FRUIT TREES!
 Now is the time to plant,prune,and give general care to deciduous fruit trees! Deciduous trees are those that loose if not all, most of their leaves in the winter months. While in this dormant state they are best planted and pruned. It is a great time to plant for several reasons. The selection is the best it is going to be for the year, in this "bare" state they are easy to transplant-needing no root ball-and there is plenty of time for them to establish before the heat arrives.It is critical to select varieties that will produce with low chill hours,the number of hours of below 45 received. Varieties that will produce with less than 5-600 hours will generally do well here. Severe pruning can and in some cases should be done this time of year. Pruning is critical on deciduous fruit trees; it enhances fruit production,controls size,and corrects weak limbs and branching. There is way too much involved to give you pruning instructions here. Go to our website and click on garden tips and look for correct pruning instructions, or come in to the nursery and we'll give you a tutorial! The Master Gardeners also give a demonstration it is this coming Saturday at Greenfield Citrus Nursery. We have tickets available at our Mesa location. If you have citrus and would like more variety and a chance to have fresh fruit in to the summer months-consider deciduous fruit trees! |
