Caring for fruit trees throughout the year
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MT. PLEASANT—Remember those times as a child when you would wait all summer for those peaches (or apples, pears, plums or cherries) to ripen up on that tree in grandma’s backyard and your mouth watering at that first bite of ripened fruit later in the season.
But that bite, and all the rest afterward, didn’t just come out of nowhere. Getting that flavorful fruit requires a little sweat equity.
If only caring for your fruit trees was as easy as making sure the trees are in the path of the Rainbird. But alas, getting the best fruit production from your trees, not to mention keeping them alive and healthy, requires special attention and care.
Watering and sunlight, pruning, mulching, fertilizing and pest control are all important things to make sure you’re doing and doing right.
“Those are the bare necessities,” says Ed Staker, a biology teacher for 40 years (32 of those at North Sanpete High School) with decades of experience growing fruit. He currently has 40 or so trees of all the varieties listed above.
For those not as experienced, Staker says, “There is so much information on the internet. If they have questions about specific types of trees, it’s right there at your fingertips. It used to be that you had to take classes or talk to people like me who have been doing it for years.”
And that’s exactly what we did, as well as consult some of the online sources he mentioned, to bring you what Staker called “a good solid start,”
Water and sunlight
Watering your fruit trees requires more than just turning the lawn sprinkler on them. “They need more,” Staker says. “They need a deep soaking every few weeks. A light sprinkling simply is not sufficient for them.”
Tree roots are deeper than lawn roots, and the water needs to get deep enough to reach them. But the soil can’t be continuously saturated either, as that will lead to leeching or dilution of other nutrients the tree needs.
(And when it comes to overwatering or underwatering, you can’t rely on signs from the tree, like wilting or yellowing leaves. Both conditions produce those same visible signs).
The frequency of “deep soaking” will depend on whether the soil is clay or sand (in Sanpete, we have clay soil, which holds in the moisture longer). One rule of thumb is to give the tree 5-10 gallons of water every one to two weeks), but of course increase watering during hot dry periods.
If someone wants to get down and dirty in the dirt the tree is planted in, the person can buy a soil-moisture meter. They can range from $10-$40, but if you want a professional one it will be more than $100. Fruit trees do best with a moisture level of 20%-60%. (By comparison, vegetables do best with 40%-80%).
How much sun your tree gets is also important. “Most things in our climate like all the sun they can get,” Staker says. He says yards have “microclimates,” variations in heat and sunlight in different parts of a yard or garden that, even though subtle, can make a big difference.
“If fruit trees are planted in a place where they get plenty of sun, that’s a step forward. If they’re where they’re in a lot of shade, they’ll live, but the fruit production won’t be very much.”
If your trees are already planted, that advice won’t be much help, unless there are things you can do to reduce how much shade the tree is in.
Pest control
Few things can be as frustrating as seeing all the work and anticipation that go into a fruit tree get decimated by pests. (They like your fruit as much as or more than you do.)
Tips for treating pests like bores and worms are particular to each kind of tree. For instance, Staker says, peach trees and to some degree plums are susceptible to borers.
“The biggest reason peach trees fail in our climate is because the borers get into the trunk down low and…cause the tree to produce sap to expel the invaders, and that will weaken the tree and kill the tree.”
Staker says to treat for borers in the spring, which holds true for about all pests.
Same with apples and pears, which “always have worm issues.” There are traps and other things that can help, which can be researched online, but he says spraying for the codling moth is “pretty much necessary.”
Beckie Hales, a horticultural assistant at USU Extension in Salt Lake County, adds to the list the western cherry fruit fly for cherry trees.
“There are specific pests that need to be monitored for and treated. For that, I highly recommend to everyone who owns a fruit tree to sign up for the USU Extension Pest Advisories.”
Those advisories are free and posted specifically for fruit trees. “They will tell homeowners what to look for as well as how and when to treat for it,” she says.
They are found at poestadvories.usu.edu.
Pruning
Pruning the tree is an oft overlooked but important piece of caring for it. Pruning rejuvenates the tree and makes sure that water, nutrients and the tree’s energy are being used the most productively.
Pruning should be done when the tree is “dormant,” either very early spring or after the harvest in the fall.
“Keep your eye out for disease and cut out anything that is dead or sickly,” Staker says. A pruning handout from USU Extension gives a little more guidance:
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Remove branches that are dead, diseased, damaged, hanging or rubbing.
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Remove water sprouts and suckers (at any time of year as soon as noticed)
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Cut outside of the “branch collar” (that swollen area where the limb and tree meet.
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Decide whether you need to shorten the branch to encourage “lateral growth,” or remove an entire branch to control which direction the tree will grow.
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Remember: Pruning in spring will signal the tree to come out of dormancy and start growing—so make sure it’s the right time for that.
(See the accompanying pictures from “Pruning Fruit Trees: Clip with Confidence!” from USU Extension to learn more.).
Mulching and fertilizing
“Trees need fertilizer,” Staker says simply.
And while mulch itself isn’t exactly fertilizing, it’s related. A layer of mulch—one consisting of a variety of organic materials (grass, leaves, pine needles, wood, etc)—helps conserve soil moisture, moderates soil temperature and promotes biodiversity in the soil.
A 4- to 6-inch–thick layer of mulch around the base of the tree is good, but keep it a few inches away from the tree itself to prevent trunk rot.
“As far as the type of fertilizer goes, Staker says, “I like good old barnyard manure; If it’s nice and dry, it works well” (and won’t stink—at least not too badly).
Regular fertilizer pellets can be okay, too, just “don’t get straight nitrogen,” he says. “It’s great for grass but trees need more than that.”
He says he prefers to fertilizer at the end of harvest season, “Then it can do its magic all winter, and there’s one less thing to worry about in the spring.”
Spread the fertilizer out from the trunk about as far out as the most outward branches reach (which is called the “drip line”). “About 10 feet out from the center, from the trunk, is where the fertilizer does the most good,” he says. “Same goes for watering… Get it out where the roots are growing. A few feet out is best.”
Staker says one thing to look out for, particularly in Sanpete County, is iron deficiency. One sign of this is that the leaves turn yellow, though that’s also a sign of either too much or too little water. Iron-supplement soil spikes are a good remedy.
New trees
If you are planting new trees, Staker says to pay attention to varieties and select ones that do well in colder climates or shorter growing seasons.
“Put a one-dollar tree in a 10-dollar hole,” Staker advises, meaning make the planting hole big enough for the roots to spread out and not face resistance from undug, tight and dense soil.
And plant either in spring (April or even May), or late fall “when it’s not so hot.”
Sanpete specifics
“In our county, deer through the wintertime love to nibble on fruit trees,” Staker says. So do mice.
“You have got to have a way to protect your trees,” he says, particularly if they’re new and young.
“Sometimes we’ll get a warm streak [in winter].” On the south, sun-facing side of the truck, that warmth will signal the tree to come out of dormancy and produce sap, which then freezes when the weather turns cold again, “and then kills the tree on the south side.”
He suggests getting tree wrap and wrapping the trunk a few feet up to the first branches. The white of the wrap will reflect sunlight, keeping the tree cold so it won’t break dormancy.
Off the routine
Staker said, in closing, that if someone out there wants to take a walk on the wild side, or “off the routine,” they could consider other kinds of trees. “Hazelnuts do well in out county,” he said. “People who grow nut trees are kind of a rare deal around here,” but, “they do really well here. … And English Walnuts, too.”
