ruit trees in our climate can be damaged during the winter months. Here are some ways to protect your investment.
Staking & Tying:
Strong winds can blow over a tree. Drive in one or more stakes a foot or more from the trunk. Use soft, flexible rope or cloth to tie the tree to the stakes with an open loop around the trunk. Stakes can be wood, metal fence posts or thick rebar, 5-6 feet tall. They should form a line (two stakes) or a triangle (three stakes) around the trunk. Most fruit trees benefit from 3-5 years of staking, others their whole life, especially dwarf trees or those in high wind areas.
Snow can severely damage your trees. Tie spindly branches of Asian plums up like a retail Christmas tree, but most trees require less extreme manipulation. Reinforce branches by tying smaller branches to larger ones or to their stakes.
Paint the Trunk:
Winter sun can warm the south side of the trunks, causing the tissues to thaw. When the sun goes down and the temperature plummets below freezing, they “snap freeze,” resulting in cracking and splitting of the cambium layer or even the whole trunk.
Using a 1:1 solution of water and white latex paint, coat the trunk up to the first set of branches. The white reflects the sun and reduces the trunk’s warming. Never use oil-based paint, which will poison your tree.
Vole Protection
(Cage or Wrap)
Snow provides a fabulous winter habitat for the red-back vole, who will eat the bark and often ring an entire trunk. Make a cylindrical tube or “cage” of quarter-inch wire hardware cloth, fitting it loosely around the trunk. Leave 2 inches between the trunk and the wire for air circulation. The cage should be 2 feet tall and buried slightly in the soil. Clear away debris, organics and weeds regularly. Optionally, you can use white plastic spirals. However, they MUST be removed each spring and put on again in the fall or they may strangle your tree or cause the trunk to rot.
For the full article on Winterizing, and LOTS about fruit tree cultivation in the Chilkat Valley, go to: www.cvorchardproject.org.YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: