple trees to pollinate one another, so they also must flower at the same time! Without this, your apple tree may not produce much fruit, or you’ll get some wonky-shaped fruit.
Guide To Planting Apple Trees
When you go to plant an apple tree, there are a few things to be aware of to ensure the most success for your new fruit tree.
Container-Grown Or Bare-Root
If you are planting an apple tree from a container, you can transplant it at any time during the growing season without worry.
However, if you are planting a bare-root tree, you should plant it in the early spring to ensure your tree thrives.
The only difference between a container-grown apple tree and a bare-root apple tree is that the container-grown apple tree will have soil around its roots, whereas the bare-root, hence, its name, will be stored without soil around its roots.
Location, Location, Location
When planting your apple tree you want to make sure it’s in an area of full sun! This means that your apple tree will get at least six hours of sun every day.
Apple trees also tolerate a variety of soils but will do best in well-draining soils, including sandy soil. They won’t do as well in soils that are poor-draining, with heavy clay content. Soils that are poor-draining and don’t allow airflow result in mold, and fungal diseases for fruit trees.
Apple trees also prefer a neutral to acidic soil pH, so anywhere with a soil that is between pH 5.50-7.0 will do for your apple tree.
Planting Time!
So, you now know some key points before planting your apple tree, now let’s get to it!
If you have a container-grown apple tree then you’ll want to water your tree in the container and soak it well, and then you’re ready to plant!
If you have a bare-root tree, check the roots before planting. If they look as if they’ve dried out, you can soak the tree roots in water for 24 hours, before you plant the tree. If they look hydrated, then you’re ready to go!
Since apple trees need another apple tree to pollinate and produce fruit, you’ll want to leave 15-20 feet of spacing, for taller varieties, and 6-8 feet of spacing, for dwarf varieties.
So, you’ve got your ready to plant trees and the proper spacing. Next, you’ll want to dig a hole that is twice the size of the diameter of the roots and as deep as the roots. You can guesstimate, it doesn’t have to be perfect!
Put the tree in the hole you dig and cover up the roots with soil. You want to make sure when you fill the hole with the soil that it is fairly firm, but don’t pack it in too tightly.
This is to ensure there aren’t any air pockets and that roots can grow, and water and nutrients can get to the tree without any issues. As long as you use your hands to pack it in, you should be good to go!
Make sure that the top of the soil, or the ground, doesn’t cover any higher than where the highest roots are, otherwise your tree will likely suffer.
You can grow your apple tree along a fence, a trellis, or with posts in the ground, this will offer support for your apple tree as it grows to prevent uprooting.
After your apple tree is planted, make sure to water it well, at this point you can flood it with water.
Water your young apple tree at least once a week, and in drought conditions or hot weather, you may have to water it once every 2-3 days.
Apple trees are incredibly susceptible to pests, so you’ll want to use a pesticide to keep your apple tree healthy and limit the number of pests. We recommend Bonide (BND217) Chemical 217 Citrus Fruit and Nut Orchard Spray Concentrate, which not only prevents pests, but prevents fruit tree diseases, and is even a foliage protectant!
Basic Peach Tree Care
Surprisingly, peach trees can grow in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-9. Why is this surprising? Because this includes the northeast United States, parts of Canada, and even the Colorado Rocky Mountains. I always thought it would be too cold in these regions to grow peach trees, but it’s not!
Just like apple trees, there are dwarf cultivars of peach trees that grow to only 8-10 feet! Or, the standard peach tree, which grows to 25 feet.
To start a peach tree of your very own, get something like this 10-Pack Dwarf Peach Tree Seeds.
According to Rutgers University, mature peach trees require roughly 35-40 gallons of water per day during summertime!
Soil Type And Location For Peach Trees
Unlike apple trees, peach trees, like some stone fruit trees, are self-pollinators, meaning they don’t require cross-pollination as apple trees do. As long as there are pollinators, peach trees can produce fruit on their own.
Like apple trees, peach trees are full of sun, with at least six hours of sunlight per day.
Peach trees do best in sandy, well-draining soil. Just like apple trees, they won’t do well in soils that are poor-draining, with heavy clay content, due to lack of air and water flow.
Peach trees also prefer a neutral to acidic soil pH, so anywhere with soil that is between pH 5.50-7.0 is ideal for your peach tree.
Want to learn more about soil pH? We’ve got you covered! Check out our article What pH Level Do Trees Like For Best Growth?
Planting Peach Trees
Planting peach trees is just like planting apple trees. We’ll go over a few of the things we covered for apple trees so that you can have peace of mind when planting your peach tree.
The same thing applies if you have a container-grown peach tree or a bare-root peach tree. Make sure to hydrate your tree before planting as we mentioned above, by either soaking your bare-root tree in water 24 hours before planting or watering/soaking your container-grown peach tree before planting.
You won’t need to plant an additional peachtree for pollination, but if you are going to plant other fruit varieties, like apple trees along with your peach tree, you’ll want to leave 15-20 feet of spacing, for taller varieties, and 6-8 feet of spacing, for dwarf varieties.
Dig a hole that is twice the size of the diameter of the roots and as deep as the roots, this is pretty standard for most trees.
Now you can put the tree in the hole you dug and cover up the roots with soil, packing it in firmly, but not too tightly. As long as you use your hands to pack it in, you should be good to go!
Again, just make sure that the top of the soil, or the ground, doesn’t cover any higher than where the highest roots are, otherwise your tree will likely suffer.
Just like the apple tree, you can grow your peach tree along a fence, a trellis, or with stakes in the ground, this will offer the necessary support.
Now that it’s planted, water your peach tree well, at this point you can flood it with water.
Water your young peach tree at least once a week, and in drought conditions or hot weather, you may have to water it once every 2-3 days.
So now that we’ve covered apple trees and peach trees, back to the question at hand, can apple and peach trees be planted together? Yes!
Let’s break down the things we went over above as to why they can be planted together!
Apple And Peach Trees Can Be Planted Together Because They Have The Same Sun Requirements
So, as we mentioned, whatever tree or trees you decide to plant, they will do well in full sun.
Because apple and peach trees both require full sun, they can be planted together. Now, if they had different light requirements, they could probably still be planted together, but it may complicate things.
Apple And Peach Trees Grow In The Same Zones
Apple and peach trees can be planted in USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8. Apple trees can be grown in Zones 3-8, and peach trees can be grown in Zones 4-9.
When deciding what apple and peach trees to plant together, you’ll want to make sure you choose varieties that grow in the same zones. But because they both grow in a handful of the same zones, apple and peach trees can be planted together.
Apple And Peach Trees Can Grow In The Same Types Of Soils
This is another important reason that apple trees and peach trees can be planted together, both do well in sandy, well-draining soils that have neutral to acidic pH.
If they grew in different types of soil, say sandy and clayey, then this would be an issue due to the water retention of the soil, the available nutrients, and overall differences in soil and its pH.
Apple And Peach Trees Can Be Planted Together Because They Require Similar Soil pH
Soil pH goes hand in hand with the type of soil it is. Both apple trees and peach trees require soils that are sandy and well-draining, which are generally neutral and acidic.
This makes sense that both types of trees require neutral to acidic, with pH anywhere from 5.5-7.0, since the soil they grow best in is the soil type with that pH.
Apple And Peach Trees Have Similar Water Requirements
Apple trees and peach trees both have similar water requirements, meaning that you don’t have to worry about one or the other sucking up all of the water causing the other tree to suffer.
They both require quite a bit of water during summertime, with apple trees needing about 50 gallons of water per day and peach trees needing 35-40 gallons of water per day.
Apple And Peach Trees Grow Similarly
Depending on the variety you choose, you don’t have to worry about either tree towering over the other and blocking out the sun. Both fruit trees have dwarf varieties that grow anywhere between 10-15 feet.
But, before you go to plant, just make sure that you have apple and peach tree varieties that grow to similar heights, and not one a standard height (30 feet) and the other a dwarf height (10-15 feet).
Wrapping Up!
Thanks for reading with us, we hope you learned why apple and peach trees can be planted together!
Let’s recap the main points of this article in case you forgot.
Apple and peach trees can be planted together! They can be planted together because apple and peach trees have the same growing requirements of full sun, well-draining, and acidic soils. Additionally, they can also both grow in the same USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8.
Unlike peach trees, which are self-pollinators, apple trees need what is referred to as cross-pollination. They require a different cultivar of apple trees to pollinate each other, meaning they also must flower at the same time. Otherwise, you’re liable to get some wonky fruit, if many at that.
After planting your trees together, we recommend something like Dr. Earth Organic Fruit Tree Fertilizer to keep them happy and healthy!
Lastly, when planting apple and peach trees together, make sure to get varieties that grow to similar heights and grow in the same zones!
If you want to learn more about fruit trees, check out our article 7 Best Fruit Trees for Rocky Soil (And How to Plant Them)! You could also check out a book such as Growing Fruit Trees: Novel Concepts And Practices.
References:
Byers, R. E., C. G. Lyons, K. S. Yoder, J. A. Barden, and R. W. Young. “Peach and apple thinning by shading and photosynthetic inhibition.” Journal of Horticultural Science 60, no. 4 (1985): 465-472.
Cullinan, F. P., & Batjer, L. P. (1943). Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Inter-Relationships in Young Peach and Apple Trees. Soil Science, 55(1), 49-60.
Gur, A., & Sarig, P. (1982). Application of growth regulators to peach and apple trees growing under stress conditions in shallow and stony soils. Growth Regulators, XXI IHC 137, 153-168.
Piñero, Jaime C., and Silvia Dorn. “Response of female oriental fruit moth to volatiles from apple and peach trees at three phenological stages.” Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 131, no. 1 (2009): 67-74.
Remorini, D., & Massai, R. (2003). Comparison of water status indicators for young peach trees. Irrigation Science, 22(1), 39-46.
