Orchard Trees Come to Mountain Way Common

This past weekend, Livable Buckhead and the Friends of Mountain Way Common met (while maintaining 6 feet of distance between one another) to plant plum, paw paw, apple, and pear trees at Mountain Way Common Park along PATH400.

Sustainability Program Manager Michelle making sure the tree is upright.

Arborist Robby pruning a newly planted tree.

We learned a lot from our arborist, Robby Astrove, who assisted in securing these trees for us through the Atlanta Local Food Initiative Orchard Project. Robby taught us the ideal size and shape hole to dig when planting new trees, how to place the young trees in their holes to best support their roots, and what considerations to keep in mind when adding compost and mulch on top of the dirt.

Finally, we learned about optimal pruning for fruit trees and were surprised to learn that it may involve cutting off more branches than feels comfortable. The goal with pruning these fruit trees was to get the branches to grow outward, in order to support fruit harvesting in later years. This makes sense once you put it that way, but there were definitely a few folks in the group who gasped when they saw Robby trimming what seemed to be healthy, upward-growing branches. (Bonus treat: you can place the trimmed branches in water and watch them bloom in just a few short days). Tree planting is a lot more technical that you might expect, folks!

We had a great time learning from this experience and it was a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning outside the house, all while maintaining our best social distancing practices. The fruit trees we planted will not only be a beautiful enhancement to the park, but will also bear fruit for the community to enjoy for years to come. We cannot wait to continue caring for these trees and to see them bear fruit in just a few short years.