High Density Home Orchard

[Yorgos]

Has anyone had favorable results with this technique?  It's designed for more temperate fruits so I do not know how tropicals and citrus perform.  I have a 4x6 foot bed with two blood oranges and two satsumas.   This is their 5th year in the ground and it looks like I will get a pretty good crop from a small space.  I also have a bloomsweet grapefruit and chandler pomelo about two feet from each other,  The grapefruit is more vigorous and is overwhelming the pomelo.  I may have to prune the grapefruit back severely once I harvest the fruit.  Below is a pdf of a power point presentation that lays it out.  I'd like to so hear comments from others about this.

http://arborgate.com/downloads/High-Density-Home%20Orchards-Arborgate-2013.pdf

[karpes]

 My citrus orchard was planted high density so that I could use my shop and tractor shed as a north wind brake. Spacing was 11 feet between trees and 20 feet between rows. It doesn't take long for the trees to interlock branches at the 11 foot spacing. I don't know yet if I will prune between trees. One advantage is they block sunlight where grass doesn't grow between them. Now there is just enough room between the 20' row spacing to drive a gold cart through.
 The limbs of my citrus are touching the ground and I am still reluctant to trim them. Ironic in that I trim all other trees in my orchard but for some unknown reason I just don't like to trim citrus.

[Millet]

I don't know why I did not think of this earlier, but some years back I purchased a second house that the previous owner had planted two plum trees in the same hole.  One tree was a purple leafed tree, and the other a green leaf tree. They are now full grown plum trees, each growing into a half circle.  Between the two trees they make one complete circle.   They both have grown to the same height and spread, and seem to be healthy trees and produce fruit .  Maybe two citrus trees varieties with the same growth characteristics  would do the same. - Millet

[Yorgos]

That's what I am working on.  The moro blood is overtaking the two satsumas because of their weeping growth habit.  Right now the four trees look like one a big bush with one end several feet higher (the moro) than the other (the satsuma's). The key is to get plants with similar size in the same planting hole. 

[jimmy_va]

Yorgos-I don't know why there aren't much information on High Density Home Orcard, but I have a set up pretty much like your and all my trees are doing great and fruiting very well.
I have a spot right against my house,it is 10X16 feet and I am planting the following trees in the ground at 2.5- 3 feet apart for the past 4 years:

 Guava tree at 12 feet tall.(the tallest tree in the spot)
Mango (Nan Duc Mai)
mango (Lancetilla)
Wax Jambu red
2 Meyer Lemon
2 Tangerine
Dragon Fruit.
All of my trees fruited nicely every year.
I am in Northern Virginia, zone 7 so I must cover and heat the entire location from Dec.- April every year.

Thanks,

[jimmy_va]

Sorry, I forgot to mention my Ruby Red Grapefruit tree as well.

[gunnar429]

i am utilizing many strategies to accomplish this, including 2 in 1 hole, espalier, and planting out all space available.  I saw 2 full-grown mangoes that were planted in 1 hole.  They were both approx 25 ft tall and healthy.  one was green mango, the other red.  Looked very cool.  It caught my eye immediately.