planting beneath fruit trees
- To: "perennials@mallorn.com" <perennials@mallorn.com>
- Subject: planting beneath fruit trees
- From: V* M* G* <t*@digisys.net>
- Date: Wed, 01 Apr 1998 15:08:33 -0700
Think of your bloom sequence. Try to attract bees and other
pollinators and keep them for as long as possible. Phillips and Rix
arranged both their Perennials and Bulbs in terms of bloom sequence that
should give you selection ideas. For each bed and area I make a list in
two week intervals for the entire gardening season on what will bloom
when.
You decide whether you want to let your fruit trees be the only
bloom attractant at that time or not. Some people say you shouldn't
take away from the main event, the fruit blossom. But I feel bees and
other pollinators in the right environment create a syngeristic effect
where everything is better pollinated.
Hang a few bird feeders in your trees for winter. The small insect
eating birds like Chickadees like to work the bare branches and eat
scale or whatever insects while they're visiting your bird feeders.
Plant nitrogen fixing members of the pea family around the drip line
of your fruit trees. I like crimson clover and Lupines. In my local
soils we always need more Nitrogen to release the bonded P & K. I tend
to avoid Dutch Clover because it is so difficult to remove.
It's truly a fine spring day.
Best, Vicki
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