Fruit trees are deciduous, deciduous trees that can grow up to fifteen meters tall. Our native fruit trees come from wild fruit varieties that were cultivated and harvested in the Middle East as early as the 4th millennium BC. Over time, the fruit species were planted in extensive plantations and grafted, so that they provided ever larger fruits and yields. Due to the relatively uncomplicated care, they are often planted in allotments, where they can be a permanent and productive part for decades. With regular pruning, fruit trees can be adjusted in size to their location, so that they can have sprawling branches or grow columnar – to save space in height or trellis-like in width. Due to the abundance of different types of fruit on the market,
Table of Contents
fruit tree purchase
Quality is the most important requirement here. Characteristics of a healthy tree are:
- straight stem
- undamaged bark
- well-branched crown with at least three long side branches
- no symptoms of disease such as dry leaf tips
- clean finishing point
location
Most types of fruit are relatively undemanding, but mostly love sunlit places. If several trees are planted, a minimum distance of a few meters should be guaranteed, depending on how large the crown is to be later developed. Two meters for columnar trees, at least six meters for standard trees.
The ideal soil should:
- Locker
- Well ventilated
- Profound
- Not condensed
- Be without waterlogging.
- Never sand or clay soil, either fill the planting hole with humus or pierce the clay layer.
The site conditions vary depending on the type of fruit. Cherry trees tend to love calcareous, lean soil, plums or plums can also cope with moist soil.
Planting step by step
Planting fruit trees should be done in the fall, when the leaves have fallen and there is no ground frost yet. But planting is still possible in spring.
- Autumn: November to December, ideal so that the hair roots can be formed by spring
- Spring: April also possible
It is particularly important to note that special attention is required when transporting the fruit trees:
- Protection of the bark and underlying growth tissue from abrasion or other injury
- Protect root ball from drying out and sun
In humus-rich and loose soil, a planting hole of about sixty centimeters in diameter and 40 centimeters deep is sufficient, so that the root ball has enough space in it.
- insert tree
- Grafting point should definitely be a hand’s breadth above the ground
- fill the planting hole with nutrient-rich soil
- By gently shaking the trunk, the gaps between the roots are filled with loose soil
- careful stepping around the trunk
- make sure that the earth sinks later and compacts itself
- Setting a stake about fifty centimeters deep to tie down the trunk (can be set before or after planting) because of the lack of anchoring in the ground
- Fix the trunk with an elastic band or coir cord, taking care not to damage the trunk
- Watering to promote root growth, ideally with low-lime rainwater and ideally two to three times between the introduction of the filler soil.
Three to six centimeters of bark mulch or chopped material can be applied to the filled-up planting hole to prevent the soil from drying out too quickly. In addition, this creates a habitat for microorganisms, such as earthworms, which transform the ground cover material into humus and transport it through their tube system up to a meter deep to the hairy roots.
watering and fertilizing
Young trees that have just been planted should be watered regularly. Adult and well-established trees do not need extra water during winter and the rainy spring and fall. In hot summers with little rain, daily watering is necessary so that the fruit does not fall off or pests attack the weakened tree.
- per square meter of soil under the tree, about thirty liters of water a day
- either fill three watering cans or put the garden hose under the tree and let it flow for a while
- never water directly on the trunk
- Water at the edge of the tree disc, as this is where the small fibrous roots are located, which absorb the water.
- If the drought persists, water two to three times a day
- Mulch material around the tree prevents the soil from drying out too quickly
The tree disc describes the radius of the root network around the trunk of the tree. It is slightly larger than the crown of the tree.
In order to maintain the productivity of fruit trees, they should be fertilized regularly. For this purpose, fertilizer for fruit trees is applied to the entire tree disc every two years in spring. This is ideally worked into the ground with a rake. Fertilizer for fruit trees is:
- Compost
- nitrogen fertilizer
- Mist
- rock flour
- Algae lime
- Hornspäne
trimming
Fruit trees should be pruned regularly to ensure that they remain productive and that the strength of the tree goes into the fruit and not into the wood. Young saplings are pruned in autumn, mature trees are pruned in spring. After the harvest, an additional cut can be made in the fall. The temperatures should not be below minus five degrees Celsius.
A fruit tree that is supposed to bring good yield needs a light crown. Therefore, all inward growing branches are removed. All branches that grow vertically upwards rob the tree of strength, bear no fruit and are removed in the same way as crossing branches.
- Branches that are to be removed completely are cut off directly at the trunk
- Otherwise just above an outward pointing bud
- Keep interfaces as small and clean as possible
- Use specially ground pruning shears
- Heavy pruning encourages growth
- Weak pruning promotes fruit set
Possible cutting shapes are:
- Round crown (spreading as on meadow orchards)
- Spindle (ideal for allotments due to low growth habit)
- pillar
- trellis
harvest
The fruits of the fruit trees can be harvested from June to October. Cherries are the first trees to let their fruit shine, apples are often the last. You can recognize ripe fruit by:
- bright colors
- Sample of compressive strength, ripe fruits are soft
- fruit falling off
Often, especially with cherries, the starlings are faster with the harvest than humans. Aids such as nets or scarecrows help to preserve the fruit stock for your own harvest.
Wintering of fruit trees
Fruit trees are frost hardy and easily tolerate the cold European winters. To make it a little easier for the trees, there is a way:
- Liming of the trunk: When strong sunlight hits the tree in winter, it can happen that the trunk, which is cold on the inside and warm on the outside, bursts open at the bark. You can prevent this with lime. The white color prevents the trunk from heating up. Before applying the white paint, you should first brush the trunk to remove old and dried bark scales. Green patches should never be brushed.
- Removing fruit mummies: Old, withered fruits should be removed before the next flowering to prevent fungal attack.
propagation
Fruit trees are not propagated by seed like most other plants. Propagation occurs through:
- Refinement
- cuttings
During grafting, shoots of high-quality, high-yielding varieties are grafted onto, for example, slow-growing rootstock varieties. The grafting method depends on the type of fruit tree and is carried out by professionals. When propagated by cuttings, small branches of high-yielding or hardy varieties are rooted and grown in nurseries. The best way to buy the right type of fruit is in garden centers or tree nurseries, where you can get special advice about the character of the tree, such as growth height, care or the characteristics of the fruit.
Diseases
If the tree no longer grows properly, leaves dry up or fruit falls unripe, a disease has usually crept in. Here you should help your tree and support it in its recovery, otherwise a complete death can happen. Possible causes are:
- mushrooms
- bacteria
- viruses
Either the leaves, the roots, the fruits or the trunk are affected. Symptoms are:
- rolled yellow leaves
- powdery mildew on the leaves
- moldy fruits
- scabbed fruits
- resin flow on the trunk
- Withered shoots
The first aid measure is to remove the affected fruit or branches. A specialist can help with appropriate resources. It is best to take the affected parts to a specialist dealer and get advice.
pests
Often, however, the culprits are small animals. If you look closely you can see them sitting on the underside of the leaves. Healthy trees can usually easily cope with pests, but young trees in particular are very sensitive and should be supported in their recovery. Even with very strong pest infestation should be intervened. The common pests are:
- aphids
- scale insects
- Mealybug
- white bow tie
These can be easily removed with chemical agents from garden supplies. If you still want to use the fruits of the tree, you should do without them and prefer to use natural remedies such as nettle juice or neem oil.
Another pest that you don’t see is the vole. Underground, it damages the roots of the fruit tree, preventing growth or, in the worst case, killing it. You can also get help against these pests, which create entire tunnel systems in the ground, in specialist gardening stores.
The most common types of fruit
- Apple – the best-known and most popular type of pome fruit with sweet, fruity, sour, crunchy or floury fruits includes 42 to 55 different types and is ideal for storing over the winter
- Pears – a type of pome fruit with green to yellow fruits, juicy – sweet to sour – firm for direct consumption, bad for storing over the winter
- Cherry – shiny red, sweet, single-pitted fruit, usually growing in pairs on long stalks, ideal for direct consumption
- Sour cherries – similar to sweet cherries, but with tart fruits, mostly in the form of jam
- Plum – blue, sweet fruit with yellow flesh and a large, oval pit, for cakes, compotes, or eaten directly
- Plum – similar to the plum, only slightly smaller and more intense
- Apricot – sweet, floury fruit with a plum-like pit with soft velvety skin
- Peach – very similar to the apricot but with sweet – sour, juicy flesh and soft – velvety skin
- Quince – similar in appearance to a pear or apple, with woody, sour, inedible flesh that only becomes edible when cooked.
For each of these types of fruit there are many different varieties, hybrids and hybrids with different appearances, colors and characteristics of the fruit.
Conclusion
Fruit trees are a wonderful addition to any garden. They accompany us all year round, providing shade and bearing fruit. They are easy to care for and can be kept with little effort. Planting is uncomplicated and possible on almost any soil. An additional addition of humus promotes growth. An annual cut – that’s all it takes for a fruit tree to thank you with lots of fruit.