Column: Plant fruit trees now for summer fruits in your garden

May 26, 2023

COLUMN: As the days lengthen our fruit trees are preparing for the new season ahead, I always get asked lots of questions about fruit trees so I thought I'd dedicate a column to them this week. I'll cover pruning and spraying, thinning and watering amongst other important topics.

If you have not yet pruned your fruit trees it's a good time to do it. So what is the ultimate goal to pruning? We prune the trees to stimulate new growth which will become the fruit bearing branches, to remove non fruit bearing wood, to remove dead or diseased wood, to open up the tree to increase light exposure to the fruit and to keep them a manageable height.

The ideal shape of the fruit tree is a crucible. Ideally four main leaders leave the trunk and form a cup shape that allows plenty of air flow and light to enter the centre of the tree. From these main leaders you need fruit bearing branches that radiate outwards and inwards but do not get too close to each other so that they interfere with each other. Space is essential.

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It is also essential to prune off any suckers lower down and any shoots that grow vertical upwards or downwards as these interfere with the vase shape form we are creating. As fruit develops on new wood you need to make sure that all the new growth is in easy reach. Older trees that have not been well pruned may need more drastic pruning so if this is the case seek professional help.

As the trees blossom and start to flower you'll notice the buds that will become fruit. If pollination has been successful there may well be way too many buds and so you'll need to keep an eye on this and drop fruit as necessary. Each piece of fruit requires sufficient space around it to grow. A good rule of thumb is to select the stronger fruits and allow a fists width between the next piece and knock off other fruit in this space.

Peach trees need about 90 days of really cold weather over winter to produce fruit. They need about 75-100mm of water every month with more during fruit growth as the roots hungrily suck up nutrients and water to make the fruit. Over watering can dilute the flavours but too little is worse than too much. Feed regularly.

Watch out for late frosts that can damage the buds before fruit set – keep a frost cloth handy. Fruit trees can suffer from various pests and diseases so keep an eye on them throughout the growing season. They will all need a pre blossom spray of copper and then later in the season they'll need to assistance to prevent curly leaf which can be enhanced by aphids.

With the appropriate amount of effort your fruit trees should be very rewarding – producing you a great bounty of beautiful tree ripened produce for many years. Go forth and prosper.

The Marlborough Express