Melissa from Tacoma writes
Can I treat my fruit trees after the blooms are gone & when there is fruit starting to form?
I live in Seattle wa. & have 1 plum tree which is by itself, 1 Apple tree, 1 mixed up tree with both apples & pears on it & 1 asian pear tree which are all lined up with limbs touching. It's the beginning of May, I'm not sure if that would be considered early spring or ? My question is can I use bonide fruit tree spray after there's no more pink flower bloom & the fruit has started to form? Fruit is very little still. If I can use how many treatments should I do & when? And since branches are touching each other can I prune right now, same time as spraying? They all produce a lot of fruit. but from the bugs & so much disease we cannot eat the fruit. Thanks for any info you can provide.
Answer:
Bonide Fruit Tree Spray can be used at green tip, pre bloom, full pink, petal fall, 1st Cover and 2nd Cover. We would not recommend doing the treatments until specified per the label.
Once an apple tree has filled in and is bearing fruit, it requires regular, moderate pruning.
- Prune your mature tree when it is dormant. Completely cut away overly vigorous, upright stems (most common high up in the tree).
- Remove weak twigs (which often hang from the undersides of limbs.
- Shorten stems that become too droopy, especially those low in the tree.
- After about ten years, fruiting spurs (stubby branches that elongate only about a half-inch per year) become overcrowded and decrepit. Cut away some of them and shorten others.
- When a whole limb of fruiting spurs declines with age, cut it back to make room for a younger replacement.
Answer last updated on: 05/07/2016
