I'd say 8 is pushing it. On the other hand, inaccurate test kits abound. I wouldn't try and radically shift ph, especially now that the trees are in the ground. I started out a 7.5 and my soil is now 6.5 I added some iron sulfate at the beginning. Sold as "copperas" in my area. That helped. Also, most organic fertilizers and mulches tend to hold down PH. People on this forum I respect immensely say apricots are intolerant of sulfur based amendments, although I honestly did not notice. Anyway, they are more tolerant of alkaline soil, so you can avoid the Copperas for the Apricots. I recommend organic fertilizers, not because I particularly subscribe to the method, but because they match the needs of the tree pretty well. The thing that works best for me are aspen leaves I collect on the property, put in a plastic garbage can and then shred with the weedeater. I also use cottonseed meal which I buy at feed store. Its supposedly acidifying, although I don't feel it gives me the nitrogen jolt I would like. Its also getting expensive. Fruitnut is way more successful than me in raising trees, but I respectfully disagree about fertilization. For immature trees I would give them a couple of extra jolts of nitrogen fertilizer in the beginning and middle of the season until they got to a reasonable size. Although I agree with Fruitnut that overfertilization will hurt fruit quality, It will be a few years before they begin to bear fruit. You can cut back before then. As you live in a high alkaline situation, you probably live in an arid climate. Therefore more frequent watering may be required. On the otherhand, I killed a couple of cherry trees with overwatering, which is real easy, especially if you have a thick mulch. I highly recommend one of those little moisture meters they sell at the nursery, especially for the cherry trees. I ended up watering about once every three weeks for them. Considerably more for peaches and apples.

It sounds like you already have a pretty good handle on the issues. I have an orchard I manage that I installed several years ago where the owner assured me that he'd brought in 100's of yards of top-soil. When I got to the site it turned out top soil meant soil from a major excavation from the top of a mountain. It was primarily a sub-soil of blue clay! The orchard looks beautiful now and includes a couple of healthy cherry trees (the only ones I manage with fruit this year after very untimely rain). Your soil can't be nearly this bad and I've seen successful commercial apple orchards in soil that was highly clay and water usually sat on the surface in early spring. But this was apples and not cherries. At the first mentioned site the soil was so bad that I ignored the literature and brought in about a quarter yard of sand per tree and an equal amount of completely composted horse stable waste (much more wood shavings than manure before it was composted). As you suggested I did my best to mix this well with about equal amounts of the clay with a larger ratio of clay deeper down. The raised beds created are about 7' diameter and held in place with ornamental block. This is not how I usually do it but the owner liked the ascetic and at least it holds the mounds up and you're not fighting erosion. Because I used so much sand it actually helped create a very nice top-soil (not the concrete in the lit warnings) of several inches that is much more a sandy loam than a clay. In your soil such a dramatic transition will almost certainly not be necessary but if you bring any sand in make sure it's enough to really transform the soil- even if it's only the top few inches. Probably all you actually need to do is to make the mounds from soil already there if other kinds of trees seem capable of growing in it. I recommend mounds that are 2' above surrounding soil and about 8' diameter for decent sized, free-standing trees (they will settle to maybe 18"). Put any compost on the very top and finish with mulch. Actually, the best thing would be to use a back hoe and raise the entire middles by moving the soil between rows of fruit trees into the area of the rows. this way the raised rows would not have to be as high and could be held in place with sod. If the rows ran down-hill it would help drain the water. Individual raised mounds have to be held in place by mulching every year unless you used something like blocks or rot-resistant wood to hold them up. Wood chips to raise mounds works fine, except that they rapidly settle as they decompose and the mounds disappear after a few years. An adequate amount of soil needs to be placed over them to grow the trees, of course. You should make these mounds when the soil is not too wet, so I'd get them ready in late summer for fall planting. In your zone you best be sure any fall planting is very well mulched- maybe the cherries should wait til spring.

Dear Dr., I would suggest a strategy wait and see. How recent are the transplants into the ground? Is the soil amended with small wood chips/perlite to help with drainage? Are the plantings in a low area? Yellow leaves to me point to slowly draining soil or too much rain/watering. This past May I put a number of fruit trees in the ground, and had immediate concerns as well. I actually contacted my local county agricultural extension (usually connected to a university with a agricultural based program). In my state its Penn State. I would just google your county name and "agricultural extension". They have the info and wherewithal to diagnose your disease. They can even have a sample tested if need be. Usually, when I call, since I am not a commercial gardener, I speak to a master gardener. I have found them to be very helpful. To fill you in with what happened. I thought I had a fuji apple and 2 pears with fire blight. I emailed pictures to the master gardener and asked. He immediately replied and said that it did not look like fire blight. He also informed me that most trees go through an adjustment phase where the newly transplanted roots cannot keep up with the demands of the quickly growing tree. Consequently, there is leaf loss and the tree is more susceptible to disease. I'm telling you I kept my receipts close, because I really thought this tree was going to die. 100% of the leaves were affected. I was thinking to myself, how is this tree going to photosynthesize with no leaves? My only solace was that the tree trunk was a nice green color (like the variety standard) I waited a month or so, and since the damage to my leaves did not look insect related, I sprayed with Serenade, an organic multi purpose fungicide (from Fedco organic mail order). Now since it has been quite rainy and damp in PA this year, it seems to wash off in the rain soon after I apply it. However, whether it has been me suppressing the infection with Serenade, or the trees have overcome the transplant shock, the leaf tips on the branches are budding out again with good, healthy leaves. I believe all of the original leaves are going to die, but not before bring replaced with new ones. My suggestion: take some pics and call the master gardener. They have seen most diseases and can step you through a treatment. Read up on the various diseases of your trees during the winter and order products mail order (since some of the products will not be available locally-I have gotten many an odd looking for organic products at the local Lowes). If you are going fungicidal route, I think most are broad spectrum- suppress or kill a variety of types. I really like Fedco to order supplies from, they are organic (for me a plus), they are an honest company, they ship quick. They also carry broad spectrum products Spinosad/ Monterey Garden spray for insects and Serenade, fungal supressant/fungicide Read up: I know fire blight is the kiss of death in Pennsylvania for apple and pear right when the first buds emerge in spring- transmitted by pollinators, so I am trying to devise a plan to cover them (?) in the spring. Not 100% sure of what to do, but thinking about it now so I won't be caught by surprise in the spring. I see you have a honeycrisp, you may be facing the same issue. Here is a link that might be useful: VA agricultural extension links on the right

I live near Haddonfield, in Camden county, NJ and am trying my hand at growing figs for the first time this year. I got one tree (variety unknown - maybe Celeste?) at a local farmer's market last September. Per instructions I left it outside 'til the leaves fell and then wintered it over in the basement - but it started growing! Anxious to get it in the ground I made the mistake of planting it in the side yard (western exposure) in early April. We'd had some quite warm weather that fooled me into thinking spring had come early. It had not. The tree suffered terribly in a windstorm with sustained winds over 40 mph and the snow that hit a week later. losing all its leaves and killing the growing tips of all the shoots. The good news is that the tree sprouted new shoots from four of the five "trunks". It is now doing just fine and enjoying a bit of a growth spurt, although I'll be surprised if it yields any fruit this season. Today I purchased a second fig tree. This one is a Hardy Chicago from Lowe's. I put it into a 12" plastic pot where it will stay for at least the first year or so. I plan on bringing this one into my enclosed but unheated porch next winter. A friend and neighbor also has a fig tree of unknown variety that has survived one winter outdoors. I'll try and get a cutting or two from her to plant next year. I look forward to seeing which one performs best for me.