Growing and Caring for Fruit Trees

Apple, pear, peach, cherry, and everything in between, fruit trees bring so much to your landscape. It brings food and shade in the summer, fragrant flowers in the spring and beautiful leaf colors in the fall. If you are thinking about fruit trees, there is some vital information you need on how to care for your trees so you get the most out of them as well as maintaining their health so their crop is bountiful for many years to come.

When buying a tree, be aware that it's in the first stages of life. The roots, trunk, and branches have not yet fully developed to a self supporting strength. Some young apple trees, for example, do fruit even if they are young and the fruit can be heavy on a small tree that hasn't fully developed. Occasionally, that weight can snap off an entire branch. Provide extra support not only to the trunk but to the branches. This can be done with boards to prop them up from the bottom or they can be tied to something higher, perhaps a neighboring taller tree or a fence. I've even seen "bean poles" used to help prop up young tree branches and that seems to work well. Whatever the method, as long as you provide the tree with support it needs in these early years, it should grow to be independent quickly.

Fruit trees require proper nutrition. This is necessary for the production of healthy fruits and for the tree to provide those fruits for many years. The specificaitons and type of nutrition will vary according to climate, zone, soil conditions and average rains. Your local gardening center should be able to help. Given as much information as you know, they should be able to advise you on what you need to maintain healthy fruit trees. Books and the internet are great for general information but nothing replaces first hand information a gardening center can provide.