Fruit trees, berries, grapes and their cultivation, pruning, health and storage.
Quick answer: Prune pear trees during dormancy, from late autumn through early spring, on a dry, frost-free day. Pears naturally grow narrow, upright branches, so widen those angles early with spreaders, clothespins or weights rather than waiting for the tree to sort itself out. Remove crossing or inward-growing branches, cut just outside the branch collar,…
Quick answer: Prune plum trees in spring or midsummer, never during winter dormancy. Winter pruning sharply raises the risk of silver leaf disease and bacterial canker, since fresh wounds heal far more slowly while the tree is dormant and less able to defend itself. Build an open, bush-shaped crown with a short trunk, remove branches…
Quick answer: Prune cherry trees in summer, right after harvest, never during winter dormancy — dormant pruning sharply raises the risk of bacterial canker and silver leaf. Sweet cherries fruit on long-lived spurs and only need light, structural pruning once established. Tart (sour) cherries fruit mostly on one-year-old wood and need yearly renewal pruning, removing…
Quick answer: Apple canker is a fungal disease (Neonectria ditissima) that causes sunken, dead patches of bark on apple and pear trees. Cut infected wood back into clean, healthy tissue as soon as you spot it, ideally in summer when the tree heals fastest. If a canker has girdled the whole trunk, the tree can’t…
Quick answer: Apple scab is a fungal disease (Venturia inaequalis) that causes olive-green to black spots on leaves and corky, cracked lesions on fruit. Rake up and remove fallen leaves every autumn, thin the canopy so foliage dries faster after rain, and plant a resistant variety such as Liberty or Enterprise if the problem keeps…
Quick answer: Worms in apples almost always mean apple maggots or codling moths. Apple maggot larvae are small, legless, and leave winding brown trails with no frass, while codling moth larvae chew one thick tunnel straight to the core and leave visible frass at the entry hole. Pick up dropped fruit every few days, hang…
Quick answer: Storing apples successfully comes down to three things: pick them ripe but not overripe, handle them gently to avoid bruising, and keep them cold (around 0-4°C / 32-39°F), humid and dark. Wrap each apple separately in paper so they don’t touch, check the boxes every few weeks, and remove any that start to…
Quick answer: Plant berry bushes in fall (about six weeks before the ground freezes) or in early spring before the buds break. Dig a hole at least 16 in (40 cm) deep and wide, work compost into the backfill but keep fresh manure out of the hole, and space most bushes 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m)…
Quick answer: Growing blueberries comes down to soil pH. They need 4.0–5.5, ideally 4.5–5.2. Plant into an ericaceous mix or sphagnum peat, about 100 litres (26 US gal) per bush, spaced 90–120 cm (3–4 ft) apart. Plant two varieties for cross-pollination, water with rainwater, and mulch 5–10 cm (2–4 in) deep.
Quick answer: Blueberries need acidic soil, pH 4.0–5.5 and ideally 4.5–5.2, while most garden soil sits between 6.0 and 7.5. Replace the planting area with an acidic mix of peat and pine bark fines, or lower pH gradually with elemental sulfur applied 6–12 months ahead of planting. Test first, then plan on maintaining acidity for…