10 Smart Tips for Getting a Bigger Harvest from Your Fruit Trees This Season

Apples, pears, and other fruit trees will produce fruit once they’re established. To enjoy bushels of your favorite fruits, there are some savvy ways to improve the health of your trees and enhance your harvest. No matter what types of fruit trees you’re growing and whether you have a backyard orchard or grow trees in large containers, here are some key tips to help your trees fruit better.

1. Choose the Right Varieties

If you’re new to growing fruit trees, make sure to do your research and select fruits and tree varieties that are well-suited for your growing area. Cherry, apple, and plum trees generally do quite well in colder locations, while heat-seeking citrus and fig trees need to be grown in warmer spots or overwintered indoors in pots. You may also want to look for dwarf fruit varieties if you’re working with a small space, growing your trees in containers, or need to bring your trees indoors or into a greenhouse during the colder months.

2. Plant in Sunny Areas

Most fruit trees require full sun, which means at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight every day to fruit, but they'll fruit even better with even more sun. Ensuring your trees are located in a spot that receives plenty of bright light throughout the day enhances the growth of your trees and encourages them to produce a good fruit set.

3. Prune Right

Pruning fruit trees is necessary to open up the center of the plant to the sun and increase productivity. At the same time, it reduces the incidence of broken branches, pests, and disease. However, not all fruit trees need pruning, and some need to be pruned in specific ways, so it’s important to do your research before picking up your pruners.

For the most part, the best time to prune fruit trees is in winter when they are dormant, though recommended pruning times may vary between fruit tree varieties.

4. Thin Out Fruit

Thinning out some of the excess fruit on tree branches from late spring through early summer will help your trees channel more energy towards the remaining fruit; as a result, it will grow bigger and sweeter. Fruit thinning also helps you avoid premature fruit drop, which can occur if tree branches are too heavily laden with fruit.

5. Water Regularly

Newly planted fruit trees should be watered regularly to help their roots acclimate and start growing. Once established, fruit trees generally need less water, about 1 inch of water per week. If rainfall is scarce, they should be watered deeply every 7 to 10 days. If fruit trees get too dry, they just won’t fruit well, and they may even drop fruit prematurely if they're severely water-stressed.

6. Fertilize as Needed

Fruit trees usually don’t need fertilizer, but they'll fruit better if you apply a layer of compost around their root zone once a year in spring. You can also feed your trees with a store-bought fertilizer in early spring before their flower buds open. For best results, use a complete, organic slow-release fertilizer, ideally a fertilizer formulated for fruit or citrus trees, and follow the label directions for how much to use.

7. Add Mulch

Adding compost around the base of fruit trees once a year can replace the need for mulch, but it's a good idea to use mulch in addition to compost to preserve soil moisture and suppress weeds. Mulching will also make it easier to access your trees for harvesting and maintenance. Just be sure to keep mulch lines a few inches away from tree trunks, as mulch placed directly against a tree’s bark increases the risk of pest and rot issues.

 8. Grow in Guilds

Growing fruit trees in tree guilds is an age-old planting technique that’s quite similar to companion planting. In this growing method, fruit trees are grown near particular companion plants that benefit fruit tree growth, such as pest-repelling flowers, soil-improving legumes, or weed-suppressing groundcovers. These plant pairings naturally reduce the amount of maintenance fruit trees need, but they'll also increase pollination rates, improve tree health, and make trees fruit more.

9. Encourage Pollinators

Growing fruit trees in guilds filled with annual and perennial flowers attracts pollinators to your trees and increases pollination rates and fruit yields. Another way to improve pollinator activity is to minimize pesticide use near your trees and keep your garden and lawn as organic as possible. Traditional organic gardening techniques, such as companion planting, crop rotation, and using fruit protection bags to keep pests off your harvests, help as well.

10. Deter Pests

Even with companion plants around, fruit trees are often targeted by pests that either damage the trees themselves or the fruit. If this occurs, you may need to treat your trees with pest-controlling products. For pollinator health and edible fruit quality, it’s best to choose organic pesticides. Products like organic soap sprays and organic horticultural oil control smaller pests, while tree guards, netting, and fruit protection bags are musts for deterring birds and large critters such as groundhogs or raccoons, or deer that may damage the tree bark.