In My Garden: Fruit Trees, Preparations for Summer Fruit

Above: Cherry Trees, pruned for summer fruit

Fruit trees need care to thrive and with all this cold weather (for San Diego) and hopefully more rain to come (Encinitas has only had 3.4" of rain so far) yearly maintenance should be done soon. So if you haven't done it yet it's not too late. 

First thing is pruning. I usually approach it by first removing all the dead branches. Next I remove the branches growing inward toward the center to open the tree up for air circulation.  I also remove branches that are crossing each other and rubbing together. After that I prune the branches that are too low or too high for easier picking. It's important to do this, if possible, every year so there is not too much pruning to do at one time. You don't want to shock the tree and reduce the fruit. If you've ever had a bad haircut, you'll understand how the tree feels getting too many branches cut all at one time!

The next step is to add more compost and fertilizer (if you use it). And always use organic products. Your trees will thank you. Put it no closer than 6" from the trunk to just beyond the outer drip line of the branches. The rain will help decompose the compost and fertilizer and feed your trees. I use a drip system on everything in my yard and it takes a little longer to work the compost into the root line when there is no rain.

Lastly spray all the deciduous trees with a dormant spray, especially the stone fruits. The dormant spray should include copper for bacteria and funguses and pyrethrum to kill any eggs left by insects. If the trees are flowering spray just before dark so any bees buzzing around pollinating won't be hurt.