Planting Apple Trees.

[GF3]

Hello.
I have two apple trees, Lord Lambourne (MM106) and Red Windsor (M26) and a Plum tree - Blur tit (pixy stock). I got them in late November 2019. I planted them in containers when I got them as the garden required some work on it. They over-wintered in the garage and I brought the containers out into the garden in mid-March. The trees are growing very well in their containers as I sort out the garden, which should be done by the end of the summer.
My question is:
Should I aim to get the trees into the ground this side of Christmas, or should I winter them in the garage again and plant them late Feb early March next year? Is there any advantage in planting them into the ground this winter? Or should I put it off untill next year and avoide any possible harsh winter weather?
Many thanks.

[burnie]

As your trees seem happy and established I might be tempted to treat them as pot grown and plant them in their final spot, maybe not now but once the soil is nice and warm, end of July time, this will give the trees a chance to establish before the winter. If you wait until next year you might have to wait until this time of year before you could plant them, by then they might have used all of the nutrients in their pots.

[ameno]

I'd plant them out as soon as you can. Potted trees can go out at pretty much any time.

As for planting in late Autumn or early Spring, that rather depends where you live. If you live further north, with colder winters, especially if you get wet winters or your soil is heavy clay, it's better to plant in the late Winter/early Spring, as trees planted in late Autumn could rot.
If you live further south, though, with milder winters, especially if you have dryer winters or well-drained soil, late Autumn is better, as the plant is able to grow some new roots while the soil is still warm, before winter sets it.

[nickdub]

I agree with Ameno, get them in the ground asap. One point though, if you do plant them in the summer months they will need more rather than less watering for the first few months assuming the surrounding soil is dry, when you put them in,

[GF3]

Thanks for the replies.
I still have some work to do with clearing the garden, I also have to prepare an area to sow some grass seeds. I hope to get things done by August..so I may plant them then. The trees have come on very well in the containers..they have put on quite a bit of growth..The Lambourne has 6 apples on it. So I hope the roots have come on as well as the trees have above the soil. I did mix some Bonemeal in with the compost when I planted them in the containers - so that me have helped. The red windsor and the plum tree did not flower - but they have some good growth.
Many thanks.

[GF3]

It looks like I won't get the garden ready in time to plant the Plum and the Apple Trees this month - it will probably be Mid October at the earliest. I have been looking around for information about how I should plant them with regards planting them in late Autumn/Winter or in the early Spring. And I came across this video on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc0lJq9z1Es
In the video it says that if a tree in a container is planted in the ground after 1st October all the soil should be removed from the roots, reverting it back to a bare root tree. It states if this is not done any winter sun will heat up the rootball more than the surrounding soil and turn the starch in the roots to sugar then to alcohol, and risk causing the tree to die over the winter, also it recommends to remove all the leaves as well.
Anyone had an problems like this when planting a tree in the ground from a container during the dormant period?

[nickdub]

Sounds like mumbo jumbo to me. If you're concerned and want to protect the root ball from sun over winter, a couple of pieces of cardboard on the surface with slits for the trunk out to do the trick. These can then be removed and composted next year.

PS even though you are planting container grown trees, they will still need watering in any dry spells once they start growing again.