Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture

October 1996

March Tips
FRUIT AND NUTS

  • The optimum time to prune all fruit trees is just before bloom. Pruning allows the tree to direct nutrients to branches that will bear high quality fruit. The objective is to remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood. Also, remove shoots that are growing straight up or straight down, as neither provides good fruit development. Growth crisscrossing the center of the tree should be removed as well. A more open tree allows greater light penetration and air circulation, thereby increasing fruit quality and reducing disease and insect pressure.

  • According to Dr. Richard Marini, Extension Horticulturist for tree fruits at Virginia Tech, low temperatures in January can kill peach flower buds in some parts of the state. To assess bud injury, cut flower buds longetudinally with a razor blade. If the ovary at the base of the bud is brown, the bud is dead. If more than 70% of the buds appear dead, then pruning and fertilizer application should be modified. Apply half the normal (0.15 lbs. N/year of tree age/tree up to year 6) nitrogen about one month before bloom. Delay pruning until new shoot growth is 4 inches long. Do less pruning than normal: remove watersprouts, but avoid making large cuts.

  • Don't turn under grass and weeds to plant strawberries. Enough old growth will survive to compete with the young plants, making for a weedy mess. There is increased danger of grubs in such locations.

  • For your first raspberry patch, think small; 6 to 10 plants will do for a start. Since raspberries send out underground runners which can be invasive, you may want to sink an 8- to 12- inch sheet of metal vertically around the planting.

  • Strawberry plants, brambles, asparagus and rhubarb roots should be planted in prepared soil as soon as they arrive. If conditions are not conducive to planting, plants can be put in a refrigerator or cold storage (45 degrees F) for up to a week. If you anticipate a longer delay, prepare a row in the garden to "heel in" the plants. Open up a shallow furrow, lay in the plants closely together, cover with soil and tamp lightly. Move to permanent locations when weather permits.

  • Strawberries produce more fruit in a small space than almost any other berry crop. Twenty-five plants should produce 25 or more quarts of berries. Select several varieties to give early, midseason and late harvests. The easiest way to set strawberry plants is to push a pointed shovel into the soil to the full depth of the blade. Pull the shovel to one side to make a V- shaped opening. Spread the roots of the plant like a fan and extend them to their full length along the exposed soil surface. Withdraw the shovel, and push the soil back against the roots with your foot. Be sure to have the crown level with the surrounding soil.

  • Before planting a backyard orchard, map out the site, giving particular attention to air and water drainage. Avoid frost pockets, areas where cold air gathers, or you may be disappointed year after year when flower buds freeze and drop. Good water drainage is also important for good tree growth. If drainage is questionable, drainage tiles or land reformation may be required for productive fruit trees. Shallow soils may require irrigation.

  • Don't rush to remove mulch from strawberries. Leave it over your plants to protect them from late cold spells. When plants start to grow, the mulch must be removed to allow leaves to develop in the light. If leaves develop under the mulch, they will become etiolated (blanched) and yellow from lack of chlorophyll, and may burn and die when exposed to the sun.

  • Spring applications of pesticides should be made on peaches, apples and pears. Correct timing for spraying depends on the stage of development of flowers. Request a spray schedule from your local Extension agent.

  • For progressive strawberry production throughout the growing season, the Earlidawn, Surecrop and Marlate varieties are good planting selections. Since the strawberry is probably the most regionally adapted crop gardeners grow, you would be well advised to plant one of the cultivars known to grow and produce well in your area. For more information, contact your local Extension agent.

  • Weed control is one of the most time-consuming, yet most important, practices in any fruit planting. Young strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and tree fruits all suffer if weed growth is uncontrolled. Peach trees, of all the fruit trees, suffer the most from weed competition. Mulching helps control weeds.

    Monthly Tips have been prepared since 1986 by various staff of the Office of Consumer Horticulture including Ellen Bennett, Michelle Buckstrup, Susan Day, Susan DeBolt, Sharon Dendy, Kate Dobbs, Sheri Dorn, David Gravell, Virginia Nathan, Jenny Shuster, Ellen Silva, and Ruth Sorenson. Resource material for the development of this information includes the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook; Extension Publications and newsletters from VCE, numerous other states, and the USDA; and an extensive library of over 900 books, magazines, and journals. Project funded by The Virginia Gardener Newsletter subscription fees. Diane Relf, Project Director and Content Specialist.

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