Home orchards are a source of pride for those of us who have them. They don’t have to be anything extensive, just a couple of trees to give us something sweet to come home to or bring to the summer picnic. We are harvesting our first peaches off of our three-year-old tree at home and that first bite was very satisfying. I was reminded too that I also needed to go back and do a little more summer training with the trees before the end of July hit. Let’s look at some summer care tips for your home orchard to make sure you are on the right track.

Do a Soil Test

Fruit production and taste can be impacted if soil fertility is off. If you have not done a soil test on your orchard recently you are wasting time and money. Why guess that you are giving your trees and shrubs what they need when soil testing is free in North Carolina from April to November? You could be pouring money into the ground by applying the wrong fertilizer. It is never too late to do a soil test.

Watering

The summer heat and droughts do a number of us and our fruit trees too. It is important to remember that your orchard will need water during droughts, especially if it is still producing fruit. Lack of water can cause fruit drop and decrease fruit palatability. Established trees can survive droughts, but they may not be as productive. The general guidance is about 1” a week around the root zone of the plant. This can be a lot of water when you are dragging a hose, so make sure you plan ahead if you are planning an orchard. Keep your plants mulched (though not too close to the trunks!) to help conserve water, reduce soil temperatures and build soil organic matter.

General Summer Pruning Guidance

Pruning is a critical part of fruit tree management, however many trees you have. The first step is making sure you have the right tools for the job, they are properly serviced and sharpened, and you spray the blade with at least 60 percent isopropyl alcohol to reduce the spread of diseases between your plants.

You are reducing a plant’s ability to make energy whenever you remove growth, so it is important to be strategic when you are removing material. According to the NC State Extension Publication Training and Pruning Fruit Trees, “Summer pruning can begin as soon as the buds start to grow, but it is generally started after vegetative growth is several inches long.” The publication notes that “summer pruning should be limited to removing the upright and vigorous current season’s growth”. The general recommendation is to not do any pruning on fruit trees after the end of July. Do not prune trees during extreme weather either. This will cause extra stress on the trees and can make them more susceptible to pest and disease issues.

Pruning in New Orchards

The importance of training fruit trees and shrubs cannot be overstated. Whether you are going for a strong central leader or an open vase shape, you have to start when the trees are young and keep up annual pruning maintenance. The natural growth habits of the fruit trees we grow are not ideal for maximum fruit production, so they require us to train them to help encourage production and harvest. In the summertime, you need to be reinforcing the shape you are training your tree into and removing any upright vigorous growth, called water sprouts, that does not support your desired habit. Do not remove more than one third of the tree while doing this. If you are training for a central leader make sure to remove any competing

Pruning in Mature Orchards

Mature orchards, or orchards that are being brought back under management need slightly different care than newly-planted trees. While major structural pruning is typically done in winter, summer offers an opportunity to remove dead, diseased, or damaged limbs, which improves air circulation and light penetration – crucial for fruit development and reducing disease pressure. Continue to remove water sprouts and suckers (growth from the rootstock or base) that divert energy. The goal is to maintain an open canopy that allows sunlight to reach all parts of the tree and promotes air flow.

Overall, Help Reduce Plant Stress

A healthy tree is a resilient tree, whether it is an ornamental tree or a fruit tree. Our jobs as gardeners and plant managers are to help plants reach their full genetic potential in our care, while also getting something out of the deal! The best way to do that is to reduce plant stress in our gardens and orchards. Most of our fruit trees are not native to North America so growing them in our gardens and orchards is out of their element. Using good cultural practices, like regular weeding, mulching, fertilizing and watering, will help reduce the incidence of pests and diseases, and help the plants be more productive. And when our plants are more productive, we have more fruit! Yum!

Amanda Bratcher is the Horticulture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension in Lee County.