Trees as Shrubs - 1st post

I am new, both to PC and to the forum. Located in N. Texas 8a. Suburban 1/3 acre lot.

I have heard about a method of planting many fruit trees extremely close, like 4-6 in the space you'd place a single tree. I don't know what it is called so I'm having a hard time researching it.

So looking for directions to a post on it if there is a good one.

If not:
How close?
How often to prune?
How to decide how to prune?
Root stock?
Same species with different varieties or different species?
Layering or same height?
Fertilize, compost, mulch? Shred and spread?
In shade or full sun (Texas full sun is not the same as PNW full sun)

Dav, welcome to the forum:

I don't have experience using bio-intensive planting of trees though here is an pdf article:

https://orchardpeople.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/20a-Biointensive-Orchard-Guidelines.pdf

Here is a thread you or others might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/19109/Fruit-Tree-Circle

https://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/not-plant-multiple-trees-one-hole-science/  Apparently there is some skepticism about whether or not this works.  But if you hang around here long enough you'll see us frequently buck conventional wisdom with good results.

In that article he gives a link to a YouTube channel promoting the practice and an author an book title which both might have the information you need.

I hear you about the Texas full sun. There's a garden I saw in Austin that is successfully growing oranges, apples and pineapple guava to full harvest under a canopy of mature oaks.  Six hours is plenty of sun for most "full sun" vegetables down here.

Many permaculture orchardists do is to plant densely with the idea that they will thin the least successful, assuming they don't die off on their own.
This requires buying or propagating a lot of trees.

David the Good has a video on ways to keep trees small:


I have adopted the method  he calls festooning mainly because it can be used after the fact, and involves rigging things, so it plays to my strengths.

It is about permaculture design. In your area new to you observe: do clumps of trees seem to do better than isolated trees because during part of the harsh day they are sheltered by their companion trees?  Then plan accordingly. Perhaps using fast growing nitrogen fixing trees for shelter to slower growing fruit trees, Then cut back and use as mulch the shelter trees to maintain the appropriate shelter.  Heat sensitive trees do best with a shelter tree to the west. Heat loving trees do best with shelter trees to the east and or north. Shade loving trees like a shelter to the south with morning and evening sun.
For example I have 4 types of berries. Raspberries and Loganberries will mold if dew remains on them and melt if the sun scorches them so they are on the east side of an 8 foot high wall of Himalaya blackberries that do not care what the weather is and on the west side are Boysenberries which do not get full ripe flavor until heated by the evening sun.

William Bronson wrote:

I have adopted the method  he calls festooning mainly because it can be used after the fact, and involves rigging things, so it plays to my strengths.

I followed the link about festooning.  Someone had asked back in 2015, "I'd be interested to see what happens!" ... yeah.  So would I.  What happened?

David the Good moves frequently,and probably doesn't live where he did in 2015.
I actually found out about the technique via the video, which I believe is more recent.
He mentions the mulberry at 6:10 in the video, and I just posted there asking him about the peach tree.

William, how long have you been using this method, assuming that this method works for you or you would not have mentioned it.

The problem I have is that this method looks like it takes up a lot of valuable garden areas.  Once the branches start growing downward, do you trim them maybe to the drip line?

I had drastically trimmed back a young mulberry about a week ago;  leaving the lower branches long, but pointing up.  I cut off the whole top of the little tree.  
I think this festooning idea sounds really good!  Thanks for mentioning it, William Bronson.    I think I'll try it.   I also have one full-size mulberry tree, and David the Good is right;  the birds get most of the mulberries.    

He said something like, "fear not, you are the gardener, you control how big your trees get."  I liked that a lot.

There are clusters of mature Red Maples here that came with the property. One is a cluster of 7 trees, the biggest maybe 12" dia. There's 3 clusters of 3 that are 3-4 feet in diameter. There's also mature apples that may or may not be more than one tree. They could have been two or three leaders that were not trimmed out.

Taking them as as a suggestion; I planted 2 groups of 4 apple trees in one hole last year. It looks like two of the cider varieties didn't make it thru the winter.

I have little experience with festooning!
I have done some on a pear tree at  my yarden, mostly to pull branches into line with the row of beds, which run roughly east to west.
This year it was past time to pollard one of my volenteer mulberry trees, so I did some extreme festooning.
It looks like a massacre, but it always does after pollarding.
The tree is setting blossoms and leaves on the festooned branches, which are now well in reach.

I'm assuming that festooned is what Stephan is explaining here. This is the Permaculture Orchard guy...



I have not set mine up like this. I want too though. Maybe next winter.

I pulled two of the longer branches and weighed them down with a pot of dirt.  Then used a piece of lumber on the other side to weigh down one more.  
Looks like the mulberry tree, bought on eBay, is starting to put out its first little mulberries.  Well, weighted the branches down anyway.