Well, the thing is, anything you transplant, no matter how drought tolerant after it's established, is going to have to have water that first year for sure, possibly for another couple of years until really well established. I think if you can do as you said and use some type of slow-release watering combined with deep mulching, you might be ok -- will also depend upon your soil type and how kind or cruel the rain gods are to us this year.

My alternate suggestion is to purchase some of the trees you're interested in, and pot them up in large (like 25 gallon) nursery containers, which you can keep at your present home, water and tend as neeeded, heel in in a nursery bed for the winter, and plant them in 2 or 3 years when you're better able to care for them. I've used this approach myself with things, and it can work pretty well. It's a lot of work, of course, but when the plant goes into its permanent home, its already a good size.

If it were my place I'd first think about a deer fence. Water or not, deer will ruin a planting if not fenced out.

It would seem to me that in MI most fruit trees should be fine with minimal watering IF you can limit the competition from weeds and nearby large trees. That means don't plant too near big trees, use lots of mulch, and spray weeds near the trees if needed. My Mom in N IL last yr planted apples in her lawn. No mulch, no spraying, and very little watering. The trees survived but didn't grow much.

The Fruitnut

Do you get fall rains, snow in winter, and spring rains? If so, I'd plant in fall just as the rains hit (and water them in with bucketed water from home).
They'll root out in fall and spring with minimal watering from you.
In the first summer, use a heavy mulch, and water as often as you possibly can- every week or so. Especially in hot spells. Get a system with big huge buckets with lids, load up the car. It's worth it!
If you're doing this, plant some rhubarb and asparagus at the same time. Takes 2-3 years to harvest anyways- time flies when you aren't there to watch it!

NOTHING beats having planted your fruit trees 3 years ago. Nuts too, they take ages. It's worth the risk!

I've found that potting up fruit trees for later replanting often leaves you with a weak, tippy, and often pest attacked tree- I continue to do it but it IS a bad idea.

In the northeast, dry orcharding has been the standard for centuries. Only fully dwarfing rootstocks require supplementary water during establishment, although some extra water during dry weeks can sure speed things in most soils.

Commercial orchards use herbicide to prevent competition from grass or weeds, you can use newpaper covered with woodchips or whatever. The most important thing is to install trees as soon as soil can be worked in early spring. I'm talking about planting bare-root 1-year trees which are generally much easier to establish than older trees.

A trick I use in my dry nursery is to bury some water soaked newspapers within the rootzone of trees. This creates a very affective resevoir.

The most crucial time for moist soil is mid-spring to mid summer. Trees will usually survive drought (or weed encroachment) after that.

I've thought about this same thing, imagining that some day I'll get to build a house on a nice piece of land. I think it's definitely worth a try. Here's what I'd do:

Pick the spots where the trees will be planted, and this spring build small raised beds, maybe 4 feet square, (one for each tree) out of 2X6 boards. Dig in some compost and fill the beds with compost or some other organic matter. By the fall, the soil will be really nice for several inches deep....rich in organic matter which will help with water retention as well as drainage, and loose and crumbly...ideal for root growth. Of course, if the soil there is already ideal, this isn't really necessary :)

Order bare root trees for delivery this spring and pot them up in the biggest pots you can handle and transport. Maybe use rootmakers or smartpots to maximize root branching.

In the late summer, plant the trees in the previously prepared beds. This way you will be transplanting essentially container grown plants, (which should minimize transplant shock) into loose soil that has good water storage capacity. Give them a good layer of mulch, like straw or wood chips. The trees will have the fall, winter, and spring to grow their roots before they have to face the rigors of a hot summer. With a good root system well on its way to establishment in good soil, they should be able to survive quite a bit of neglect.

Good luck!

Alex

To find out the easiest way to establish trees where you are, try to find a commercial grower nearby and ask questions. Home growers tend to pamper their trees more than necessary- assuming that enriching soil is always advantageous, for example. A commercial grower will know the least input necessary for establishment in your area. Check your landgrant university for recommendations on establishment.

You need to consider rootstock as well. If drought tolerance is necesarry, you might want to use EMLA111.

You don't need raised beds unless the soil doesn't drain well. And you definately don't want the richest soil around. Save that for the corn and soybean growers. If soil is too rich and fertile you will get excessive vegetative growth and inferior fruit quality.

Don't go the potted, pampered tree route. The easiest tree to establish is a one year old bare root. You will have to water more to establish a potted tree than a bare root. Even here in very dry west Texas I can establish a bare root tree with very little watering if there is nothing else competing for water.

Don't make this overly complicated. Michigan isn't a desert. Establishing fruit trees isn't that difficult.

The Fruitnut

amen!

My 5 bare root apples did very well with only heaping grass clipings around them through the summer. There was usually about 6" +- at any point in time in a diameter of about 8'. If you stacked the clippings for the year up all at once there was probably a good 2' added. By late fall the soil critters had reduced it all down to near nothing (including a dead squirrel, don't know how that got in there). We did have the luxury of consistent rains about 2-3 weeks apart. There was one period in late July - mid-August with 95 - 100 deg. with no rain when I noticed some leaves starting to cup upward but decided not to water. Hurray it rained! This year we'll see.

Well, I'll defer to the guys with more experience, but I would like to clarify/defend a couple things I wrote:

With regards to the raised bed, I probably should not have used that term. What I described was meant to be a way to demarcate the planting area and hold the mulch in place....by the end of the summer, 5 or 6 inches of compost will be only a couple inches thick. This is quite a bit different than a typical raised bed.

As far as the enriching the soil too much, I doubt that a one time application of compost to a 4'X4' area will make the soil in the eventual root zone of the tree too rich for good fruit. Even in that 4X4 area, one application of several inches of compost or some other organic matter will not result in a long term change in the soil. In a few years when the trees are producing, most of that organic matter will be gone. There are some posters here, Jellyman comes to mind, who pile on the organic matter each year.

Anyhow, my suggestions were in response to the original poster's concern about lack of water. Maybe I'm biased by the conventional wisdom over at the trees forum, where the mantra is about regularly watering newly planted trees during their first season, even fairly small ones. Perhaps fruit trees, having been selected for many generations, are tougher in this regard than most shade and ornamental trees?

Alex

Blueberries need acid, well-drained soil. Raspberries are less picky. Do some research into the best varieties of trees and berries for your climate. Peaches may take some extra care there.

Used diapers!
http://www.perennialparadise.org/planting-bare-root-trees/
Looks like it should work. I wonder if there are any negative effects? Anyone?

They also sell the crystals on ebay for about $3/pound.

miscindy, Tree rings are what you are looking for. They slow release 4.5 gallons weekly. This is enough for starting bare root trees that are mulched.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree Watering Ring