Growing, pruning fruit trees

This winter has been a strange one as usual and all the plants are as confused as we are. I have received lots of questions about what’s going on and what’s going to happen if it gets really cold after all this warm weather? It is very hard to make those kinds of predictions but we only have to think back to the Easter 2007 freeze to know what can happen.

People want to know when they should prune their landscape or fruit plants if this warm weather persists. I always tell folks that plants are tough and resilient and most plants will not be severely harmed if pruned at the “wrong” time. On the other hand, we know that pruning always stimulates plants to grow. Therefore, you may want to hold off pruning any plants that are marginally cold hardy in our area. These plants can still be pruned after new growth has begun or after blooming for early bloomers.

We often treat fruit differently than ornamentals in the way we prune because our goals are different. Commercial fruit growers do not have the option to wait too late but those with a few fruit trees can wait until after late freezes are unlikely to occur and prune at that time. Using this method you can prune lighter if you lost a lot of blooms to the cold. If there were no late freezes then you can prune heavier to help thin the fruit load. I always tell people to “prune with a purpose” and this is especially true with fruit trees.

Apples and peaches can be a challenge to grow but there is nothing better than a fresh tree ripened fruit off your own tree. Being successful with fruit trees involves many steps but the most critical by far is variety selection. You must choose varieties that are adapted to the amount of cold we get and with apples, the rootstock is very important. The easiest to grow, maintain and prune apples will be on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks.

The County Extension office is partnering with Steele Orchard on a free educational program Saturday, March 16, to teach the basics of fruit tree production for the home gardener. The program will begin at 10 a.m. at Steele Orchard, 1695 Co Rd 1141, Cullman. For more information, call 256-734-5249.

The County Extension office is partnering with Steele Orchard on a free educational program Saturday, March 16, to teach the basics of fruit tree production for the home gardener. The program will begin at 10 a.m. at Steele Orchard, 1695 Co Rd 1141, Cullman. For more information, call 256-734-5249.