A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2003 How to grow the trunk of the tree?

I have a couple of three year old peach
trees. Compare to other peach trees at this
age, their trunks seem to be too thin. Is it
due to lack of nutrition? I fertilize them
once a year in the fall with fruit tree
spikes. Shall I fertilize them more? What
element (N, P or K) is good for growing
trunks? How often is it recommended to
fertilize a young tree? Thanks.

'P' will help with trunk strength. A fall application of bone meal would work.

I have found that the easiest, quickest way to 'bulk' up the trunks on fruit trees and to provide better fruiting at the same time, is to annually cut back the branches by a third in February. If the tree is grown for fruit production and not so much for ornamental value, 'topping' the tree will help also, but it ruins the natural shape of the tree, in my opinion.

Thanks Acanthus. I will try to add the bone
meal this fall. I do trim back my fruit
trees every year in early spring. Looks like
my soil lacks phosphorus.