watering and fertilizing

How much should we be watering and fertilizing our fruit trees? We have apple, pear, cherry and plum. Also kiwi, table grapes, raspberries, and strawberries.

Last year we didn't bother to water at all. We knew we weren't getting any apples or fruit as they had all be accidentally prune off (by someone else!). We got a ton of plums. This year we got hardly any plums, but I don't think it was due to lack of water because we're just now really getting into the weather where we would need to start watering.

I saw some large fertilizer stakes at the nursery and so was wondering if I should be fertilizing them!

Gwen

As I see it, fertilizer is almost never a bad idea as long as you follow the quantity guidelines (ie., you don't burn the roots, and it's appropriate for the kind of plant). Follow the manufacturuers instructions and your plants will probably love it.

Water...it's harder to say. If they survived just fine last year, then they'll probably do just fine this year. I'm assuming the trees are in-ground vs a pot. So watering might actually be harmful in a round-about way, if it encourages the trees to keep shallow roots. I'd probably wait until you either see the tree drooping or you get a poor fruit crop that you think might've been caused by a lack of water. Then water infrequently and DEEPLY (dig holes, if you can) to encourage deep roots. The vines & strawberries, obviously, will need a more frequent and less deep watering if they look like they need it because their roots will only go so deep regardless. Otherwise, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Plums, I believe, have a natural cycle of 'on' and 'off' years, where they have bumper crops, then sparce ones.

Interesting on the plum thing. I had no idea. I am particularly bummed as I was expecting a bumper crop and recently gave all my stores of jam away! After last year, I had hoped to never buy a jar of jam from the store again. Am keeping my fingers crossed that I get good pears this year!

Gwen

I'm going solely on anecdotal evidence from my husband. He grew up with wild plums around his house & said they seemed to have a cycle of a few years (4? 7? I forget). Good luck!

I have a pear tree that produces one year and has few or no pears the next.

I have three young plum trees, each about 1.5 years old, and I managed to kill one by over-watering it this year.

I have been told by my county agent that if we go into a dry spell, to water my fruit trees(and any good arborist will tell you ANY trees you care about---fruit or not---)DEEPLY and SLOWLY once a week for about 45 minutes.

The arborist said fertilizer is a good idea, too. One way is to take a crow bar and to punch lots of holes, starting at the drip line and working back under the canopy of the tree to within about 18 inches of the trunk. Then pour liquid fertilizer down the holes.

I'm not quite sure when to do that. I would think in the spring just after the trees have leafed out?

I had a redbud tree that was not looking great last year. It was not putting on new growth and was browning off some. I fertilized it as I've described and it has done a lot better this season.

Another reason to water and fertilize trees is to keep them from getting stressed when the weather turns dry. When trees get stressed, they put out chemical signals in the air and in the soil that are picked up by tree pests, which then attack the trees. A neighbor has two beautiful old locust trees on either side of his driveway. But last year we had a serious lack of rain and locust borers attacked the trees. One-third of each tree is now dead. It is possible that had my neighbor been watering those trees last year, the locust borers would not have attacked them.

CJ