Taking care of trees
Whether your garden is already graced with mature trees or you’re planning to add some new ones, there are a few tips to keep in mind. In nature, trees grow freely without our help, but in a garden, we can care for them. Hence, they stay at a manageable size, produce a healthy and abundant harvest, and remain protected from animals that could root them out or eat them, especially when they are young.
New Trees
When selecting a new tree for your garden, it’s essential to consider its pollination capabilities. If you’d prefer to have just one tree (and your neighbors don’t have the same variety), look for one that is labeled as “auto-fertile.” Keep in mind that these types of trees often produce smaller fruits.
Alternatively, if you’re aiming for a larger yield, choose several compatible trees of the same species. Don’t hesitate to ask the staff for advice or conduct your research to determine which varieties work best together for pollination.
When you buy a new tree, it often already has fruit on it. This can be tempting—it feels like you’ll have plenty of fruit right away. However, remember that this is often because garden centers use chemical growth hormones to make the tree appear more appealing to buyers. If you ask how they treat their trees, they likely won’t share the exact details and will just direct you to their fertilizer section. As a result, many people plant their new trees, use the recommended fertilizers, and end up with little to no fruit.
When you get a young tree, it’s much better to focus on helping it grow strong with a healthy root system rather than pushing it to produce fruit too soon. That’s why it’s a good idea to remove any existing fruit and prioritize the tree’s overall health first.
Growing a tree needs a lot of patience.
Planting a New Tree
Once you’ve selected your new tree and found the perfect spot based on its needs and growing habits, it’s time to plant it – it’s just like any other plant, only a bit larger.
Dig the Right Hole
Make sure to dig a hole that’s slightly larger than the tree’s pot or root system. Avoid going too wide, as an overly large hole might suffocate the roots or cause the trunk to rot (if planted too deep). If your soil is compact, digging a little deeper can help the roots spread and grow more easily (while keeping the soil still inside).
Add Nutrition
Mix in some well-aged compost to give your tree a nutritious boost. This will help it settle in and grow faster.
Water Generously
Since tree roots are strong and expansive, they need plenty of water. In the first year, water your tree often—especially during the hot summer days (but not during the peak sun hours). Once the tree matures, it will only require watering during extended periods of dryness. Trees usually prefer to be watered deeply in one time rather than shallow watered often.
Provide Support
For very young trees or those grown from seed, consider adding a support structure to help them succeed. This allows the tree to grow straight and prevents it from toppling over in strong winds.
Offer Protection
Protect your tree in several ways:
- Shield the trunk from damage caused by grass cutting by adding a small fence or mulching around it.
- In winter, young trees might benefit from extra protection against frost and heavy snow by using burlap or wraps.
- If your garden is open and lacks high fences, consider creating a netting support to guard against animals like deer or boars, which might be tempted to damage the tree.
Timing is Key
The best times to plant a new tree are autumn and early spring. These seasons usually provide enough water and give your tree time to settle in before facing the challenges of a harsh winter or a dry summer.
Growing trees
As your tree grows, it will need a little extra attention to stay healthy and productive:
Remove Parasite Plants
Keep an eye out for plants like ivy that might start growing on your tree. They can suffocate your tree and cause harm, and the longer they’re allowed to grow, the more challenging they become to remove due to their strong underground roots.
Mulching
Collect fallen leaves to use as mulch around your tree, and if possible, mix in some well-matured compost. Just be careful not to cover the trunk completely, as this can encourage fungi, mold, or even trunk rot.
Pruning
Regular pruning is key, but it’s essential to do it correctly and at the right time. Some trees can be pruned annually, while others may only require pruning every few years. Pruning helps keep your tree accessible, strong, and capable of producing a generous amount of fruit.
While it might seem best to let a tree grow “naturally,” a little pruning can help it thrive. Without regular trimming, trees can become too tall and vulnerable to breaking in strong winds or storms. When a tree has too many branches, it uses most of its energy on foliage, leaving less for producing abundant, well-sized fruit. Overcrowded branches can also cast shadows that limit fruit growth. Pruning encourages the development of new, flexible branches that are less likely to break.
When to Prune?
The general rule is to prune during the tree’s dormant season—this means in the fall when the leaves have dropped, throughout winter, and just before spring begins. Once the tree is in its whole leaf, it’s better to let it be, as cutting during that time can be harmful. Also, remember that trees are home to many birds. Pruning in the spring or summer might disturb nests or even cause birds to lose their eggs or chicks. After all, by planting a tree, you’re also providing a haven for wildlife. Birds can help control pests (though they might nibble on some fruit), and with proper care, your tree will produce plenty to share with them too.
Basics of Pruning
Every tree is unique when it comes to pruning, but some fundamental guidelines apply to most. The goal is to keep your tree healthy, accessible, and productive. This means removing old, weak branches, trimming those that grow too tall or create excessive shade, and cutting away branches that drain energy without adding much fruit.
For pruning, you’ll want to have the right tools on hand. A pair of sharp, long-handled scissors is a great start, along with a reliable hand saw. You might also consider a special chainsaw explicitly designed for cutting branches. These chainsaws are smaller than regular ones and often come in an electric model or with a long handle, making it easy to reach high-up branches without needing a ladder – this is especially true for old trees, as they are usually already grown tall.
Thoughtful cuts
When making your cuts, aim for clean, smooth edges. This allows the tree to heal more quickly and minimizes the risk of infection. For larger branches, consider using a pruning sealer—a creamy paste applied to fresh cuts to protect against water, pests, and diseases. Trees can usually heal on their own, but they need dry weather for that. If it’s raining a lot, they typically don’t have enough time to heal correctly, and water can cause tree rot. Trees shouldn’t be cut when it’s raining but sometimes can happen that you cut them during the nice weather and then come days of rain.
Assess Branch Health:
Look for any branches that are dead, dry, or damaged. A quick test is to see if a branch snaps easily or if the inside is brown instead of green—these are signs it’s time to remove them.
Consider the Tree’s Energy:
When pruning, it’s essential to know which branches to remove and why. Start by eliminating small, flexible branches coming directly from the trunk. These branches mainly grow leaves, create extra shade, and drain the tree’s energy (“lymph”). However, be careful not to remove every flexible branch—some of those growing on the limbs are valuable because they develop into flowers and eventually fruit.
Watch for Overcrowding:
If branches are growing too close together or overlapping one another, they may be blocking light and air circulation. Pruning these out helps the remaining branches grow stronger and produce more fruit.
Preserve Fruit-Bearing Branches:
Be careful not to prune all flexible branches—many of these are the ones that will bloom and bear fruit. The goal is to balance removing unnecessary growth while keeping those that are productive. Each cut is a minor trauma to the tree, so remove branches only when necessary.
Think About Structure:
Aim to maintain a balanced and open structure. Removing redundant or poorly positioned branches encourages new, healthy growth and helps your tree withstand strong winds or storms. That also means trimming all the branches that are too tall, allowing trees to grow wide without becoming too tall.
Types of cuts
Every time you prune a tree, it encourages new growth. This happens because trees naturally maintain a balance between their root system and the size of their branches.
With young trees, you have more flexibility when it comes to pruning, but with older trees, it’s best to trim them gradually. If you were to remove all the healthy branches from a tall, mature tree in an attempt to make it smaller, you could end up killing it. The tree wouldn’t have enough energy to regrow all the lost branches at once, and without enough leaves, it wouldn’t be able to carry out photosynthesis to sustain itself.
Once you understand that every cut promotes new growth, the next step is to think about how you want your tree to develop and shape it accordingly.
Every tree is different; therefore, it’s essential to know what type of tree you have and on which branches the fruit grows. Some trees produce their fruit on older branches, while others require new, flexible branches. I would recommend writing down all this information in your herbarium, so you will know if your tree needs a heading cut, or maybe only a thinning cut. If you cut too much, there wouldn’t be any fruit. Also for some trees applies that when you cut them now, you will have results next year.
Heading Cut
A heading cut encourages a branch to grow more side branches. By trimming a portion of a branch, you stimulate new growth right at the cut, potentially leading to more fruit-bearing branches. However, it’s essential to use this method carefully—too many branches growing close together can create excessive shade, which may reduce fruit production and airflow.
Thinning Cut
A thinning cut improves light penetration and airflow by removing entire branches at their base, either at the trunk or a main branch. Unlike a heading cut, this method doesn’t stimulate new growth at the same spot but instead redirects the tree’s energy to other areas, supporting overall health and balance.
This technique is also helpful in removing small branches sprouting from the trunk. Since these don’t produce fruit and only sap energy, cutting them allows the tree to focus on healthier growth. Plus, better light exposure helps fruit and leaves develop more efficiently.
Bench Cut
A bench cut combines both pruning techniques—it stimulates new growth while also shaping the tree and improving light distribution. This is done by cutting a branch back to a side branch, encouraging controlled new development in a specific direction.
Fruit and Wood Buds
Understanding where your tree produces fruit is key to pruning wisely. Once you know the age of the branches that bear fruit, you can identify fruit buds. These buds will eventually become fruit, so it’s crucial not to remove too many of them. In contrast, wood buds develop into leaves, so you have more flexibility when trimming them.
Fruit buds are noticeably larger than wood buds. While wood buds tend to grow closely along the branch, fruit buds are plumper and fluffier as they prepare to bloom into flowers. If you’re unsure during the dormant season, wait a few more weeks—wood buds will stay small and pointed, while fruit buds will swell. At this stage, you can selectively remove some wood buds to redirect the tree’s energy toward fruit production, based on its specific needs. However, this never happens when the tree is already in full bloom.