Last month I join Noah Sanders at a community garden , where I gave a talk on Alabama horticulture and orchard . We also spent a good spot of meter pruning and shaping up the garden ’s omit fruit Tree .
While run short about our pruning , I found a double Pyrus communis tree , with two trunks flop next to each other . They looked a little too far aside to have split from one . As I was looking at it , I remark to Noah , “ This looks like two trees were planted in one hole . ”
Then an old gentleman’s gentleman chimed in . “ Yep , that was my fault . ”
He precede himself as Jim Crook and allege he ’d been help in the garden for a long time .
I asked him if he double - planted the pear tree on purpose and he laughed .
“ No . I was out here found spare root trees and had a couple unexpended . It started raining , so I just stuck them both in the cakehole I ’d just drudge , meaning to get back to them and take one out later . But I never did and they grow up together . ”
We reckon out from the plaques around the garden that this brace of trees was most likely planted in 2011 .
Jim recite me that one of them was aKieffer , and the other was anOrient .
In the past , I ’ve written about how you may plant more than one Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in a hole ( andshot down some snotty “ scientists ” who say you should n’t ) .
I ’ve also post video on it .
Jim ’s accidental double Pyrus communis tree proves that you may fit two trees into a single blank and they ’ll grow just fine .
Sure , you wo n’t get as much yield , since they ’ll curb each other ’s production somewhat ; however , you do get two varieties that will pollenate each other without receive to dedicate as much one thousand space to fruit production . If you have a tight space to work with , multi - planting yield Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree makes a stack of mother wit .
you may do a lot more with trees than you call up . Just because something has a “ maximum height ” heel on the recording label , it does n’t entail it needs to get that big . you may prune potentially massive Ficus Tree into hedges , and you may mature Mangifera indica tree diagram in pots . you may makepear trees poor enough to step over , and you cantrain a key lime Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to a wall many mile north of its growing zone .
We use multiple methods to keep tree small in ourGrocery Row Gardening system .
Ann Ralph also covers deal of well information in her bookGrow a Little Fruit Tree .
Go out and experimentation . Do n’t get advert up on whether it ’s the “ right ” way to spring up something . Jim ’s pear planting “ nonstarter ” became a great demonstration of what is possible .
