Authored by musebay in Gardening
Published on 02-04-2009
More fruit trees die in their early years due to improper care than any disease or pest infestation. Hence, if you want immediate success and future good health for your trees, it is essential that you know how to care for them properly.
During the first stages of the life of a tree, its branches, roots, and trunk are not yet developed and strong enough to support themselves. So if your tree is growing fruits, the overall weight can immediately detach an entire branch. Hence, the branches need external support such as boards. You may also tie them to something higher. Trees in their early years need support for them to grow fast and independent.
Proper nutrition is the key for the tree to produce fruits as well as for it to survive. Nutrition for your tree varies depending on the type of tree, area, and climate. With this, you’ll need the help of a nursery employee. Tell him how healthy your tree is looking and its living conditions, so he would be able to help you improve your tree’s present state.
Contrary to what most people believe, providing the tree with too much water doesn’t ensure a tree’s healthiness. In fact, giving too much water to a tree can do more harm than good. Not only it will have a negative effect on the taste of the fruit, but your tree could also die and never grow fruit in the long run. Solve your tree’s health problems at its root and not by drowning it.
Remember to always remove an unhealthy branch once it begins to look damaged or diseased. If you don’t, your tree will continue sending out nutrients to the branch that cannot be saved. This is a waste of nutrients that your tree could use on other healthier branches. Once a branch shows signs of deterioration or being unhealthy, remove it immediately. You can cut down the part that is unhealthy, but leave all the parts that appear to be growing.
Never leave any of the fallen fruits on the ground once your tree has begun to go through the picking stage. You should also get every fruit off the tree. Even the ugly-looking ones should be picked and thrown away. This is because rotten fruits still hanging on the tree serve as homes for insects or diseases and can infest the whole tree. Hence, get those rotten fruits off your tree because these bad fruits might cause you a lot of problems in the future.
It is indeed very tedious to get a fruit tree and take care of it throughout its life. It’s even more frustrating to keep track of all the factors that make a tree healthy. The key is to focus on the nutrients that your tree needs. Also, give your tree just the right amount of water to keep it from either being thirsty or getting drowned. If you do these, you are sure to have a tree that bears bountiful fruits in no time.
