If you are tired of paying expensive grocery store prices for poor fruit quality consider growing fruit trees. There is nothing quite like picking your own ripened cherries or apples right off the tree. Apple trees and cherry trees not only supply delicious fresh fruit, but provide shade as well as being beautiful landscape trees. It is not difficult to grow your own trees, but they do require maintenance and care compared to other tree varieties. Consider these tips for growing fruit-bearing trees.
Choosing Trees
Regardless of the type of fruit trees you choose, they must be compatible with the type of climate in your area. Ask the sales people at the nursery what varieties they recommend and which ones produce the most fruit. It is also a good idea to look for varieties that are disease-resistant, which can make a big difference to producing healthy harvests.
In order to bear fruit, some trees will require two trees in the yard to provide cross-pollination. Many of the newer varieties of fruit-bearing trees are self-pollinating, and you only need one tree to bear fruit. Read the labels to determine if the tree will be full-sized, dwarf or semi-dwarf. The size will help to determine the appropriate space needed for growing trees to maturity in the yard.
Consider purchasing a couple of different fruit tree varieties, so you always have delicious fresh fruits for several months out of the year. A cherry tree is done producing by July, peaches are mature in September and apple trees are ready for harvesting in October and November.
Care
After planting, cover the area around the tree base with bark mulch. This helps to retain some moisture and discourages weeds from growing. To keep a portion of the harvest, you need to protect some types of fruit trees from birds and wildlife. Ripe or fermenting fruit is a big draw for some varieties of birds. In some cases such as cherry trees it may be necessary to cover trees with bird netting when fruits have begun to ripen.
If insects become a problem it may be necessary to spray with insecticides. Young trees usually need protection around the base of the trunks from dogs and wildlife such as rabbits. Chicken wire around the trunk is usually sufficient protection.
Fertilize fruit trees with a ratio of 1-2-1 in the winter or fall before they begin going dormant. Lower amounts of nitrogen in a slow release fertilizer prevent the tree from putting out excessive foliage and less fruits. If it is available, try to get chicken, cow or horse manure, which are natural slow release fertilizers containing nitrogen.
Maintenance also includes pruning to shape trees and remove damaged branches. Trim out branches to produce a fork shape and leave a minimum of five inches between horizontal branches for bearing fruit. Pruning encourages new growth as well as improving fruit harvests.
Fruit trees take a while to get established before producing edible fruits. In most cases it can be a couple of years before they begin to bear. Pick off fruit blossoms that may appear during the second year to allow trees to establish and strength root growth before bearing fruits.