Casie Becker wrote:I have them at the most 24 inches away from the trunk. I made sure the roots of the trees and the shrub were intermingled so that when I cut back the indigo each year the nitrogen from the root die back is right at the tree roots. I think with anything but espalier I would be shading out the indigo with this close spacing. If you look very closely you'll see what looks like a group of sticks stuck into the ground, that's the dormant false indigo bushes after they've been cut back. They're one of the last things to come out of dormancy in my gardens. I may change my pruning time to late spring if I don't see any flowers this year. I think I should actually be pruning right after spring bloom. I think I've been pruning off the developing flowers, good for the plant to establish itself without wasting extra energy on producing seed, but I want flowers now.
There are a total of four peach trees arranged in a Belgian fence, with two and a half feet between each tree. They've been selected to produce the peaches over the course what I hope will eventually be at least three months. That one tree being so many weeks ahead of the others is a good start.
Thanks for the photos! They are very helpful. I see what you mean about shading. I have never tried to grow them before, but I have read that they require a lot of sun. Perhaps I could plant them a bit closer than I had thought originally and just plan for succession as they get shaded out by the maturing fruit trees. Thanks again!
Diego