Caring for Your Fruit Trees in the Winter

Wintertime is coming making it time to protect your fruit trees from a possible long harsh winter, knowing, come spring, they will once again bear the fruit of your labor. Wintertime protection does not need to be hard, but it is important to the survival of your fruit trees. If you are planning to plant fruit trees this Fall, a good rule of thumb to follow is plant your trees in areas that they will be protected from the winter winds but still get the required amount of sun.

For the fruit trees that have been bearing you fruit year after year, to ensure they will continue to do so, give them the attention they require. Here are some important steps to follow so you can continue to reap the benefits of your fruit trees.

1) Make sure your trees are well watered through late October. You want to make sure they have a good reservoir to drink from until winter moisture takes over so water deeply ensuring it reaches deep in the root region.

2) Make sure the grass is cut under your fruit trees and they are free of fallen leaves. This serves two purposes, to ensure that leaf borne diseases do not infect your tree and that mice do not have a place to habitat by your fruit trees. Mice, rabbits, and other little critters like to eat the bark off certain trees and shrubs so you do not want to encourage a homestead for them.

3) Do not apply fertilizer after July. Under most circumstances, your fruit trees do not need to be fertilized in the first place. Fertilizer encourages growth and robs from the winter hardness your fruit trees need to take on before the harsh winter. The only time you would want to fertilize would be if your fruit tree showed signs of poor growth and pale leaves, and then still, only a small amount of fertilizer and before July.

4) Do all your pruning in early Spring. Pruning in late Summer or Fall encourages new growth and not allowing your fruit tree to prepare for winter. If your fruit trees have not had the opportunity to harden for the winter, you risk injury from the harsh winds and cold that winter can bring.

5) Take care of the annoying insects that can infest your fruit trees this Fall. This will help ensure they do not lay dormant and re-infest your fruit trees come Spring.

6) Protect the bark of your fruit trees. Wrap the trunks with tree wrap in the Fall. This shades the bark and protects it from frost cracks. This will also help protect your fruit trees from the little critters that enjoy munching on the bark. Come Spring, make sure you remove the tree wrap.

7) Sunscald is also another danger that can occur in late winter. The sun warms the bark during the day but the cold of the night kills the cells causing damage to the tree. Some ways to protect your fruit tree from sunscald is to paint the trunk of your tree with some plain white latex paint or wrap it with aluminum foil. Another more expensive measure is to purchase plastic tree trunk guards. Although more costly, they can be stored and used every winter.

8) If you have protected the trunk of your fruit tree by painting, foil, or wrapping or plastic guards you can then use mulching. A few inches of mulch after you have thoroughly watered your fruit tree will help retain the water longer.

9) Newly planted Fruit trees need more protection from the winter winds and freezing temperatures. Make sure you wrap the bark fully on your freshly planted fruit trees. Another safe guard for new fruit trees is to build a tee pee over the tree and cover it with burlap. Still make sure you protect the trunk of the tree first though, new trees make a tender treat to critters.

10) Other safe guards that you may want to take into consideration is building snow fences around trees that are at risk of being snow drifted over, mounding dirt around base of tree, and placing evergreen trimmings around outskirt of base of tree to trap snow for winter moisture.

If you follow these tips, you can be sure your fruit trees will bear you a wonderful harvest the following season.