Giving life to your barren tree

Sometimes it happens that after doing a lot of work and intense labor with your tree you get bareness in the end. It is most frustrating when after doing all the proper care you get unexplainable bareness from the tree instead of lots of fruit. I will let my readers know my own personal experience. All my neighbors always thought me as a Gardening expert because of my deep knowledge about any gardening related issue. I love gardening and I have detailed knowledge of every thing about gardening. My mind is fully stuffed with all the gardening related issues only because this is my passion. I have some good and bad experiences! Once I planted a fruit tree with full passion and care but I was unable to get any fruit for five years and it frustrated me a lot. I was so much depressed that I was ready to give up until I came across the true Guru of Gardening.

After trying many things I went gardening store to look for any fertilizer that could help my tree getting fruit. From no where, an old man came and started speaking to me. His name was Ralph and I was so desperate that after few minutes I started telling him about my problem and frustration. I am a conserve guy and I never speak of my problems in front of any one but Ralph was such a sweet and nice guy that I could not resist my self telling my problems to him. I consider my self lucky that I took him as friend and told him every thing because what he told me really helped my tree getting fruits.

Let me share what I learned from that experience. Never expect your tree to produce before time. Remember if your tree is less than four years old, you shouldn’t exactly expect it to be producing yet. But if 4 years have passed by and you still are not getting fruits, then you should consider other factors.

Under watering and over watering can also is the cause of your tree bareness. I mean you have to avoid water stress by evaluating how much water your tree exactly needs and how much are you giving it. Always keep looking for pests and diseases as they can be really harmful for your tree and can prevent it from giving fruits. You should not expect any fruit if your tree is constantly being molested by different kinds of creatures.

Sometimes your tree blooms at its best but the blooms fade out without giving any fruit. This is mostly because of cold temperature during bloom. Coldness is really harmful for small baby fruits or buds. No doubt the blooms look so beautiful from outside even in coldness, but so low temperature means the buds are damaged from inside. There is no solution to this problem except for waiting until the next year and hoping that it won’t happen again.

Next thing to consider is tree pollination process. If the pollination of tree does not occur completely, it will restrict the tree from growing any fruit. If you planted different arrays of trees, you may find that the necessities are different than you had originally thought and they were mismatched. In this case you need to replant the correct combinations and it can be really tedious task to do.

I then took hours to think about every thing that has occurred in my tree’s life and what I came up with was the fact that I was overwatering my plant and I also cross pollinated it slightly incorrect. I fixed these problems immediately and got delicious and healthy fruits in no time.

So an expert gardener can help you most, if your tree is showing signs of bareness. I wish you get a mentor just like mine so that you can easily judge all the major mistakes you are doing. If it happens then I assure you that you will be able to get your garden on the right track with no problems.

Your fruit tree needs proper care

You are indeed new to tree growing world if you have just planted a new fruit tree. Caring your tree properly in the initial years of its growth is really very important. Remember, trees normally die in the first few years mainly because of poor care habits and not because of any disease or pestilence. So you should be well familiar with the fact that in order to give your tree an immediate success and future god health you need to do its proper care.

In first few years every part of tree is very weak. The roots, trunk and the branches are so new that they can not support them selves easily. If your tree is giving fruits in the early years the danger is even more prominent as the combined weight of branch and the fruits can cause the entire branch to snap off. So always provide your tree external support in such case by propping them up with boards or tying them to something at fair height. So, proper support in early years of tree growth ensures the independence of your tree in future years that will please you very much.

If you want some healthy and delicious fruit from your tree, take proper care of its nutrition. Moreover proper nutrition ensures that your tree survive longer than one season. What your tree exactly needs totally depends on your area and climate situation but consulting the nursery employee in any case can be really helpful. I have never found any nursery employee giving wrong advice. They will always give you proper fertilizer and advices. Do tell them properly the area in which you are growing the tree and the health status of your tree and then just leave rest to them. They will give you tips on how to improve the state of your tree.

A false idea is that giving your tree lot of water ensures its healthiness. Never ever think like this and always keep in mind that insane amount of water can be destructive. It can affect the taste of your fruit and even can cause your tree to die completely. Have you ever thought like this? If you want your tree to give fruit for long, always give it that much water it actually needs. Giving your tree lots of water is no solution to un-healthiness! Always judge the root problem of your tree and try to solve it.

Remove any branches that are looking damaged or diseased as early as possible. Keeping such branches is totally a waste of nutrients as the tree sends nutrients to every branch and if any branch can’t be repaired why a tree should waste nutrients by giving them to that branch. This can create a lot of de-balance of nutrients and the branches that really requires nutrients can fall short of them. So chop off any branch that looks unhealthy or deteriorating. If whole branch is not unhealthy, you can simply remove only those parts that are looking totally damaged and can leave the rest as they are.

Caring your tree in such a way will ensure the health of your tree and a day will come when it will bear lots of healthy fruit. Never leave any fruit on the ground that is bound to fall. Never leave any of the fruit on the tree even if it is looking ugly. Just pick it and throw it away as keeping them on the branches can lead to so many diseases. The rotten fruit is a perfect home of diseases and insects that can damage your whole tree badly.

Caring your tree properly is of course a task which requires intense labor. Sometimes you will feel that keeping care of all the things that ensures tree heath is impossible but if you pay attention to the nutrients your tree needs, you are indeed following a path of success. Moreover, always look out the exact amount of water your tree needs. Do not keep it thirsty and of course do not drown it in too much water. You can get a perfect fruit tree with delicious fruits by following all these immensely useful tips.

Tree Training Theory; make your tree grow the way you want!

One should not misunderstand the term pruning. People mostly think that giving your tree a certain style or shape is known as pruning but this is a false idea. Changing the structure or shape of tree has been given another name and that is ‘Tree Training’. Pruning is basically a way to prevent the tree from becoming crooked and dis-balanced. Moreover it is used to prevent diseases and to encourage healthier fruit growth.

Pruning don’t give your tree a proper shape, it only maintains the shape you have achieved through ‘Tree Training’. Tree sometimes starts growing too many branches on only one side of the tree which can distort the vertical structure of the tree badly. That is where pruning comes in; you can remove the un-necessary branches using different pruning techniques. So pruning is just marinating your tree shape not altering the tree shape.

Pruning: Not a New Concept:

The word training is not old in tree growing world. In Tree Training you can direct the growth of tree in any wanted shape by simply tying down branches or propping them up from the ground. Tree training is normally used in initial period of tree just to make sure that tree grows in every direction but it can be used effectively in later years of growth also. If you do proper tree training in earlier years of tree, you can save lot of pruning efforts later.

Summer time is the best time for training. The theme of Tree training is that you try to redirect un-necessary braches instead of chopping them off. We can relate the tree training process to orthodontic braces which a dentist sets on the patient’s teeth. Braces pull or push your teeth in the direction best for your teeth structure. Slowly and steadily your teeth starts growing in that specific direction naturally. Same happens in this tree training process!!

Tree Training is All About Generating Ideas:

Tree training needs a lot of planning and thinking as there are lots of ways you can do it. You have to choose the form in which you want your tree to be. Some training techniques let your tree grow very dense and that is best if you want to grow an orchard. Some techniques increase maximum fruit bearing per tree. Give your tree any shape depending on how you want your tree to function. Always go for the tree shape that you think is perfect for your situation.

If you are thinking that tree training theory is not useful for those who want their tree to grow in standard form, you are wrong. Okay what If your tree branches start growing too close to each other that they start blocking out each other? Of course in this case you need to train them to grow in other direction so that excessive pruning can be avoided later. So a tree planter needs to know what training means, if he/she wants his experience to be successful and easy.

Use Out side Braces:

To guide a tree, you will need some kind of outside brace to push or pull a branch. If you want two branches to be close you can simply tie them by using a rope. Similarly if you want two branches to grow away from each other you can put something between them. So training actually needs thinking from you. Just imagine the different ways you can teach your tree in order to make it do what you want. You can use stakes, fences and things like that to implement tree training practically.

Every tree grower takes lot of benefits from tree training theory. You can use tree training techniques no matter whether you want to completely change the shape of your tree or simply want to optimize the branch placement for healthier fruit.

Different breathtaking types of Cherry tree

If you want to enjoy the most pleasant experience of growing trees, you should grow a cherry tree. The word cherry is after an ancient city of Turkey and it describes both the tree and fruit. Cherry fruit has one seed in the center which is contained in middle in single hard core while the outside of tree is very smooth and have small groove down one side. All the fruits of such structure are classified as a Drupe. Cherry fruit has hundreds of different varieties and all of them are not equally pleasant to eat.

Basic groups of cherries:

The most basic groups of cherries are just two namely wild cherry or sour cherry. Wild cherries found their origin in Europe or West Asia and are generally used for plain eating. Wild cherries are also most commonly available cherries and you can buy them easily from any fruit store. Sour cherries, as per name are not too delicious and that is why instead of plain eating they are more commonly used in cooking situations. The cherries jam or jelly is generally made of sour cherries.

Cherry tree is beautiful:

Cherry trees give beautiful flowers and blossoms and that is why cherry tree is so pleasant to grow. It not only gives you delicious fruit but it also gives wonderful flowers which enhances the beauty of your garden a lot. If you have a cherry tree in your garden, you always keep on waiting for spring when the tree gives breathtaking flowers.

Always go for black cherry variety if you are interested in growing any cherry variety. The main features of this tree are its ‘tallest size’ and the ‘beautiful clusters of white flowers’ in spring. Cherry fruit is small and black and you can harvest them in summer. The only thing about the tree which can irritate someone is that the fruit falls on the ground on their own and make the concrete dirty. Moreover it is also very susceptible to some caterpillars. So if you are planning to start a cherry tree, always plant it near grass and keep it away from any concrete surface or sidewalk.

Purple leaved plum:

Purple leaved plum is another cool tree to grow. The name gives the idea that it is some kind of plum but be sure that it is not a plum; it is just a larger type of cherry. This tree is very unique because of its shocking purple flowers. To explain more the beauty of tree I should tell that the flowers of the tree change color to light pink from deep purple during the flowering season, what’s not to love?! It is a bit easy to maintain because pests normally don’t attack this tree.

Amur Chokeberry: Yet another Cherry:

Amur Chokeberry is another fascinating cherry type and is famous because of its golden bark on the trunk and branches. It gives very small and white blossoms in the middle of spring. One of its chief requirements is moist and well-drained soil. Remember, this tree can’t grow without such soil and if you are lacking such soil in your garden, you should move on to another tree. You are lucky if you are living in very cold climate because this tree shows well resistance against pests in such climate. Maintaining this tree is really very hard but the results are awesome in the form of delicious fruit and breathtaking blossoms.

Time to go for Cherry Tree!!

You can always find a cherry tree type suited best to your area and climate. They immensely add to the beauty of your yard and people will let you know this over and over. You will forget every flaw and artificiality of your garden once you will be seeing your cherry tree in full bloom. Don’t be late now and pay a visit to your nursery. Look out which cherry variety is available and best suited for your region. You will definitely like one and that I assure you.

Tips on starting an Orchard

Image by Deepsiix via Flickr

If you have got much land which is free but fertile, you can plan of starting an orchard there. Orchard is not too easy to establish and maintain so if you are experienced in the world of tree growing you are perfect to grow an orchard. Many people will tell you that growing orchard is a tedious task but if you can show commitment to your tree it is fairly simple.

If you are first time using a specific land for tree growing, you will of course not want to do lot of trees there as it will take your so much time and money. In the start every one wants to see whether the land is good enough for tree growth or not and that is why one should start off with only one or two trees. You can handle multiple trees easily but only after the very first tree enters its adulthood life successfully as it will let you know that your land and you are good enough to handle trees fruitfully. So in start only plant what you can handle easily.

If you want to grow multiple trees right from the start then choose all the trees of same type as they all will need equal amount of care, nutrients and water. This will save your lot of time! Another major benefit of growing one type of trees together is that you will become familiar with the process of growing that specific tree. I should say you would become the master of that type.

You are lucky if you already have a tree that you have maintained from its childhood on your property because in such case you have already a sure idea that your soil is best for the other trees of same kind. You should test all your soil before planting another tree of same kind just to make sure that rest of soil is similar to the segment in which you have already planted a successful tree. If the tests come out positive you are lucky as now you have only to repeat the same process and you are well familiar with all the problems you have to face during the new trees growth.

Starting an orchard is real fun! In orchard the trees are planted in a row and they are given the fan shape or espalier shape using two dimensional pruning techniques. There is one main branch in the middle that is fully vertical, then numerous branches that go off to the side. The difference between Fan and Espalier is only in shape of the side branches. If they are horizontal it is Espalier and if it is slopped it is Fan. Such shapes are very compact and that is why they are well suited for an orchard. You can grow many trees in specific area. Well if the land area is too much you can rely on standard tree shapes.

Watering the trees regularly is really very important. You can use a sprinkling system or irrigation system effectively for watering purpose. Sprinklers will require your lots of energy and time so irrigation system is best. Simply dig an irrigation ditch and then run the faucet for a few minutes every day and you will be done.

A day will come when you will harvest lots of delicious fruit from your tree. Don’t eat them all your self and of course never throw them away. You can sell them at Farmer’s market to earn good extra cash. Just let the consumers know how delicious your product is. If your fruit proves to be a hit, you can easily make back all the money you invested but of course it is impossible that you earn so much money from Farmer’s market that you become extra rich. You should not invest a lot while starting an orchard, simply start with one single tree and minimum investment. You can of course expand the orchard in future years. Bundle of wishes and happy gardening!!!

To stake or not your young tree

Water and nutrients is not the only thing your tree needs in early years of its life. Proper support is what your tree really needs in addition to all other vital things. You don’t want your tree de-structured and crooked and to avoid that you have to provide it perfect support. Lack of support can cause your tree to bend in one direction permanently.

Staking properly:

The best and most tried method of keeping your tree vertically straight is to put long stakes into the ground on either side and attach loops around the tree. Don’t keep the loop too tight as it will restrict the trunk to grow openly. Never put a stake on only one side of your tree and the reason is that it restricts the further growth of tree.

Staking may not be necessary:

Staking is not necessary if you think that there are no forces that can shake the ball of roots inside the ground. But if there is strong wind and any other force than can do this effectively then you have to stake your tree. The ball of roots should not be in motion because it will make tree unable to properly get grip on soil and this will of course disturb the structure of your beloved tree.

Before staking be clear that your tree needs support or not. If you are staking your tree without any need you are not repairing your tree but you are harming it. Staking always causes abrasion or rashes on the stem of tree thus you always should avoid staking if your tree does not need it. Staking also snatches away the natural look of your garden and offer hazards for people walking or running across the yard. So don’t do staking unless you don’t have any other option at all.

How to do staking in best way:

Let us consider in detail the staking process. Simply take three stakes and tie each of them separately near the base of stem. If you are using some type of tether to put off rope burn on your tree, that would be an even superior solution. They are perfectly bark friendly and you can buy these easily from any gardening shop. It is the best alternative to the bare rope as it decreases a lot the quantity of friction your tree bears.

Don’t keep stakes un-necessarily:

Remove the stakes as soon as you figure out that your tree does not need any more support. Always keep in mind that every artificial thing you do to your tree causes some type of harm to it. You can also temporarily put off the stakes if the weather forecast is predicting low winds in your area. The aim is clear and that is give your tree as natural environment as possible so that it does not loose any of the vitality.

Well if your tree really needs good staking, do provide it that as it is really important in certain scenarios. So you should have well knowledge that when your tree really needs staking. Staking a tree that does not need it and not staking a tree that needs it can be equally damaging for your tree. An expert can be consulted to get a sincere advice in this matter.

What’s the best shape for your tree?

You can shape your tree in the way you want through different pruning techniques. Remember, there are seven major styles in which one can prune the tree and each one has its own advantages for specific conditions. Always chop off the un-needed branches during the growth of the tree while tie the required branches in proper shape. This will allow you to shape the tree in the certain way you want. There are some very advanced shapes of trees but of course for them you need equally advanced pruning methods. You can make use of many books on this topic available in library.

Always get your tree to a certain shape when it is not giving fruits or equivalently we can say that all the tying and pruning should occur in the fall because this encourages the shape to stick. Let us expand on different shapes from which you can choose:

• Every one knows about the standard trees and they don’t need any detailed explanation. Just remember, the shape which comes in your mind first when you think about a tree is standard shape. To give your tree a standard shape simply let it grow and prune normally.

• Bush tree is the second type of tree shapes. One can turn the standard tree into bush tree through pruning. Bush tree differs only from standard tree in length of the trunk or stem. Branches take the same shape but trunk is little shorter than that of standard tree. The significance of such tree becomes clear when you need to grow a tree but don’t want to block the view. I once grew my tree as bush tree just because I did not want to block the awesome view of Rocky Mountains.

• Most of my readers will not be familiar with a type of tree known as Cordon. The most interesting thing about this tree is that it has only one stem and has no branches at all. It is planted at a specific angle so that it arches up over the earth. Branches are removed manually as quickly as they are grown. They are beneficial in a situation when you don’t have much space for the tree or you have to fit it in a square footage. The only thing that may be a point of worry for many is that this type of tree does not give much fruit.

• Espalier trees have one single vertical trunk in center while many horizontal branches on each side. They give a lot of fruits unlike Cordon tree and can be easily grown in long rows. Always use this tree shape if you grow orchard because you can fit many orchards in the area you have using this tree shape.

• There is a very little difference between fan trees and Espalier trees. In this shape there is again a single vertical branch but the other connected branches grow as a standard tree, they are not horizontal. This tree shape is best when you have to save space and are used as an alternative of espalier trees for certain types of trees that do better with sloped branches.

• Step over Espalier is another type of Espalier tree. It is not so much different from Espalier. Step Espalier has only one horizontal branch which is very near to earth surface. They offer lots of fruit and at the same time gives border for what you wish. This tree shape is amazing at least for me because they fence my garden so well and bears a lot of fruit….. I am loving it!!!

Each shape has both its merits and demerits and you should think a lot before choosing the shape for your tree. You can finalize your decision after taking good help from local nursery employees. Getting your tree to a specific shape is not difficult task at all and you just need some guidance from experts at the beginning. Once you get the initial kick the rest of the process is very easy and simple.

Do you have excess Fruit?? Go to Farmer’s Market!

Image via Wikipedia

The joy of maintaining the tree and eating the delicious fruit are the main motivations for entering the tree growing world. Personally, I think that one can easily carry out a quite profitable scheme with fruit trees. You can do that with no trouble by operating a fruit stand or by taking an active part in a farmer’s market.

I was bit sad and depressed when I moved to Florida because I had left behind countless years of hard work which made me able to establish the luxurious lawn. But I readily overcome this depression and planned to establish a more beautiful and elegant lawn in my new house. I was unfortunate because the previous owner of my new house had taken no care of the lawn. Lots of un-maintained grass was the only thing I could see in my new lawn.

New climate, New trees!

I planned to do some new trees here in the new climate. I was happy because I was able to grow some trees that I had never planted before just because they did not suit the earlier climate. So I decided to get few orange trees because they grow so happily all over Florida. I had some very bad experiences with the trees I have grown earlier and I was totally unaware of the fact that orange tree is so easy to maintain. Valencia orange was my final decision to start off with just because they are the most popular orange genre of the Florida area.

The practical work started after I was done with the decision that which tree should I do. I worked 3 days to dig all the necessary holes and put the trees in them. I bought three trees of Valencia orange and that’s why it took so many days to prepare the holes. I planted the trees so well that I was proud of myself. Future years were as great as the initial experience. Trees grew vertically straight, caught no disease at all and most of all gave fruits exactly when they were expected to.

Lots of fruit:

First three or four years were not too good as far as the quantity of fruits were concerned. Still the fruit was not so less and I always got them for my personal use. I enjoyed a lot of orange juice in those years but I was bit worried deep inside because I was not getting so much amount of fruit from the three trees. I was not depressed at all but still I was not too happy as I had heard that people get thousands and thousands of oranges from several trees. I started considering myself bit unfortunate for that!!

But after one year my orange trees really took off. I was amazed one day when suddenly I looked at the trees and found 5 times as many fruits there as I had grown in any earlier time. Now I was unable to think what to do of so many fruit. I harvested them all and kept in my kitchen for few days but I was constantly thinking what to do with all this fruit now. My neighbor then suggested me that I should sell at Farmer’s market and that suggestion attracted me a lot.

The first day at Farmer’s market was awesome and I easily earned back all the money which I spent on the original trees. I felt my self so lucky when I found out that I was able to attract more costumers than any of the other participant of Farmer’s market. I then became a regular participant of Farmer’s market. I was happy that I was able to earn handsome amount of money by just selling oranges! I happily thought that this was the best use of those oranges as one human can’t eat them all. Final words, if you have got excess quantity of fruit, never eat it all or throw away. You can make a better use of them by simply selling them at Farmer’s market. That will earn you a lot of extra cash and that I assure you…!!

Stay Safe while removing old trees

Your tree can get to the point where you can’t keep it any more and have to say good bye to it. Of course the decision of cutting off your own tree can be really difficult but sometimes you have no other option left. If your tree gets too close to the house, or it gets fatal plague of some pest or gets too much diseased than you have to get rid of such tree either happily or un-happily. Tell your heart that you are doing no good with your hand grown tree if you are allowing it to suffer in such worst conditions.

Planning the removal once you have decided to remove it is very important. I am unable to count that how many windows I have seen broken or cars I have seen crushed just because the concerned guys haven’t planned the removal effectively. One should decide well that in which direction they want tree to fall. Another important thing in planning is the measurement of tree so that one should make sure that it falls clear of any thing else.

Next step after planning is to mount up the tree and fasten two long ropes near the top. Don’t anchor them in the direction in which you want the tree to fall towards but in the opposite direction. This will help you in adjusting the direction in which the tree is going to fall. This Of course can keep tree from leaning in any dangerous direction.

Now its time to start chopping!!!

You are not sensible if you are thinking that you can chop the tree with manually operated axe. A manually operated saw can take your years to cut off a tree, so you better use a chain saw. Quit the plan of cutting tree if you don’t have chain saw and of course you can borrow it from your neighbor or any one easily. You can rent or buy one from home improvement store if no one around has it. But that is MUST!

Take care of your eyes while chopping as any wood chip can easily hit your eye. Use proper eye and face protection for that. One of my friends blinded his right eye while chopping the tree. I hope my readers will learn from this huge mistake. Power tools can be dangerous for your exposed body parts so be sure to protect yourself completely before using them.

Never cut straight lines into the tree.

Always cut side ways “V ” into the tree because it has some special significance. This is because if you cut the straight line, the tree will end up rolling to one side or the other. Cutting the tree in V will help it to fall in same direction you want. The tree can lean few feets in wrong direction while falling because of human imperfections but that’s where those ropes come which you have tied to top of tree. Use your friends and strongly pull the ropes to line it back up with desired path. You can easily complete this whole process is not more than an hour.

Stump of the tree is hardest part to remove. You can make use of your options here; rent out a stump chipper that will entirely wipe out the visible section of the stump. If you do not want to do this then I am afraid you have to spend several hours digging it out. You can make use of your kids here because kids normally don’t feel offensive when they are assigned digging tasks because they do this with their friends all day long. This is my tried and tested method. I asked my kids to do digging and I had the full stump out in under a week. My stump was not more than 1 foot in diameter and if your tree has stump bigger than that then you may have to think for an alternative!!

Prune your tree today for its better tomorrow

You will be well familiar with the term ‘Pruning’ if you are new in tree growing world. It’s a very common term which is used mostly by veteran growers. My case was bit different because I was not familiar with this term even after several years of my entrance in tree growing world. It was not like I had not heard about ‘Pruning’, I heard about it lot but never asked someone what pruning actually means. I don’t know why I always felt very uncomfortable asking any one about this term. Now I think if I had asked about it earlier, it would have benefited my initial tree growing experience a lot. I was bit prideful to ask and that pride was the reason of my many great endeavors. Now I think I could have saved many disasters of my initial tree growing experience if I had just once asked someone about pruning.

Pruning, this term actually means cutting off un-needed and dead branches to ensure growth of flowers. If you don’t remove un-needed branches it will create a lot of un-balancing of energy between dead and alive tree branches. May be tree starts giving more energy to dead branch as compared to the branch which is bearing more fruit and desperately needs lot of energy. Moreover, pruning helps in keeping the tree in beautiful shape. All branches remain even and tree does not weighed down on one side. Remember, if you don’t prune the tree properly it can cause the tree to crook on one side forever!

Start pruning today:

If you are thinking that you will prune your tree after it will start giving fruits then you are wrong and making a big mistake. Your tree needs your attention all over the year no matter whether its fruit time or not. Always keep your tree even and uniform by doing proper pruning. If you do proper care and pruning of your fruit tree before it starts to give fruits, you will see the results will be immensely awesome. A man walking in the street can easily tell whether the tree has been pruned frequently or not by just looking at it once!

Always first look for those branches which are not alive any more or diseased. Of course it is not difficult to recognize which branches are not healthy. Such branches will not have any fruits and will be discolored or de-structured. Just chop off such branches as they are doing no good to your tree. Sometimes the dead or diseased branch does not look obvious but it will be obvious after some days when whole tree will be giving flowers except those branches.

What more you have to look for:

Also chop off the branch that is too close to other branches. If the end of the branch is right next to other branches, it can be dangerous for your tree as it can end up crowding each other out. In such case remove the smaller branch and let the longer branch grow openly. Do same if there is weigh balance problem with your tree. It is very natural that tree sometimes starts growing more branches on one side and become crooked in no time.

That’s all about the basic knowledge of pruning. These two are only the basic types of branches which should be pruned. If your tree is very old the branches which require pruning can be many. For the first 3 years of a tree’s expansion it requires pruning that follows more “formative” guidelines. Once your tree is well established you will need to use “regulatory” pruning to see it in the shape you like. You can make use of lots of pruning guides available in the library. Just pay a visit to your local library and you can pick any type of pruning book you want.

Different fruit tree diseases and their prevention

If you guys have any experience of growing plums, cherries, peaches or any other rough fruit tree like that, you would have a clear idea that such fruit trees are exposed to diseases more than any other type. No doubt that the fruit of such trees are extra-ordinarily delicious but the hard fact is that it is so difficult to maintain such fruit tree healthy and diseases free. Thus, it can be a challenging task for any one to grow these fruit tress.

Deadly Brown Rot:

“Brown Rot” is the disease that is most common. In this disease, the leftover fruits catch fungus after the harvest season is over. This not only distorts the beauty of your fruit tree but it can also affect the newer fruits. So if this disease dominates your tree you become unable to eat any fruit of the tree unless you enjoy eating fungus. Proper air circulation is the thing that can help remedy this problem and of course frequent pruning is the only thing that can ensure good air circulation. Brown rot is caused because of moisture collection in the tree. Remember; don’t leave any fruit on the tree and the ground at the end of picking season.

Another worst disease:

Cytospora canker is another disgusting fruit tree problem that affects the branches. In this disease, sticky gum pops out of the bark with lot of callus. Some specific pathogens which enter the tree through old wounds results in this disease. The best solution to avoid this problem is to prune all the sprouts that occur at end of summers. Don’t ever try to heal the wounds using the dressings bought from gardening stores. Just let them heal naturally! The artificial healing only makes your tree look un-natural nothing else.

Not over yet! Black Knot

A very common disease in plum trees is Black Knot. It is actually those rough growths or tumors that are visible on branches of the tree. Just cut the effective branch immediately and never ever use that branch for mulching purposes. This disease can again affect the tree in no time if it is within a specific remoteness.

Cheery leaf spot, a cherry disease:

“Cheery leaf spot” is a common disease of the cherry tree. This disease takes birth in the old dead leaves that are gathered on the ground. So the remedy to disease is simple. Keep clearing the area under your tree frequently and just don’t let old dead leaves to be accumulated. Well, if you are a bit late and you can see the signs of this disease then you have to destroy all the raked leaves before any thing worse takes place. You can use these dead leaves as mulch also.

Don’t take time more than 2 weeks to pick up all the ripen fruits. Check your tree daily for the ripe fruits and pick up those also which have fallen of the tree. Pick up those also which are rotting on the tree or have just started rotting. This will keep away the bees and wasps from your tree.

So if you are fond of growing fruit tree then prepare your self to face different kinds of worries and diseases. But as we all know taking precautions helps a lot and same is the case here. You can avoid many fruit tree diseases by taking necessary precautions. There may be some diseases that have hit your specific area so watch out for them also. You can avoid them by taking necessary measures and steps.

How to plant a tree?

If you have decided the tree you want to plant and the right spot for that tree, you are ready to plant it. Special care must be taken while taking the plant from nursery to home. Try to place the tree in the standing position if it is in a pot so that it reaches home safely. Now when the tree reaches your home safe and sound, the process of planting it begins.

First of all, have a look at the bundle of roots of your plant. This will help you understand the width and depth of the hole. Dig a hole twice as wide as the bundle of roots and a little more deep than that. More space in the hole is left to add extra soil at the end. Well taking it positively, the extra space in hole is left to put back the soil which you dug out as you will find that extra soil useless at the end.

Smooth the hole with a layer of fertilizer or any compost after you are done with digging the hole. Now you are going to put the tree in the hole carefully. Do not forget to spread out the roots evenly as it will help fruit tree to be strong and steady. Now fill the extra soil in the hole without leaving any space. Use all the extra soil to fill the hole, even if the hole is already filled. It is better to fill the hole even higher to the ground level than leaving dirt on the floor. This is because the level will be surfaced later when you water your tree.

You are going to dense the soil now but before that check if the tree is vertical or not. Remember if the tree is not vertical, it may eventually fall down. If you feel that the stem of the tree is not completely straight, tie it by stakes with the help of rope so that it may not bend later. But also make certain that you do not tie the stem tightly as it may affect the tree’s growth. This will help the stem to be straight in few weeks. Once it is sturdy and able to bear any weather, you can remove the stakes.

Now mulching must be done around the bottom of the tree. Protection of your tree is another big task especially if you live near some forest. Put a fence around your tree to save it from animals. Your fruit tree will start to give fruits in 3 to 4 years. Sometimes the fruit tree gives that much fruit to bend down the stems with heavy weight. To avoid such situation, you must pick out some fruit after some time to lighten the burden. If the burden of the fruits is more than a stem can carry, it will break down.

Your fruit tree might not bear sufficient fruit some year, but this is normal. Trees are known to take some holidays when they love to produce no or very less fruit. Fruit trees might also be attacked by pests but this is controllable. Move away any dead leaves or any decaying material from the tree otherwise they will attract pests to them and to the tree finally.

Pruning your fruit tree in winter and spring is another major step to keep your tree healthy. If it is hot and dry, water the tree twice every week. Do not hit your tree with a lawn mower or weed eater not even by accident as this will damage the tree’s growth badly. The accurate amount of water and sunlight is the key to get a healthy fruit tree.

Be sure which orange tree suits your area

The options of growing fruit trees expand immensely, if you live in places like Florida or California because fruit trees survive perfectly in such hot and humid sub-tropical zone. In fact, if you properly watch out for pests you can grow almost any type of fruit tree. Take all the necessary measures to prevent pests from taking over your beloved tree. Orange tree can be a great option to start with because they are very easy to maintain also because the fruit is very delicious. No fruit can compare orange fruit in its sweetness, juiciness and unique flavor.

Too much height:

A very important thing to consider while planning growing orange tree is its height. Remember, an orange tree can grow 50 feet in heights towards its later years. So always plant the little tree in an open area so that it always will have lot or room to expand in any way. I did not know that orange tree expands so much, so I made a very crucial mistake. I planted it in a very congested place and after few years I had to renovate my yard extremely. Readers will not believe, I took out a complete shed in order to provide room to my tree which it needed desperately. So proceed with caution right from the start.

Always plant the orange tree in fine sand with great drainage. Moreover, always keep the soil very deep because orange tree reaches un-imaginable size and thus it requires strong support from down below. Its roots develop extensively and if you have got shallow and easily saturated soil then modify it or skip this plan and move to another tree.

Let us expand on few great orange types:

• “Washington Navel” is the most famous orange type and it is actually a wonderful result of mutation of other oranges. It originated in Brazil around 1820, and had moved on to Florida within fifteen years. It is widely available genre of oranges world-wide. The major characteristic of this type is its intense flavor not the juiciness. You may get other types with lots of juice but you can’t find any other type better than this in flavor. They don’t need too much water and thus most easily maintainable.

• “Trovita” is another great citruses type invented in the early 1900s at a lab in California. So, of course it’s a result of mutation too. Its flavor is not very intense and it has a lot more seeds than Washington Navel. However, it was designed to be more compliant to harsher, hot and dry environments that would not be acceptable for other types of orange. There are many other types now a days in Florida which are mutations of Trovita.

• The most popular orange type in South Africa and the southern USA states is “Valencia”. The Valencia is intensely flavored and full of juice. Valencia oranges completely dominated the orange market almost 20 years ago because of its popularity. It was invented in china and has very less seeds, may be not more than one or two. Another subgroup of Valencia oranges is the “Rhode Red Valencia” oranges and they were invented at labs in 1960s.The tree of Rhode Red Valencia is extremely hardy and long and the fruit it gives are more juicy and less acidic than the standard Valencia oranges.

It can be easily concluded that an orange tree are great things to get planted. The input it requires is too little while the output it gives is fairly large. Its your turn to plant an orange tree just don’t hesitate and pick the variety that attracts you most and then give it a go. But be sure the type you are choosing is compatible with your area otherwise you will be just wasting your time on nothing. Spend your money and time on the right thing !! Bundle of wishes…….

What is the Ideal Place for your fruit tree?

Deciding the precise place for your tree before planting is an imperative task. The most important thing to consider is its surroundings. There might be any thing which will come on its way while it is growing. It can be a building, path way or an electric line if it grows too tall.

This article lists the things that must be considered before planting a tree so that the chances of propagation of a fruit tree without any disturbance remain maximum. For that reason, you must always do some homework to know the species of that fruit tree before growing it. You must be aware how long and wide it will end up eventually. There are three sizes of a fruit tree: dwarf, semi dwarf and standard. Dwarf trees require an eight-foot diameter to grow. Semi-dwarf trees grow up to fifteen feet wide and standard trees can grow up to thirty feet wide. Pruning the fruit tree once a year is necessary to keep its growth as it should be.

Sunlight is necessary:

Sunlight plays major role in the growth of a fruit tree but make sure that your tree is getting the correct amount of sun light. Remember right amount of the sunlight is very crucial for the survival of your fruit tree. Do not place your tree where it is getting too much sunlight every time of the day. Also do not plant it where the sun light is being blocked by other things. Both are equally dangerous for a fruit tree.

Plan well the place of your tree:

Another thing that you must consider is whether the place you have chosen for your tree is easy for watering, pruning and harvesting? Suppose if the tree is much closer to the fence of your home, it might throw fruits and leaves in your neighbor’s yard to offend them. Watering tree is another issue. If you have got the sprinkler system, either place the tree where the sprinkler could reach or where your hose might access it.

Soil should be compatible:

Suitable soil is no doubt an essential to get a good fruit tree. Your soil might be excellent but the important thing is if it suits your tree or not. You need to think about many things like the nutrients in your soil, the soil’s texture, enough moisture and proper drainage system. If the drainage system is not there, it might drown your tree. If your soil doesn't own above mentioned qualities then the chances for your tree to grow well and produce good fruit are very thin. If you want to check all these qualities of your soil, just take a little portion of it to the lab. They will take some money and give you result in just a few days. Do not worry if the result is bad. To add nutrients in your soil, just fetch some fertilizers from your local nursery. Show them result and they will give you the correct fertilizer to kill any deficiency in your soil.

Give it a go then:

If you have gone through all above listed steps, you are ready to go and get a fruit tree for you. While buying a tree, keep in mind the place you have already chosen for the tree. Make sure you are not one of those, who will end up removing the adult tree just because they did poor or no planning.

First tree experience is not always good!

No one is perfect in any thing and the only thing that makes some one perfect is experience and practice. Same is the case when you talk about growing a tree as there are so many mistakes people do during there first tree growing experience, which haunt them for years and I am of course one of them. I bet if there was an award for being the most immature person to ever attempt growing a tree, I would win!

I always envisioned so many ideas for a perfect place in my lawn which is least traveled area and that is a gap between my house and my fence of about 5 feet. Once I decided to provide a beautiful shade in that area so that my family could use it as a little picnic paradise........!

Finally I decided to start this little paradise with a nice apple tree. Of course there was a great risk involved of apples falling on our heads but still I carried on my plan. The romantic and poignant vision of sitting under the shade of apple tree attracted me a lot and I drove my self to nursery. I had no idea then about the healthy trees signs and I just spent the required amount of money and had the tree delivered right to my house.

I was so excited that I dig the hole right after the tree was delivered. I relaxed after finishing the job of planting the tree. I estimated that I could easily dig a hole in not more than one or two hours but I was wrong. Once you start digging the hole it progresses so slowly than you had expected. That process was so hectic that by the time I actually got the hole big enough to fit the ball of roots, I undoubtedly didn’t feel like digging another few feet around the perimeter as most tree planting guides propose. I was not able to lift the tree across the yard alone so I called my neighbor and with his help I succeeded in dropping the tree in that hole. Time of filling in the hole started then…!

I was so happy at my efforts and admired my self for long while looking at the perfectly planted tree. I was patting my back with full happiness when my 3 year old daughter came and said something that crushed my spirits. I still can’t forget the way she said “Daddy, that tree stands up like grandpa!” My father was a great man and most of you would be wondering why this statement of my daughter disappointed me. The reason is that my father’s back has been deteriorating lately and he is unable to stand up vertically straight. I shook my head and noticed closely the tree I had just planted and found out that my daughter comment was very much right.

Anyways, I did not care about that problem a lot and thought that tree would naturally outgrow its posture problem. I checked the tree every day to determine whether it had improved its posture or not but that never happened and my spirits kept on dropping. I was so badly disturbed that I started ignoring the tree. Of course, I could not remove the tree from my yard so I did what I thought was best, I started pushing it out of mind. I was so embarrassed on my efforts that I decided that I would pack up my luggage and flee the state if any problem ever came about from leaving the tree there.

Three years went by and I completely kept on ignoring that an apple tree ever existed in my garden when one day I heard a loud crash. I rushed out to see the problem and what I saw was un-imaginable. My tree had grown to such an un-manageable size that that it had taken out my gutter and part of my neighbor’s enclosure. That was of course unbearable and immensely embarrassing so I did exactly what I thought. Yes! I moved out of the state within few days.

Ensure the survival of your young fruit tree

Image via Wikipedia

Some people think that keeping a fruit tree healthy is very strenuous and time-consuming job but if you want to get healthy fruits from it you have to properly maintain your tree. One can maintain a complete list of vital things he or she needs to do in order to make sure the plant is growing healthy.

First off, never harvest all of the fruit on the tree at once and secondly, pests should be kept away from the tree. Moreover, there should be a proper check on the soil. A young plant catches the diseases very easily so make sure that you do proper care when it is in early stages of its life. Let’s talk about these all advices in detail.

• Never harvest all of the fruit at same time: If you are planning that you will harvest all the fruits at the same time when they will be ripen up, you are doing no good to your tree. The combined un-bearable weight of all the fully grown fruits can snap the branches. So remember, collect some of the fruits before they are ready to harvest so that the branches of your tree stay safe.

• Plant your tree in fertile soil: Your fruit plant needs nutrients and the only source of nutrients a tree has the “Soil”. So make sure that the soil in which you are planting your fruit tree is full of those nutrients which it needs. Remember, planting the right tree in right kind of soil is a key to healthy growth of your tree. Make sure you won’t plant a fruit tree which likes damp soil in a dry soil and of course also not the other way round. Do a good research on the type of nutrients which your plant needs and then modify your soil accordingly before planting.

• Watch out for pests: Have a proper look on places around your tree where pests could be hiding. Old piles of brush, old leaves, weeds and any place where any kind of matter is decaying is normally the house of pests. Use repellents and bug sprays to clear off the places around your tree. Some harmful pests may be hiding under the soil, completely out of your sight. So, change the upper level of your soil after few weeks in order to maintain a healthy fruit tree.

• Plant your tree correctly: Make sure your tree is perfectly vertical when you plant it, otherwise it would grow very abnormally in the later stages of its life. A healthy tree is always stable and you can ensure the stability of tree by spreading its roots properly while planting it. There will be a sharp increase in life of tree as a result of spreading out of roots because it ensures maximum intake of underground water.

• Do better care of tree when it is young: A young tree is not so stable and powerful and strong winds can shake its base easily. So one should tie it to stake so that it can survive fierce winds. And don’t tie it very hard as it will stop the tree trunk to grow openly. A young tree should also be fenced properly so that if there are any animals around, they can not eat its newly grown barks.

If you properly follow all these advices you will have a joyful experience of growing a healthy and full of fruits tree. Just try to learn from the mistakes of others so that you won’t do the same mistake! Final words, always keep on doing research about your tree at different stages of its life so that you keep getting on knowing what it exactly needs at that specific time……Happy Gardening!!!

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