When you’ve decided on the type of fruit tree you want and where you want it, you can finally start planting it. If you purchase your tree from a nursery, be extremely cautious when transporting it from the nursery to your home. My friend once put the tree in the back of his vehicle, but on the way home, he clipped a sign. The entire tree snapped in half, leaving my friend heartbroken.
When you’ve securely returned your tree to your yard, examine the bottom of it to determine the size of the clump of roots. It may appear to be a lot of labor at this point, but you want to dig a hole twice as wide as the cluster and just a bit less deep. Making the hole slightly larger than the clump of roots allows for the soil that you pulled out to be replaced. Otherwise, you’d be stuck with a massive pile of undesired dirt and no place to store it. After you’ve dug the hole, fill it with compost or fertilizer to help the tree grow stronger. After that, place your fruit tree in the hole and uniformly distribute the roots to ensure the tree’s strength and stability.
When you’re finished, fill in the hole entirely with the earth you dug up. You should use all of the dirt, even if it is a couple inches higher than the rest of your yard, unless you want giant piles of dirt everywhere. This is due to the fact that it will compress when wet. Check that the tree is perfectly vertical and will not fall over before firming up the soil. After ensuring that the tree is precisely erect, carefully firm up the soil.
If the tree’s trunk is not totally robust and can be bent, attach it to a stake with a piece of rope. Make sure not to tie the rope too tightly to the tree, since this will allow the trunk to expand. You can remove the stakes after the tree is strong enough to survive all types of weather. After you’ve completed all of this, mulch around the tree’s base. If you live in an area where wildlife can get into your yard, you should set up a fence around your tree since certain animals will eat the bark off young trees.
After you have successfully planted your fruit tree, it will begin to give fruit three to five years later. Once your tree begins to bear a lot of fruit, you should take part of it off to keep the branches from becoming too heavy. The branches can break off if the fruit becomes too thick. Your tree may not give as much fruit as past years, but this should not concern you. Healthy trees frequently go on “holiday” for years, producing little or no fruit.
After you’ve planted your tree, you may experience pest difficulties. Rake away old leaves, brush, or any other decaying stuff that could be holding bugs that are detrimental to your tree to help keep these pests at bay.
To ensure that your tree remains healthy in the long run, prune it in the winter or spring. During dry periods, water your tree every two weeks, and avoid hitting it with a lawn mower or weed eater, as this could seriously impair the growing process. Just make sure your tree has lots of water and sunlight, and your growing experience should be fantastic.
Pruning Your Fruit Trees
If you’re new to tree growing, you’ve probably heard the phrase “pruning” thrown around by more experienced growers. Well, I must confess something. For many years, I had no idea what pruning was. I’d heard the term a lot, but I’d never felt comfortable asking what it meant. I was too proud to ask, even though it would have aided my gardening and tree growing. I’ve discovered that pride is the root of many major failures; if I had simply asked someone what pruning was, I wouldn’t have had to endure some of the calamities that occurred during my first years of gardening.
Pruning is the removal of dead or unnecessary branches in order to promote the growth of blooms. Typically, a tree will devote energy to branches that do not require it while ignoring branches that bear more fruit. If you remove the branches that are absorbing all of the nutrients, the others will begin to flourish. Pruning also helps to shape the tree by keeping the branches equal. This keeps it from becoming too heavy on one side. Too many branches on one side of the tree may lead it to become permanently twisted.
Many gardeners do not consider pruning their trees until they begin to bear fruit. This is a terrible mistake, and you should never ignore a tree just because it hasn’t started producing yet. Throughout the growth process, you should prune the tree in an even and regular manner. Then, when it does begin to bear fruit, the yield will be substantially higher. It is quite easy to distinguish between a tree that has been routinely pruned during its growth and one that has been neglected. If the tree has been pruned, the shape is much more natural appearing.
When you initially begin pruning, search for any branches that are dead or infected. These are rather simple to identify. They rarely bear fruit and may be deformed or discolored. Don’t be shy about chopping these guys off because they are harmful to the health of your tree. It is possible for a branch to be dead or sick without being evident. If this is the case, simply wait until the tree flowers, at which point it will be clear by not sprouting anything.
The second type of branch to look for is one that is too close to all the others. If it develops at such a length and angle that the end is directly next to all the other branches, they may crowd each other out. Remove the lesser of the two branches to give the larger one the breathing room it need. The same rule applies to your tree’s weight balance. A tree will occasionally grow multiple branches on one side and become lopsided for reasons we will never understand.
So, hopefully, I’ve given you a rudimentary understanding of pruning. There are additional conditions and sorts of branches that require trimming, but I’ve covered the essentials. These can vary depending on the age of your tree. For example, pruning that follows more “formative” criteria is required for the first three years of a tree’s growth. After the tree has established itself, you will need to apply “regulatory” trimming to keep it where you want it. There are entire books written on how to prune trees based on their age. There are way too many techniques to go over, so if you want to apply these advanced techniques, go to your local library and borrow a book.
Fruit Tree Disease Prevention
If you have pitted fruit trees, such as plums, peaches, or cherries, you are probably aware that they are considerably more prone to disease than any other type. While the fruits are excellent, living with all of the maladies that can plague the life of anyone who has ever grown one of those types of fruit trees can be difficult.
The most common condition you may hear about is called “Brown Rot.” This is a fungus that grows on many of the remaining fruits after the picking season has ended. It not only looks unpleasant on the discarded fruits, but it can also reappear on younger fruits, rendering them inedible (unless you enjoy eating fungus). To avoid this disease, trim your trees frequently to promote proper air circulation. The main cause of brown rot is moisture buildup. When you’re finished selecting for the season, get rid of any leftover fruits in the tree or on the ground.
A cytospora canker is an obnoxious black, squishy spot on tree branches. A huge callus and gum emerge through the bark. Typically, the virus that causes these cankers enters the tree through older lesions. Cankers will have a difficult time making themselves known within your tree if you clip all of the sprouts that appear in late summer. When pruning, always let the wounds heal naturally rather than using wound treatments available at gardening stores. I’ve observed that these usually don’t help much and only serve to make the tree look weird.
Those who plant plum trees may encounter a problem known as Black Knot. Rough tumors or growths on the tree’s branches are the symptoms of black not. If you see any of these, cut off the branch it is linked to right away. If you normally use branches for mulch, don’t use them for this one. If it is within a specific distance, this disease can readily re-enter the tree.
Almost everyone who has ever cared for a cherry tree has encountered “Cherry Leaf Spot.” It commonly appears when there are a lot of dead leaves on the ground. This disease is rather simple to avoid. All you have to do is rake up all of the leaves that fall from your tree on a regular basis. If you’ve already noticed symptoms of the sickness, throw away all of your raked leaves. If not, they can be used as mulch.
When your fruits ripen and are ready for picking, you should always finish picking within 2 weeks. It is ideal to go outdoors every day and harvest all of the new ripe fruits, as well as those that have fallen off the tree or are beginning to rot on the tree. This will keep bees and wasps from becoming overly reliant on your tree for nutrition.
Fruit tree growers are continually concerned about illnesses and pests. However, if you take the necessary steps, you can prevent the majority of them. You should also search for any diseases that have been harming your community and try to prevent them.
Using Bird Netting to Protect Trees
If you have a bird problem, you have most likely tried numerous solutions. Plastic animals, scarecrows, wind chimes, and highly reflective tape are among the most popular. All of these things can help to reduce bird problems significantly. I have a lot of cherry trees in my backyard, and I used to have a lot of trouble with birds. My problem almost completely disappeared once I implemented all of your remedies. Unfortunately, the solution was just temporary.
Birds, it appears, have a natural inclination to become bolder with age. While my scarecrow used to scare them to death, today I see them perched on his shoulder. And eating cherries from my tree. Those arrogant little scumbags! I’m not saying I don’t like birds. I enjoy having them in my yard. But, as it happens, I’ve already allocated one tree for birds to eat from. But it appears that birds cannot be satisfied with what they are provided. When there is a tree just for them that doesn’t have any dangerous things around it, they always feel the need to go over to my own trees.
Many gardening businesses were selling a form of bird netting. I decided to put it to use. Bird netting is essentially a large net that is draped over the entire tree. The perforations are roughly a half-inch broad. I bought enough of this to coat an entire tree. It was a pain to setup, but it worked perfectly after that. I have no further issues with birds stealing cherries from that tree. But one day, I awoke and went about my normal routine. On that day, I discovered two birds who had become entangled in the netting and had been suffocated to death. I was in a bad mood. I buried the birds and promptly removed the netting. I didn’t want to risk the birds’ lives to save my tree! Sure, I’ll kill some pests, but birds are too nice for me.
For a while, I felt too guilty to stop the birds from eating. I decided to make amends by allowing them to feast on my cherries. I even removed my scarecrow. But then I saw something in a fabric store a few months later that made me reconsider my generosity. Tulle is a fabric that is available in almost every fabric store. It’s exceedingly fine netting with holes too small for any bird’s beak or head to fit through. It is not only easy to find, but it is also quite inexpensive. Purchasing enough to cover one tree ended up costing less than half of what the poisonous bird netting did.
I strung the tulle around my tree (it was a lot more difficult to do than the bird netting). I had to sew several large pieces together) and observed it for a day. I wanted to keep an eye on it at all times so that if a bird got entangled, I could instantly assist it. Fortunately, no bird was ever apprehended. Tulle is a much safer and less expensive alternative to bird netting, and I recommend it if you have bird problems. Just make sure they have at least one tree to themselves! Being a good gardener requires you to share with the birds.