If you have beautiful fruit trees in your yard, you've probably already picked and eaten most of the delicious apples, plums, and pears. Now that summer is over, trees are starting to replenish their reserves in preparation for winter dormancy. This means that the leaves are shed so that the sugars from photosynthesis in the leaves can be redirected to the roots. When the leaves fall in the fall, it's time to give your trees good care to ensure they're ready for winter dormancy and good, healthy growth in the spring. Discover the best care tips for fruit trees in autumn here!
Preparing your orchard for winter
Autumn is the time when you take care of thehealth of the treeshould care. A few simple measures will help the tree survive the winter dormancy and ensure its vitality for flowering and fruit production in spring.
Care tips for fruit trees in autumn – water the tree well until mid-October
It is important that your trees enter the cold winter with a good supply of moisture. But it is also important not to encourage new growth just before winter dormancy and stormy weather. Therefore it is bestto wait before wateringuntil the leaves have fallen. Be sure to moisten the soil thoroughly, at least 2 feet deep, to encourage good root growth, and water between rain showers until air temperatures drop below 7 degrees during the day.
Avoid fertilizing in the fall
If you fertilize now, your trees will continue to grow instead of developing the winter hardiness they need. Fertilize your fruit treesonly in autumn, when they have pale leaves and new growth is weak. Young trees should not be fertilized as this will cause them to take longer to mature and bear fruit.
Pick overripe fruits and remove fallen leaves
If you leave the fruits on the branches until they are overripe, they can attract pests such as wasps or begin to rot, leading to a number of potential problems such as serious diseases. As soon as the leaves fall off the tree, you should clear your garden of leaves and rake them. This part of fruit tree care ensures that leaf-borne diseases are eliminated and prevents pests from hiding in the pile of leaves and wreaking havoc on your garden.
When should you prune fruit trees?
Young trees should not be pruned in autumn, otherwise they may suffer frost damage. When you prune fruit trees in the fall, you encourage themGrowth during winter season, which is particularly dangerous for young trees as they do not have time to prepare themselves against the frost. Espalier fruit trees also don't like pruning in the cold season, so it's best to save this task for spring.
However, if you prune fruit trees that are already established and hardened off, the likelihood of problems is much lower. As long as you don't live in an area with particularly harsh winter temperatures, your mature fruit trees shouldn't mind being pruned in the fall. Apple tree care involves removing about a fifth of the old growth during dormancy to promote more abundant production next season.
Care tips for fruit trees in the fall: Mulch them
Mulching improves soil structure, retains moisture, and protects the soil from weeds and grass that steal nutrients. Organic mulch is made by earthwormsinto the grounddrawn and can consist of well-rotted manure, leaf litter and garden compost. Shovel the mulch around the base of the tree about 8 to 10 cm deep, making sure it covers the root ball but leaves a good mulch-free space around the trunk of the tree to prevent rot.
Inspect your trees for pests
Even if you have not had a pest infestation this year, you should thoroughly examine the tree for signs of overwintering insects. Fall care of fruit trees would be incomplete without checking for pests and their eggs, which often secretly hide in the bark crevices and other hard-to-reach areas of the tree. Check for aphids, scale insects or red spider mites – the last thing you want is for them to take up residence in your orchard. Failing to prevent pest problems for next season can make caring for your fruit trees much more difficult than it should be and even cause significant damage to your crops.
Protect fruit trees from sunburn with white paint
Sunburns can occur in late winter when the roots are still frozen. The sun can warm the bark during the day, but at night the cells die and damage the tree. Young trees with smooth bark are particularly susceptible to sunburn. To prevent this, plastic tree guards can be placed around the lower trunk. Other methods include painting the lower trunk with white paint, which is a mixture of quicklime, water and wallpaper paste. Otherwise there are other mixtures made from slaked lime, clay, cow dung and horsetail. You can also wrap the trunk with aluminum foil to shade it.
Plant fruit trees in the fall
October is a good time to plant new fruit trees if that's your plan. This is one of the most exciting final jobs in the orchard. October is ideal because the soil is generally still relatively warm but also nice and moist and there is a lot of worm activity but fewer soil bacteria. The good old fall weather will probably do a lot of the watering for you too. Make sure you choose the right fruit tree for your garden by looking at the rootstock and making sure it won't grow too large for your property.
