New garden and itching to plant

I have a new plot of garden (south faceing) it is overgrown with weeds and I am about to start the big tidy up and plan for next year, I would like to put a couple of fruit trees in as well (cherry, apple), I know spring time is the time for my veg patch but what about fruit trees? can these be planted at anytime?

 

Thanks Armandii I will wait and see what sort of info I get, the site looks very friendly and informative, thats the reason I registered

 

Best time to plant fruit trees (or any trees really) is late autumn/early winter, ideally in November or December.
They will be dormant by then so the disturbance involved in lifting and transplanting them shouldn't be a problem.
Planting at this time also gives the roots time to settle in and begin to take hold before the demands of spring when they need to start taking in water and nutrients.
Oh, and remember to make sure you don't allow the roots to dry out at any time between buying the trees and actually planting them. They will establish much more readily then.

 

Thats brilliant, November gives me time to get the area sorted, weeds to pull out and soil to turn over

 

I often see a plastic pipe next to the roots of a new planted tree, which apparently helps the roots to breath.

 

I always thought that the pipe was used to water the tree roots? ... water goes directly to the roots .... many councils use this method when planting avenue trees

I may be wrong though

 

I tend to differ slightly .... I would rather prepare the beds and the planting holes, clear the site of weeds etc then wait till March/April before planting

we may be in for another record breaking ice cold winter .... I prefer to plant in early spring .... you buy healthy plants/trees that are in leaf, and it gives them several months of growth before the cold sets

however, I have read on several sites that autumn is the best planting time

 

thanks for your input DIM, maybe I will read up on the particular type of tree i buy and go from there.

 

pleasure, but like I said, I'm still learning, so don't take my advice as 'gospel'

many people say the best time to plant is in autumn/winter

If I were spending my own cash, I'd wait till spring, as we may have another very cold winter

 

Fair point dim.
If you do decide to go for spring planting ninhydrin, just make sure you dig in plenty of good quality compost around the roots to retain as much moisture as possible. Throw in a handful of water retaining granules as well if you have some.
If we have another dry spring such as this year, it is vital that you keep the new trees well watered while the roots are becoming established.