Fruit - January 2009

Please Note: All recommendations are for central Maryland.  Time frames shift two weeks earlier in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore and two weeks later for Western Maryland.  Check publications for further information.

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Culture

Fall bearing raspberries can be cut down to the ground and the spent fruiting canes of June bearers can also be removed now. 

Remove and dispose of all rotted or diseased fruits and fallen leaves from trees, vines and bushes.  This will help reduce the amount of disease inoculum and number of insect pests that over-winter and attack your orchard next spring.

Fruit plants can be pruned anytime during dormancy, between November and March.  However, it is best to wait until late winter so that the full affects of winter weather can be assessed.  This is especially true for the stone fruits such as peaches and cherries. 

Grape vines, if not regularly pruned, will quickly become a tangled jungle of vines.  They can be trimmed sparingly now if needed. The trimming may also be used for winter wreaths.  However, major pruning of grapes is best done in late winter.

This is a good time to spray fruit trees that were attacked during the growing season by aphids, mites and scale insects, like Lecanium and San Jose scale.  Spray trees thoroughly with a dormant oil spray but first make sure that temperatures are expected to remain above freezing for the 24 hour period after spraying.

Firelight damage on apples and pears should be pruned out during winter.  This will lessen the chance of spreading this bacterial infection. Call us at 800-342-2507 if you need additional information.  Consider purchasing EB 125, "Home Fruit Production Guide".   

Maintain mulches around small fruit plantings (blue berries, rasp berries, black berries and strawberries).  Often field mouse or vole feeding is a problem over winter.  If they are observed in these plantings set traps or place protected bait stations.  Consider covering your strawberry patch with a piece of floating row cover.  This material can help prevent winter injury and promote early growth in the spring. 

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2009 Fruit Tips

2008 Fruit Tips