what you are planning sounds sensible.

Rocky soil is generally well drained on its own. Do you have standing water annually in the proposed planting area?

Normally we don't have standing water unless we get back to back rainfall events, or more than say one inch at a time. Some years we have a lot of that, and other years we are in droughts! I had two hazelnuts die this summer due to standing water. It could be 20 years or more before we see rain like that again though. We typically have wet springs and dry, hot summers. If weather is unusually dry, how do trees planted in mounds do?

trees on a mound will still have tap roots in a drought, at least those that you will plant. mounds help in times of flooding but do not really change drought resistance, at least for mature trees. surely you plan to water at least the first year...

Yes, I do plan to water as needed. when mulching the mounds, I would expect the underlying soil to hold on to moisture, but glad to hear that there is no worry that mounds would dry out more quickly. Will there be shallow roots growing in the mound (feeder roots)? It is probably obvious I don't know much about growing fruit trees, but am trying to learn. I appreciate the help found here.

"trees on a mound will still have tap roots in a drought"

Fruit trees don't develop tap roots. In fact, very few tree species have tap roots and many of those that do have tap roots when young outgrow them as the tree matures. It is only in very arid locations with a very low water table that tap rooted trees like oaks and some pines maintain a deeply penetrating root system. Most trees grown in cultivated gardens and purchased from nurseries will never have a distinct tap root.

Berms or mounds are typically used when soil conditions limit inground planting - heavy clay soils, very poor drainage, etc. And also for aesthetic purposes. Because the soil is elevated, berms or mounds tend to drain rapidly and can dry out quickly in hot dry weather. If that tends to be the case in your area, adding some organic matter into your topsoil will help with moisture retention but regular deep watering in summer when rainfall is not adequate may be a long term proposition in raised or mounded planting beds.

FWIW, the vast majority of a tree's root system - ANY tree - is in the top 12-16 inches of the soil.

but still going down many feet. Look, a beet goes down 6 ft. Sure in a drought most of the roots are dry, but what matters is whether the deepest roots access water or not. With the exception of certain low land trees like willows, a tree goes as deep as it is tall as a rule of thumb. Some Dwarf varieties are an exception too, that is important to point out.

"With the exception of certain low land trees like willows, a tree goes as deep as it is tall as a rule of thumb."

Sorry, but that is completely incorrect. Don't believe me look it up - it is one of many common mistaken beliefs about tree roots. It is certainly a factor of species, soil conditions and rainfall amounts but few trees will develop roots that exceed 4' in depth and most don't even go down that far. Tree roots extend laterally, not vertically. They can extend several times the mature canopy spread and with conifers, the extension is roughly comparable with the height of the tree. But there is no relationship to tree size and root depth. Most trees will have 85% of their root system concentrated in the first 12" of the soil profile.

Living in Kansas I can tell you the mounds are a must for cherries. They will die on our wet years without them as I found out the hard way. Pears do very well in our soil but perhaps you don't like them. Apples and peaches I was able to grow directly in the ground. Not all varieties of trees do well here. For canning pears Kieffer do well but do contain grit cells. Reliance peaches do well. Montmorency cherries do well.There are many other fruits that will do well here and feel free to post questions and I will try and help you.

Thanks for your advice, clarkinks. I haven't constructed the mounds yet- no time. But I still have hopes of getting to it this week. Should I prep the spots first before mounding soil? I could cut the grass really short and cover with cardboard or newspaper... Or is that not necessary?

I have several trees on order from Stark Bros., a couple varieties that you mentioned, which is good! What apple varieties would you recommend?

here is what I ordered:

1 Stark Montmorency Cherry

1 Stark Surecrop Cherry

1 Redhaven Peach

1 Stark Hal-Berta Giant Peach

1 Wilson Delicious Apricot

1 Fingerlakes Filbert Hazelnet

1 Royal Filbert Hazelnut

here is what is still alive from planting in spring 2015:

1 Stark Sweetheart Apricot

2 (unknown variety) Persimmons

1 Pink Champagne Currant

wild elderberry and plum transplanted well, still trying to establish wild chokecherry

i have pear and apple trees growing from seed which will be used as wildlife food and habitat (or fruit for us if they happen to produce something we like). The pear we picked near here, the tree is 140+ yrs old and produces great fruit. The apples are from MN Haralson apples, which are my favorite.

I am struggling with my Caroline and Heritage raspberries

thorned blackberries (I forget the variety) and one thornless Arapaho are doing ok.

I planted my cherries on terraces. When we built the terraces we did not put down anything special. If you learn grafting you can graft over seedling pears etc. to the varieties you want.

I like using mounds as one of the worst things you can do is plant the tree at ground level and it settles in. The root flares need to be exposed to air. Long term buried root trees will attract disease and such as the tree is not at optimal health, so shortens the life of the tree. If you leave the flares exposed and it settles, you will create a hole for water to collect, not good. With a mound, and they do not have to be that big, any settling will still keep roots at just the right level, or even expose them to more air, which is fine! . Also most current consensus is not to amend soil in anyway. that tends to keep roots in the good soil only. Often it can actually girdle the tree roots.

Top soil is not that good of soil compared to compost, or garden soil. So you could use it. I would mix as much native soil with it as possible, and use the combination to make a mound. Often you can't obtain enough local soil. The tree has to get used to growing in your native soil.

I know of a 300 tree peach orchard in Kansas and all the trees are mounded! Olpea often posts here, well used to, so if you ask him, he will conform what I'm saying. I learned it from him. Here is his website, he will help you if you ask.

Tell i sent you. http://tubbyfruits.com/

I am not disputing that the bulk of the roots are at the surface. But in the drought situation the OP was discussing, the deeper roots are those that keep the tree alive. And those go well below 4 feet even lacking a tap root.

I think my pile of topsoil should work OK, as it is the native soil that was dug out and then piled up when our basement was dug several years ago. Our dozer man left me two piles; one subsoil with a LOT of rock, and one topsoil, or at least the uppermost layer with not as much rock. Thank you for the link,drew51! I have read many of Olpea's postings and visited that website as well. His trees look awesome! Thank you again for your input on the benefits of mounding and no soil amendments.

My one apricot tree that I have growing currently is not planted in a mound. I planted it at the soil surface and actually it looks like it has settled some or maybe I planted it a little too deep. Is there anything I can do for it now to improve its chances of survival?

The apple varieties that do well here hidtorically are stsymans winesap, jonathan, granny smith, red and yellow delicious. I would plant liberty or another fireblight resistant variety instead. I think long term you would have less trouble growing fireblight resistant varities such as those listed here http://www.caf.wvu.edu/kearneysville/tables/fbsus.html

In more arid/desert regions, fruit trees can do better planted in swales rather than mounds. Unless you live in a humid climate, or one that gets heavy rains at a certain time of year, there is not really any advantage to planting in a mound (unless of course the mound is part of a swale). Yeah, if you were in some place like New Orleans where the water table is only a few feet below the surface, I could definitely see an advantage to planting in a mound.

Parker, ks soil does not drain well and cherries will not tolerste standing water. Our rains can be signifigant when they occur. The clay soil in ks makes a great pond because it holds water. Grapes and other fruits wont tolerate standing water. Kansas is unique in terms of challenging weather.

Then planting on a low-level mound next to a swale could be a good option. The swale can help concentrate the water, which can then leach up into the soil in the mound. But if there is too much water, the swale can help direct it away so it can drain off.

It might be hard to dig a good swale though if the bedrock is only 2ft down. I know Kansas does not have deep soils.

Drew51, I don't know why, but I am just seeing your posting from Sunday today. Weird. Anyway, thank you for advice on my apricot. It was just planted this spring and is doing well, even for its lack of a good start from me. I have not decided if I should do anything with it or just leave it as is. If I decide to dig it up and mound it, should I wait until after we get a freeze and all the leaves have dropped? We are already 4 days past our normal fall freeze date, and still no freeze here yet.

The link you posted was pretty amazing. I lost 2 hazelnuts this spring. I amended the soil according to instructions from Stark Bros when I planted them, thinking I was doing something great to help them! So between that and the excessive rains we had, they died. I won't amend anymore!!

you can always amend on top. First year water only, second and third year a couple of inches of manure spread as mulch leaving the trunk free. They grow vigorously that way, without ill effects. I sort of have to do it that way because my native P is 7ppm.

Glib,

do I understand you right that I shouldn't put any composted manure around the trees at all for their first year? After the first year, continue to water as needed, but adding manure as you described? What about after the third year?

When I first plant the trees, I need to mulch the mounds with something. Is there a preferred mulch?

I agree with Glib, I also mulch with compost. I usually also add shredded fall leaves and cover with compost. The latest thinking is compost is the only fertilizer needed. As trees become older, you really don't need to fertilize. Here the soil has a shortage of Manganese, so I also supplement it. For mulch, bark is good, but for me it's messy and I hit it often with the lawn mower so i use straw or pine straw.

Its extremely dry now as your aware so now is the time for dirt work. We are filling ditches caused by the torrential rainfall earlier this year. This drought will end abrubtly once the fall/ winter rains / ice/snow arrive.