How to Care for Your Fruit Trees
If you have a yard with fruit trees, you need to learn how to care for them. There are thousands of different tree species in the United States. Some fruit trees are just ornamental, while others are actively used to produce fruit. If you would like to learn how to care for fruit-producing trees, you're going to need to follow a similar schedule every year. Consistency is crucial when caring for trees. Here are five things you need to be doing yearly with fruit trees.
Identify Tree Type
The first thing you're going to need to do is to identify the type of tree you have. You can do this by looking online for answers, taking a leaf sample into a local nursery, or hiring a tree service professional to come to take a look. After you learn the name, you can begin to do your homework on the overall health of the tree and how to care for it.
Diagnose Issues
A tree service professional can help you diagnose a tree pest or fungus or be the one to let you know the tree isn't salvageable. Pests can harm the bark, roots, or leaves of the tree and cause harm. If treatment is possible after your tree diagnosis, you will want to start here. Learn what a healthy tree should look like and take the proper steps to get rid of any issues.
Establish a Watering Schedule
You need to know what type of soil your tree is in and how often your particular tree needs to be watered. Overwatering a tree can be just as damaging as underwatering. Figure out a schedule and stick to it. Learning to make adjustments based on how the tree is responding to watering is also important.
Fertilize
Most fruit trees benefit from a yearly fertilizing treatment. Fertilizer is a great way to feed the soil so it becomes more nutrient-dense for the tree to feed on. When your soil is healthy, your plants will reflect that. Some trees require fertilizing in the spring or summer, while others do best getting it done in the fall. Ask a tree professional to help you figure out what works best for your fruit tree.
Prune
You should consider hiring a tree service professional to come and do your first pruning. Learning how to prune from a professional is always the best way to learn to do it right. Pruning properly can be the difference between a healthy fruit harvest or no fruit at all. Take the time to do your research and know what parts of the fruit tree need to be trimmed.
Learning to care for fruit trees can be overwhelming in the beginning. With a few years of experience under your belt, you will get to know your tree and learn how to have great fruit harvests every year. Find a tree service professional you can trust and start learning.