Apple trees on a slope

[BobinCt]

Was thinking of using 5 inch plastic edging to act as a basin when planting my trees on a big slope. Anyone against this? I know people have used gravel and topsoil as well.

 

[bigboreblr]

I'd probably use the ledge on the uphill side of the hill. That way the overall root depth will be a bit deeper. And if it collapses, it'll bury roots and not expose any. Also, the soil will be a bit less distrubed than piling it on the downhill side. Likely have to trim or bury the uphill side of the tree cage too. Keep in mind how youre going to keep it mowed up there too.

 

[rocksnstumps]

Just a warning that caging on a steep enough slope gets easier for critters on up hill side to reach over. Added some extensions on initial 5 ft tall cages in a few spots. Burying the up hill side of a cage like suggested is gonna make the reach over issue worse IMO

 

[Telemark]

Not sure what you are planning ing to do with the edging. Are you going to encircle the tree, or put edging on the downhill side?

I would excavate the uphill side to give a flat spot to plant the tree. Then if you want to make a U shape with the edging on the downhill side to trap water, that might be a good idea.

 

[BobinCt]

Not sure what you are planning ing to do with the edging. Are you going to encircle the tree, or put edging on the downhill side?

I would excavate the uphill side to give a flat spot to plant the tree. Then if you want to make a U shape with the edging on the downhill side to trap water, that might be a good idea.

The edging would be used to trap the water . I was originally planning on using it on the downhill side but I might go with the uphill side after what Bigbor said.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

I'd cut the uphill side of the BOTTOM of the cage off so the top of the cage stays level for the growing tree. If it's buried, and an animal pushes on the cage, the buried cage bottom may rip out some roots on the uphill side. I'd trim the BOTTOM of the cage to match the slope, and add extensions on the uphill side as Rocksnstumps recommended above. The tree will grow straight up, so you want the cage to be straight (plumb) as well. That's what I'd do in that situation, FWIW.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Depending on drainage, you could make the issue worse with trying to trap water. We had some shallow top soil in one part on the side of a hill where we planted some apple trees. The heavy clay content below the top couple of inches acted as a bowl and held too much water, eventually killing several of the apple trees.

My advice would be that if you really want to plant the tree in a particular spot, is to try and change the natural topography and soil as little as possible.