Okay to plant 2 trees in same hole?

I have read somewhere before that it is okay to plant two trees in the same hole. Would it be okay to do that with Pawpaws or Persimmons? It seems like one would eventually girdle the other.

i have planted two trees in
one spot when i had a
large quantity of bare-roots
to plant and limited time, question i have is if tree mulch mats work or if the roots
dry out too much ? if you plant
bareroot seedlings with a planting bar , two holes for
two trees means less(better?) air space
for closely planted seedlings, supposedly
a person could plant 1,000 seedlings in a 8 hour day, 50
a day is more like it unless
you have many acres and a
well thought out plan.In planting pinus strobus and
picea glauca in zone 4, the
picea glauca did better started
as "two-trunk" , but overall
success was less than 10% survival after 4 years, trees
like quercus alba and picea
abies are better choices for
me, maybe because of seed source.The idea of planting
trees in small groupings with
some two or three trunks looks
more like nature than straight
lines, but straight lines
are more practical to keep
track of, to "gap" in later
years is easier when you know
where the rows are?

Many years ago I had a bargain on White Birch saplings. 80 cents each. I got 2 dozen but had room for only half of that so I doubled them up in the hole at about 8 inches apart. They were OK for a few years, then the stronger ones took over and starved the weaker ones. There are no doubles left now.
I thought I could simulate 'Clump' Birch, wrong again!
Andy P

The best way to grow clumps is to cut the seedling back after 1-2 years to promote suckering. That way the entire clump is genetically uniform (same phenology, same fall color, etc.). This works well with things like birch, and will stimulate clonal group development in things like pawpaw and aspens and sumacs, but won't work with most conifers (few people want clumping spruces anyway).

Why not just dig two holes? Is it a matter of time, or space, or aesthetics? Perhaps it's better to plant one and give the other to a neighbor, for pollination.

Guy S.

Its mostly to save space and for pollination. Pawpaws must have a mate.

At least plant them a foot or two apart in a larger hole, so the trunks won't rub together as they grow. And expect them both to send up additional stems and try to form clonal groups. And pawpaws don't always require a pollinator -- some are self fertile -- but of course if you have my kind of luck (none at all) yours will be completely sterile with or without a pollinator!

Guy S.

I had a neighbor whose father recommended planting 2 trees in the same hole. Why? I think I would dig a second hole for the second tree and let nature take its course. Most trees will likely survive and you will not have them growing together.

cuckoo

Escambiaguy,
At my old house, where I was really short on space, I planted numerous species two to a hole. At the time I was mostly planting fruit trees that needed pollinators, and I just couldn't give up another possible planting site for a pollinating partner. So I did what you're thinking about doing.

I did that with pawpaws and it worked fine. I did make sure the hole was a large hole, and I planted them at opposite sides of it. I considered doing it with Persimmons, but then learned of "Meador," which is a very productive self-pollinating cultivar.

With apples nowadays, you can find trees with two or more varieties
already grafted, which immediately solves the pollination issue.

Scott

Thanks Scott, that pretty much answers my question.

Here's some more information on planting multiple fruit trees in one hole. Lot's of other good information regarding fruit tree planting as well.

http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/hidensity.html

Nice link CB.