A guild to support a semi-dwarf apple tree.
A guild of the HP3C
designed by Malcolm Schluenderfritz
Part one of a three part guild Caution: this guild is an experimental, “armchair” guild which has yet to be tested in real life.
If you buy this guild, please give us feedback on how it does and how it could be improved. This guild is a fairly standard apple guild. It is not designed for maximum ease of maintenance. Since apple trees require a pollinator, two or three apple guilds should be planted, and different guilds should be chosen. As far as I know, though not everything in the guild is edible, there is nothing actually poisonous in it. Only a minimal amount of thought is given to succession: most of the plants will be in this guild start to finish.
Goals
Attracting specialist predator insects. These need plants in the asteraceae, (aster/ sunflower) and apiaceae (carrot), families for nectar sources. Plants in these families tend to have tiny flowers, so that these insects, mostly tiny wasps and flies, can access nectar while sitting on the broad faces of these flowers. (Think Daisy, sunflower, dandelion.) Some can also use plants in the Lamiaceae (mint) and Amaryllidaceae (onion) families. Some of them also need overwintering sites, often provided by plants with large hairy leaves, often Achillea millefolium (yarrow) and Symphytum officinale (Comfrey) They like mixed crops and windbreaks.
Feeding bees through the year: Bees need other nectar sources besides the flowers of the apple tree.
(My goal with each guild is to provide flowering plants in these two categories for at least a third of the growing season. That way with three trees (to provide pollination) each with a different guild, the insect’s needs would be met.)
Suppressing weeds: running ground covers should be used to smother weeds. Also, grasses and other problematic running weeds tend to invade from the edge. These can be blocked by barrier plants.
Insect overwintering: some plants, including the tussocks formed by clumping grasses and the hollow stems of many flowers, provided good overwintering sites for beneficial insects. That way the pest insects, many of them developing in the soil beneath the tree, would not stand a chance.
Cycling fertility: dynamic accumulator plants should be used which will draw up and cycle fertility for the guild.
Nitrogen fixing: The apple tree needs nitrogen, especially in the early years. This can be provided by nitrogen fixing plants, which should also fall into the next category. Apples need a moderate amount of nitrogen: so, according to Martin Crawford, 38 percent of the over story should be nitrogen fixers to provide this for the enough nitrogen for them. In this guild, the three goumi bushes will therefore provide more then enough nitrogen. (The Licorice will produce less nitrogen since it will get less sun, and the extra nitrogen it produces will cover the nitrogen needs of the under story. Also, the licorice will provide nitrogen sooner then the Goumi and give a layer of redundancy to this important function.)
Mulch plants: many plants can provide a heavy yield of chopped and dropped mulch. It would be best if these plants were dynamic accumulators and nitrogen fixers.
Extra yields: as many of these plants as possible should be edible or useful in some other way.
Vole protection: if possible, plants directly around the trunk of the apple tree should be placed to deter/ distract voles from chewing the bark of the tree in a hard winter.
Insect Repellents: Some plants can repel insects. Such plants targeted to the main pests of the apple tree might not be a bad idea.
Soil partitioning/ soil loosening: The plants should share the soil profile. Information on this is sketchy, but any available information will be incorporated. Thatch forming grasses which compete with trees must be avoided. Deep rooting plants to break up hard Denver soils should be a priority.
Fungal dominance: Trees need a fungal dominated soil. Grasses actively foster a bacterially dominated soil, so they should be kept away from the tree.
Above ground layering: Plants should share sun access.
Layers of harvest: only plants with similar harvesting regimes should be placed in the same layer. Otherwise most of the plants will not be harvested.
Criteria the plants must meet:
Denver adaptability: plants should grow well in Denver or nearby. Sources to verify this will be the extension service, various on-line lists, the members of DPG and HP3G, and nurseries.
Disturbance tolerant: plants might have to be cut back to access the tree or pick up drops in a bad pest year. Plants might get stepped on as the tree is cared for. Chickens might be used to destroy pests under the tree. All this means that the plants must regrow well, if possible.
Shade: a small tree will cast partial shade. Plants should be able to take the range from full sun to part shade.
Water: all the plants used should like the moist soil that a fruit tree does, so that competitive exclusion does not take place.
Soil: Apple trees like a Ph of 6.8 at most. However, almost all of Denver is more alkaline then that, in most cases much more so. Plants will probably have to grow in the 7-7.5 range typical of Denver gardens, which some apple trees (presumably the best to grow here) seem to adapt to.
Aesthetics: plants should look at least passable, and not drive finicky neighbors into fits. No dandelions!
The Plants
The Apple tree: a semi-dwarf apple tree is 12-15 feet tall and wide. There is not much room for bushes under-neath it, though bushes could be planted around it. Its roots form a flat plate near the surface, and will take up most of the room in this zone of the soil. It likes full sun, and needs another apple tree (or two) around for pollination, with most pollination occurring through the means of honey and bumble bees. It will produce between 6-10 bushels of fruit in a good year. It is prone to pests and diseases, and needs good airflow to keep fungus at bay, as well as good pruning. It likes a slightly acid soil, but will tolerated a more alkaline one. It can’t be grown on soggy land or in a frost pocket. Good varieties and root-stocks for use in Denver. Thanks to Judith Moran for this.
Bud 9 apple and Geneva series of apple rootstock
Honeycrisp’
‘Zestar’
‘Sweet 16’
‘Snow Sweet’
‘Frost Bite’
‘Haralson’
‘Empire’
‘Cortland’
‘NY 35’ (aka ‘Bonkers’)‘
‘Yellow Transparent’
‘Pristine’
‘Mac’
‘William’s Pride’
‘Chanango Strawberry’
‘Ginger Gold’
The Other Plants:
Goumi: Eleagnus multiflora This shrub is related to the now banned Russian olive, and has many traits in com-mon, with the addition of better fruit quality, described as good by Edible Forest Gardens. It grows in full sun to part shade, and tolerates Ph of 5.1-8.5 It is a nitrogen fixer and a generalist nectary, flowering in mid spring. It is fast growing, and in this guild is designed to be slashed back fairly often for mulch. It may be dispersive. It’s size is 6-8 x 6-8 feet which is rather too large to fit under the tree, even while being coppiced, so three bushes will be placed around the edge where their fruiting will be better. Rooting method is unknown, but is probably shallow, so it might compete a little with the apple tree. However, its provision of nitrogen and mulch, and the fact that it will be regularly cut back, should work around this problem. (Denver adaptability: atriplex.)
Chives: Allium schoenoprasum This herb will provide high quality seasoning, along with garlic chives. The two species add more diversity and a longer blooming and harvesting season. It grows in full sun to part shade and tolerates a Ph of 6.1-8.5. It likes a moist soil. It blocks grass along the edge of the guild and may discourage chewing animals if used around the trunk of the tree. It may also help to prevent borers, and is a good “companion plant” for apple trees. It is a generalist nectary and accumulates potassium. Its size is 6-20 x 6-20 inches. Rooting method shallow bulbs. It is a traditional good companion for apple trees. (Denver adaptability: personal experi-ence: it does quite well here, with little care.)
Garlic Chives: Allium tuberosum These plants are very beautiful, with white star-like blossoms in midsummer. Bees love them, and I have observed many other insects using the flowers. They like full sun, so can only be used at the edge of the guild. Since they will be mixed with chives, the two species will sift and change to follow the changing light conditions. It can tolerate Ph of 6.1- 8.5, and needs a moist soil. Its size is 18 x 12 inches. Rooting method is shallow bulbs. (Denver adaptability: personal experience: It does very well here with no care, pushing back against the lawn and spreading itself by seeds.)
Comfrey: Symphytum officinale Comfrey plants help to suppress weeds and provide mulch when they are slashed back several times a year. They accumulate nutrients and provide a preferred overwintering habitat for many beneficial insects and spiders. Their fleshy taproot helps to loosen the soil. They are a generalist nectary, blooming in June and July. Comfrey promotes fungal dominance, according to Michael Philips. It can be used as a medicinal and provides chicken or goat feed. It grows in full sun to part shade, tolerates a Ph of 5.5- 8.5 and likes a moist soil. Size 3-5 x 3-5 feet. It has many deep fleshy roots. (Denver adaptability: personal experience and Atriplex)
Purple coneflower: Echinacea purpurea: This plant is very beautiful, attracts parasitic wasps, (sting-less wasps which attack pests) and is a medicinal and tea plant. It has tap roots which will not interfere with the apple tree’s roots. It grows in full sun to part shade, needs a moist soil, and can’t take too much alkalinity. However, it seems to adapt well in Denver. It grows from 3 to 4 feet high by 1 to 2 feet wide. (Denver adaptability: per-sonal experience.)
American Licorice: Glycyrrhiza Lepidota: This plant is a nitrogen fixer and a dynamic accumulator of phosphorus. It provides invertebrate shelter and is a generalist nectary, as well as providing edible and medicinal roots and leaves. (Roots may not be able to be dug, depending on the effects on the tree.) It is tall enough so as not to get mixed up with the bellflower, and is dense enough to help suppress weeds. Its roots can grow twelve feet deep, helping to loosen the soil and mine minerals. It grows in full sun to part shade, tolerates neutral to alkaline soil, and dry to moist conditions. Size 1-3 feet, indefinitely spreading. (Denver adaptability: unknown. However, it has all the right traits to do well here.)
Sweet Cicely: Myrrhis oderata: This plant has edible leaves and roots, is too tall to mix with the ground cover, is a specialist nectary, and invertebrate habitat. It has a fleshy taproot. It grows in full sun to part shade, and needs a moist soil with a PH from slightly acid to alkaline. (Denver adaptability: unknown. However, it has all the right traits to do well here.)
Dalmatian Bellflower: Campanula portenschlagiana This is a running ground cover with edible leaves and profuse flowers. It can tolerate a wide range of soil chemistry and moisture, and is tolerant of urban pollution. It is disturbance tolerant and fast growing to produce a weed excluding, self repairing ground cover. It likes sun to part shade. Size is 6-9 inches x indefinite spread. (Denver adaptability: nurseries, Dave’s Garden website, and the DBG.)
Lovage: Levisticum officinale: Edible greens, specialist nectary. Tolerates alkaline soil and full sun to part shade. Likes a moist site. Rhizomatous. Grows from 4-8 feet tall and 4-8 feet wide. (Denver adaptability: Denver Plants Website.)
Temporary annuals: see problems and solutions section
Master charts:Generalist bloom times (rough)
April:
May: Apple
June: Goumi, chives, comfrey, Echinacea, licorice
July: chives, garlic chives, comfrey, Bellflower, Echinacea, licorice
August: garlic chives, bellflower, Echinacea
September: Bellflower
October:
Specialist bloom times (rough)
April:
May: Lovage
June: Echinacea, Sweet Cicely, Lovage
July: Echinacea , Sweet Cicely, Lovage
August: Echinacea , Sweet Cicely
September:
October:
Root structures shallow, woody:
apple and goumi
shallow, bulbs: chives and garlic chives
deep, fleshy: comfrey, licorice
tap root, herbaceous: Echinachea
Rhizomatous: Lovage
nutrients accumulated
Nitrogen: goumi, Licorice
phosphorus: comfrey, licorice
Potassium: chives, comfrey
Iron: comfrey
Trace minerals: comfrey
ground covers
Dalmatian bellflower, Licorice
layers of harvest
Bellflower 6-9 in.
Chives 6-20 in
Garlic Chives 18 in
Licorice 1-3 ft
Sweet Cicely 3 ft.
Echinacea 3-4 ft.
Comfrey: 3-5 feet
Lovage: 4-8 ft.
Taller plants will be spread out with the bellflower ground cover in between, so they will be easy to harvest separately. The only possible difficulty is harvesting chives among the bellflower, which, depending on environmental conditions, could be of similar height. However, the chives will be in a thick band around the edge of the guild, so they should be easy to get at, and a few bellflower leaves sneaking in would not be disastrous.
Inanimate components:
A ring of gravel should be placed around the tree trunk, to keep it dry and avoid harboring voles. Some rocks and logs can provide extra habitat. Bird and native bee houses could go in the tree.
Potential Problems, Solutions, and Additions: As shade deepens, maybe the lower layers will combine with the tree to kill off the Dalmatian bellflower, which can only take part shade. However, because of the intense sun here, I am not particularly worried about this. The Sweet Cecily and Licorice might not prove adaptable, despite the good looking preferences. Some reseeding annuals might need to be added in the early years, to jump start cover and provide habitat and color. I would suggest white clover (which would later be weeded out if it does not naturally die back, so as not to mix with the bellflower) and cosmos, dill, and Daikon Radish, which can be allowed to reseed until the conditions become too shady and competitive for them. (They may not reseed well in the mulch either, but could be hand seeded if necessary.) Digging the Licorice roots will have an unknown effect on the guild. The Dalmatian bellflower should be fast growing enough to fill in gaps, but the tree might resent it. Digging should probably only happen at the edge of the guild. This is something we will need feedback on. An ephemeral spring plant mixed into the guild would help catch and cycle the spring flush of nutrients. It would have to be edible, shade loving, and adaptable to our climate, which I could not find. Morel mushrooms are symbiotic with apple trees and are a prized edible. However, they may only fruit heavily as the tree begins to die. Garden Oyster mushrooms are a generalist decomposer and edible: they would grow well in the mulch under the tree, and have been shown to increase the yield of annual vegetables. They might have a similar effect on perennials.
1. American Licorice is an indefinitely spreading plant. It is planted right around the base of the young tree to feed it, and expands outward as it grows.
2. Tall plants have been kept to the North or the South, so as to avoid shading the tree. (The bush to the South will not block he high angle noon sun.)
3. Logs and rocks can be piled to the North to create a sun trap.