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Fruit Tree Proximity Planting

You may or may not have heard of the 3-in-1 or even the 4-in-1 planting hole. We are going to get this one figured out once and for all. We will determine whether or not it will work and if it doesn't then why not?

I have a determination to get figured out, how folks with not much room at all will be able to grow three or four trees within a couple of feet of each other.

Airflow and sunlight, disease pressure all need to be considered as well as and of course, pollination timing.

We will start with apple, and eventually, I would like to do plum and pear. Plum and Pear might be a handful though as the rootstocks they are on that survive here can be fairly vigorous.

To stay on top of pruning with those and experimental pruning at that, would be a slight challenge at first. If a step-by-step method can be done to establish the correct frame and branch structure right off the bat, I'm sure it will work.

These things run thru my mind so as to be able to anticipate what will happen based on prior experience.

This will be a fun planting. I'm sure there are many reasons not to do this but we only need one good reason to do it, so we're going to do it.

UPDATE: The Summer/Fall of 2020, we have harvested some apples from our 3 in 1 planting hole. Freedom apples is what we had to harvest. The 3 in 1 planting hole consists of GoldRush, Freedom, and Liberty Apple trees on semi-dwarf rootstock that does not need to be staked. So far, results are satisfactory.