As fall turns to winter it’s time to think about pruning and taking care of our fruit trees.
This year saw a bumper crop of plums, apples and pears in our region. To make future harvesting easier and to keep trees healthy and fruit accessible the best thing to do is prune your trees. Once trees are dormant for the winter start by following the three-step plan:
1. Clean up — remove any dead or diseased branches
2. Thin out — remove any branches that overlap, or clutter the middle of the tree
3. Cut back — this is when you remove the vertical growth that makes trees hard to harvest in the fall.
Just remember if trees are overgrown it may take a few years to remove all the issues.
Pruning for easier picking is a great way to make controlling one of our biggest attractants easier. This fall saw lots of requests for help in picking and using or donating excess fruit, which was amazing. A huge thank you to all the volunteers and organizers of great events like the pick and press weekends.
If anyone has any questions about how or when to prune feel free to contact me at rossland@wildsafebc.ca.
Let’s all do our part to keep our wildlife wild and our communities safe.