Fruit trees require regular care, not as often as bedded plants but there is work to do at every stage of development.Choosing varieties that are disease resistant does not always work. Choose varieties that other growers in your area growing and learn from their mistakes. Pruning is used to create balance and to open up the inside to allow air and sunlight into the middle of the tree. Take out suckers and cut out damage. The tree on the left has spreaders to train the branches to grow out. The tub next to it collects rain water to attract bees during flowering. Soil, remove weeds once in the early part of the year and top dress with good quality compost and a layer of mulch. As weeds return pick the ones that are beneficial or better yet put in plants that benefit the plant. Some examples are ; tansy will discourage ants, chives will discourage apple scab. I grow mints under the trees where they will not invade other plants. There are plants that do well at attracting beneficial insects. Yarrow attracts lacewings and lacewings are good at eating aphids and other small insects. These are the most threatening because they are disease vectors. Hyssop is another good plant for attracting beneficial . Borage attracts braconid wasps. This wasp will parasitize catepillars. Golden rod attracts ground beetles. If you live out west, Rivaled sagebrush attracts many preditors. Dill, fennel and echinacea are also good for attracting beneficials . Wormwood ( artimesia) or artimesia trdentata distracts many insects that treaten your trees. If you have Japanese Beetles you can set up a sex lure, but not in your trees set it up across the field or give it to your neighbor. For codling moth you might be able to scrape the bark to find them. Treating them with bacillus thuringiensis (BT) is effective. The pear on the left has mint planted around the base. It will help discourage ants. Pesticide sprays are non specific and so kill more beneficial insects than harmful ones. A healthy approach is to design for diversity. I do not plant orchards. I try to integrate fruits into the garden in strategic locations where they will do best. The pear below needs thinning. Left alone they might break the branch they are on.
If you are having problems with bark splitting or insects. Tree pastes can be made to protect the tree. Here are tow recipes. Equal parts diatomaceous earth, clay and compost made into a slurry and painted on the tree. Another is rock phosphate, compost and silica. This is for repairing damaged trees. Since trees are a more permanent addition I prefer to build a compost pile on the space where the plant will go the next year. My pile are about 6 ft. x 6 ft. I also like to plant a $25 tree in a $50 hole. In other words do it right the first time. Raspberries and strawberries are planted in beds that are shared with perennial flowers or herbs that provide good companionship. Pine mulch helps keep weeds down and creates an acid soil when they finally breakdown.
