Caring for fruit trees in the winter time. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
For those of us hoping to provide our fruit, nut, and berry trees with the best care, there a few fruitful tips for how to make it through the festive frosts on past February.
Before planting fruit trees, do some research and choose varieties suited to your climate. As temperature swings become huge between daytime highs and nighttime lows, it’s worth thinking about a little protection, such as tree guards, for the trunks of trees. The tree guard also protects the trunk bark from rodents and hungry animals.
During the winter, nearly all of a tree’s energy is in its root system, and that’s a good thing. That means in the springtime it’ll have reserves on the ready to start making the magic happen. You can help by adding a thick layer of mulch around the base of trees to provide the root system with some insulation as the ground freezes. Citrus is especially agreeable to this.
In most circumstances, pruning should be done in winter to prevent diseases and pests.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.