Fruit Tree tasks for January and February

Here are some handy hints and some fruit tree garden jobs that need to be done in January/February. The work you do now will pay off all summer long. The words we use can be confusing. When we say ‘Fruit Trees’ we are talking about peaches, nectarines etc. Fruit that goes dormant in the winter. When we say Citrus, that is Oranges, Lemons Tangerines etc. They have different needs.

Prune your Fruit Trees now to keep them low enough that you pick can the fruit without falling off the ladder. Even if you did a summer pruning it doesn’t hurt to do some more. If you have an old big tree doing successive pruning’s will gradually bring the size down.

Be sure you rake up any leaves and branches after you prune. This is where the fungal spores hide to be ready for their summer peach leaf curl attack.

Spray your dormant fruit trees with a liquid Copper spray and any Horticultural oil spray. Especially Peaches and Nectarines to prevent that ugly peach leaf curl appearance in summer. If you wait for summer when the leaves curl it is too late!

Spray again when the leaf buds turn pink and start to come out. What is the Pink bud stage?
This is a bit tricky because different fruit trees will start to leaf out at various times. Weidner’s has a Liqui-Cop hose end sprayer that might be a good thing to have on hand. Copper works on fungi and the oil smothers all the other sleeping insects and eggs.

Come in to the Gardens and talk to one of our knowledgeable staff. Our goal is to help you be successful in your home garden. See our available list of Fruit Trees and Berries below: