backyard – Xtremehorticulture

Hot Locations are Tough for Fruit Trees and ALL Plants

Leave a Comment / backyard, battery operated, desert, fruit trees, recording thermometer / xtremehorticulture

Q. I have a very hot location I want to plant. It’s facing West. I had a ‘Pink Lady’ apple tree in that spot but I think it was just too hot for it. It died in a couple of years. What do you suggest? Hot locations are tough on fruit trees. Afternoon shade is better for the plant. A. Hot locations are tough. From the look at the picture you sent there does not seem to be much air movement. Just a lot of reflected heat from high walls. In my opinion, that area will get super cold in the winter as well. I know you are in a hurry want to get it done. But do you want it to survive? I would put a waterproof, recording thermometer in that area to track temperatures both during the heat of the summer and cold of the winter. High/low battery operated recording thermometers have been around for decades. Not having much air movement can have both good things about it and bad things. The main advantage to that “hot” location is blockage of the wind. In spots like that I would recommend first to cut back on reflected heat. Cover this area with about 50% shade cloth until the tree gets grows enough to cast its own shade on the walls and soil. While shade cloth is provided, grow a deciduous vine that likes the heat, such as catclaw vine, so that it covers the wall. Covering the wall during the heat of summer reduces the reflected heat to that area. Provide shade for that spot for about four to six years if the tree grows quickly. The fruit tree should start producing in the second to fourth year depending on what is grown. Let the temperatures recorded there dictate what to plant in the future. Personally, I think apples, pears and other related fruit trees may be a poor choice for that spot due to excessive heat. Most citrus, except Myer lemon, grapefruit, kumquat, and tangerine may work if the winter temperatures are warm enough. Apricot or pomegranate are better choices.

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Pruning Fruit Trees to Control Their Size

3 Comments / backyard, fruit trees, orchard pruning, small spaces / xtremehorticulture

These full-sized peach trees are 17 years old and lowered each year to 6 1/2 feet tall Pruning at our orchard is a two step process: first for size control and secondly to enhance production. Pruning for size control is done the same way for all the fruit trees but pruning for production varies among the different types of fruit and how and where the fruit is produced on the tree. We keep the size of all fruit trees so that the orchard is ladderless, easy and safe to perform work and harvest. This also allows us to plant trees closer together and get more fruit production in a smaller area. It also reduces our work load so we can get it done faster. The tallest branches are identified visually. These branches are visually traced to where they join another branch somewhere around 6 to 6 1/2 feet off of the ground. Initial pruning for size control can begin before leaf drop, usually in November when leaves are beginning to turn color and we are sure all tree growth has stopped for the remainder of the year. If you have only a few trees to lower then you can wait until after all the leaves have dropped. If leaves are hanging on even into December you can turn off the water to the trees for two weeks and then turn the water back on again. This will stress the trees moderately and accelerate leaf drop. Trees heights are lowered to 6 to 6 ½ feet tall using vutually all thinning cuts. The tallest limbs are identified, followed visually down to a point of attachment around 6 feet off of the ground and lowered to the proper height with thinning cuts. The pruning cut is made at a “crotch” or where two branches come together. This leaves terminal buds intact to resume growth next spring. Since we have our trees in rows, we must create space around each tree so that we can spray and harvest. We create space between trees by identifying limbs that are encroaching on a neighboring trees “space” or need to be removed so we can get between them. We trace these limbs back to a point of attachment (crotch) with another limb and remove it with a thinnning cut, not a heading cut. Limbs that do not support fruit high enough to keep the fruit off of the ground or out of the reach of rabbits is removed with thinning cuts.

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