Help! We need to learn about fruit trees. Guides? Websites?

[Sahamamama]

We've been working hard at getting settled into our new home -- lots to do! :) This property has at least 20 fruit trees. We haven't counted them all yet. We can identify some of them, but not all. We know (so far) that we have pear, apple, and cherry trees. Maybe plum and peach? We really don't know anything about fruit trees, but would very much like to learn. Any ideas for resources? I checked with Storey Publications; there was one guide to growing fruit organically. I suppose that might interest us at some point, but what we need now is the Fruit Trees 101 course, KWIM?

 

If you've had success with fruit trees, any advice? Favorite guides? Websites? Thanks!

[TravelingChris]

What exactly do you want to know? Identification? It is Spring and the leaves and flowers should be out soon, if not already, and that will guide identification. Any tree identification book should help. In terms of what you should do with them? I would contact the local extension office. They should have pamphlets about fruit trees that are specific to your area. Normally with fruit trees there is very little to do apart from watering and a few other things. One thing is thinning the fruit if that is needed so the branches don't break (this is necessary with young trees with thin branches). In some areas, you may need to spray for pests. But what I observed of the nectarine tree in my yard and the plum trees in a neighbor's yard that overhung the arroyo when we lived in NM, was that nothing was needed to be done except for watering, as necessary.

[LostSurprise]

On my library list I have:

 

The Backyard Orchardist (Stella Otto)

The Fruit Gardeners Bible (Lewis Hill)

Growing Shrubs and Small Trees in Cold Climates (Nancy Rose)...if that applies to your area

Growing Fruit Trees: Novel Concepts and Practices for Successful Care and Management (Lespinasse, Leterme)

 

You'd probably need some kind of book on pruning as well.

 

Hopefully someone with more experience will answer! I've read several other books, but they seem to fall into 2 categories; tons of pictures and not much information and really dense agri-sci texts. I don't have the focus for the AS texts right now, but I've heard good things about the above books and I have them on my to-read list. Check your local library or contact your state university extension offices or web pages for more information.

[Callie]

Stark Bros. com has (or it did at one time) lots of info you can print off. You can also use Stark Bros. online as a guide to figure out what type of trees you have. They have really good descriptions. All of our trees have come from them.

 

Can you ask the previous owners what varieties you have? That will determine when they fruit. You can identify by blossom color and when the fruit is ripe

 

If you are in an area where the trees have not leafed out yet you will still have time to prune. Dh pruned here about 3 weeks ago. You prune in the late winter/early spring. We prune heavily for the trees too bear lots of fruit.

[Callie]

Another clue as to tree type is the color of the bark, leaves and the veins in the leaves. It is uncanny how if you really look they will sometimes match what color the ripe fruit will be.

[Sahamamama]

:lurk5: