Some things to consider when caring for your young fruit trees.
Basic Fruit Tree Care & Pruning
Some basic fruit tree maintenance tasks should be done year round. Fruit trees need to receive 15-20 gallons of water once a week. They should also receive a fresh coat of mulch at least once a year. Mulch keeps weeds down, retains moisture (especially important during the hot summer months!), and is a nice finishing touch for a well maintained tree. Mulch in a donut shape keeping the mulch at least 2” away from the trunk of the tree. Any time of year, you can prune away dead, diseased, or damaged branches. This will keep your tree in tip top shape. Pruning is also helpful if you notice common diseases that can happen during the summer, such as certain molds and insect infestations. Read our Pruning 101 post before you prune your trees.
Summer Fruit Tree Maintenance
There are some fruit tree chores that are best done in the summer. Below is a chore list of some tasks that are important to take care of in the warmer months:
- If you have a newly planted tree and it begins to bear fruit, remove most of the developing fruit. This will help the tree put its energy into growing and becoming strong, rather than producing fruit. This process is called hand-thinning. Removing excess fruit will also prevent the baby tree from becoming weighed down with heavy fruit.
- Monitor for diseases and insect infestations. Depending on the disease, you can treat your tree with an organic pesticide like neem oil, or you can prune off affected branches.
- Make sure you are giving your tree water at least 1-2 times a week. This is especially important when there are droughts and warm temperatures!
- Weed around the base of your tree and remove any fruit that dropped on the ground.
- Add a new coat of mulch.
- Enjoy the “fruits” of your labor by harvesting the delicious fruit!
Also, do not be alarmed by June fruit drop. June fruit drop, which sometimes happens at the end of May in New Jersey, is the natural occurrence for some trees like peach, plum, and apple to drop immature fruit. Watching dozens of your precious peaches or apples fall to the ground before they ever grow up can be unsettling but it is healthy for the tree. Click this link to learn more about June fruit drop.
Be on alert for the Spotted Lanternfly!
The Spotted Lanternfly is a new pest that is wreaking havoc on trees! In July, most of the nymphs are becoming adults. The adult Spotted Lanternfly are easy to see and spot. Spotted Lanternflies feed by inserting their feeders to withdraw sap from the tree. They also excrete honeydew, which will create a sooty mold on fruiting trees. Spotted Lanternfly is attracted to over 75 tree species, including hops and grape vines, which can devastate local beer and wine harvests. While the insect will not bite or sting humans, they can kill trees and make fruit unmarketable. If you see Spotted Lanternfly on your fruit trees or at your home, kill it immediately. You can buy tape traps to catch the insects climbing up on the tree. Please report any new sightings by calling the Spotted Lanternfly hotline: 1-833-223-2840 (BADBUG0). For more information about the Spotted Lanternfly, please read more about the insect here. Together, we can keep this invasive, destructive pest from destroying our beloved fruit and street trees!
Check the NJ Tree Foundation blog for any additional updates about fruit trees. Click this link to see all blog posts labeled “Fruit trees.”