-Think of the cherry, fig and pomegranate as more "P" You don't really need more apples to use Stefan's ideas. Just not all apples.
-As for N-fixers, leave the space and fill in as you can: acacia, honeylocust, you could even try some mesquite if you can find it. They don't have to be the same. Bushes will work too (autumn olive, Siberian
pea) , and you can add nitrogen with ground covers too like clover and alfalfa.
-Assuming these are in pots at this time of year. Deep holes, as deep as you can stand to dig and then deeper. We use an auger and go 4' deep for bare
root trees. We don't get much winter kill because our tree
roots go deep fast.
-You don't say what size these trees are (dwarf, semi dwarf, etc.) Or how much you want to guild in between with other plants. Think of it as how much percentage of shade do you want the
canopy to cover? If you want close to 100%, use the recommended spacing for the size trees. If you want some sunlight between the trees, add more.
-You don't say what your location is (you can add it in your profile) but I'm guessing eastern OR/WA. Soils tending toward alkaline. We added Azomite (1 lb per tree) to each planting hole this year and did not see any chlorosis on the new trees, unlike in years past) We also added a pound of rock phosphate to each hole. I'm guessing you can get the Azomite and the rock phosphate by the sack at a
local farm store, just ignore the vats of Roundup in the aisle. Don't wait to plant, if you can't get it right away, you can add it on the surface later. The most important thing is to get those trees in the ground ASAP.
-Then get them wrapped with hardware cloth or something to protect from rodents this winter. You have time for that. Embed the wrap in a couple inches of gravel. Even if you haven't seen
voles, they will find and destroy your trees this winter by gnawing the bark.
-Be prepared to
water them, infrequently but deeply until they drop their leaves, once or twice more, and then again in the winter. We lose leaves in late October, water first year trees on Thanksgiving, Christmas and the first of March. You may only need to do two waterings if the leaves hang on until November.
-BTW, the nursery did well for you on choosing apples that should pollinate each other. Not surprised about their reaction about the n-fixers, it's not a strategy that they would have learned. But what a stupid response- we sell nitrogen! They would have made more money if they'd sold you the trees!
That said, you may want to add a bit of nitrogen next year to get the trees going. Recommend reading Michael Phillips the Holistic Orchard and following his holistic spring spraying regime. He uses liquid fish for nitrogen. It's worked for us.
