Growing fruit trees for shade

Can fruit trees be used as shade trees?

If you are wanting to plant trees in order to shade your garden, you will probably want something that grows fast and provides plenty of shade. You may want a tree that only provides shade in summer, yet lets the sun through in winter. With the many types of trees available, you should have no problem finding a variety that will grow at a decent pace and provide all the shade you require.

Generally trees are separated into two categories: fruit trees, which are often deciduous and evergreen trees, some of which are also fruit trees. Confused yet? And some trees live longer than others. If you are just looking for some temporary shade for your garden, you should stick to a short lived tree. Or maybe just get a shade sail. But if you plan on keeping your shade around for years, go for a fruit tree.

Can fruit trees be grown for shade? Definitely. Any large growing fruit tree will cast shade. Apple trees get large, so do plum trees, pear trees, mango and avocado trees. Other fruiting trees grow to a reasonable size too. Berries on the other hand are often on bushes, or canes, although some blueberry varieties grow on trees, though they don't get too big.

A cherry tree this large casts plenty of shade in summer.

Photo credit morgueFile

If you decide on a short lived plant for your shade, you may want to steer clear of a traditional fruit tree. You are probably looking for something with speedy growth. This means the root system will be particularly aggressive, so be sure not to place it near any septic tanks or other deep rooted plants. If the roots have plenty of area to grow, then they will shoot out extremely fast and your chosen tree or plant will take off in growth. Your placement should also be based on the tree’s relative position to the area you are wanting to shade.

Fruit trees in a good position can live for a very long time, so if using one for shade, prepare your soil well. The bigger hole you dig for the root ball, the better. Also when you dig out the soil from the hole, incorporate some compost or composted manure before you replace it. This will give the tree a boost. Also try to use organic materials and don't forget to mulch your.

When you buy your shade tree, be it a fruit tree or not, it will usually come with the root ball balled up and in a burlap bag. Or it might be growing in a container or simply bare rooted. If you get a tree in a burlap bag, you should plant it anywhere between fall and early spring. Trees grown in containers are ok to plant at almost any time of the year. If the tree just has bare roots, then the ideal planting time is anytime in winter and early spring.After you buy the tree and before you plant it, be sure to water it well.

The ideal planting process includes putting it in the ground at the proper depth, and replacing the soil without compressing it too much. Immediately after planting, give the tree its first watering before putting the layer of mulch on. You should always try to use organic mulch, and have a 2 or 3 inch layer of it at the base of your tree.

Making your own compost is easy and can be done in a tumbler like this one.

Photocredit morgueFile

When fertilizing your tree, follow the instructions on the label or apply your knowledge of your particular fruit tree, in order to figure out exactly how much to apply and when to apply it. Try for natural options such as composted manure, compost, liquid and dirt from a worm farm. Any fertilizer that you do add should be sufficiently watered in.

If you want a tree that will let sun through in winter, consider an apple tree, pear tree or cherry tree. These trees all lose their leaves in winter, allowing the sun to shine through, and will provide beautiful blossoms in the spring as a bonus.

Espalier your new fruit tree

Shaping trees for different situations

Through the use of pruning techniques, it is possible to shape your new tree to a certain style. There are seven main tree shapes that all have their own benefits for certain situations. During the growth of the tree, simply cut off the unneeded branches, tie the wanted branches into the proper shape, and you will be able to shape it however you want. However, for some of the more advanced shapes, more advanced pruning techniques are required. There are many books written on this subject.

Usually, if you’re trying to get your tree to a certain shape, all the tying and pruning should occur in the fall. This will encourage the shape to hold, and will not impact fruit production. Each of the different shapes are very useful in certain situations and most of them are quite beautiful too.

Standard trees don't really need any explanation. These are the varieties that are most common, and probably what you picture when you think of any tree. No specific shaping is required to get the shape to take this form. Just let it go and prune it as you would normally, and unless you have a strangely deformed tree then it should end up being a standard tree.

It is possible to turn a standard tree into a bush tree through pruning. The branches take the same shape, but the stem or trunk of the tree is noticeably shorter. This can be beneficial if you want to grow trees, but don’t want to block the view. Or perhaps you want to make harvesting the fruit easier.

Pruning a fruit tree to create a bush-sized adult tree.

Cordons are a type of tree that you may not be too familiar with. It consists of one stem with no branches. It is planted at an angle so that it arches up over the ground. Through the course of its growth, all branches are removed. These are beneficial because they take up very small amounts of space and more can be fitted into small spaces.

Espalier trees grow with a single vertical stem in the center, and several horizontal branches on each side. These allow for long rows of trees, while still producing large amounts of fruit. If you operate an orchard, you probably use this shape to fit as many trees as possible into the area you have.

This mature tree has been espaliered.

Fan trees use the same theory as espalier trees. However, the shape is slightly different. The same central vertical stem is used, but the connected branches are not horizontal; they grow in the same pattern as a standard tree, only they are two dimensional rather than three dimensional. They are also used to save space, and are used instead of espalier trees for certain types of trees that do better with sloped branches.

The benefits of an espaliered apple tree

Another type of espalier is the step-over espalier. They are like a normal espalier, but with just one horizontal branch very close to the ground. They are particularly interesting because they still produce delicious fruit while providing a border for whatever you want.Step-over trees can be used to fence a garden garden or create other areas withing a garden . A fence that bears fruit, who wouldn't love that?

As you can see, each of these shapes has its own benefits and negative aspects as well. If any of these sounds like they would be a good fit for your new fruit tree, you can ask at your local garden center for advice on reading material that will help you achieve your goals. Most of the time, getting the tree into the desired shape is a very easy process and just requires some guidance at the beginning.

Growing good sized fruit on your new tree

How to encourage large fruit

One thing that usually shocks new tree growers is the fact that the fruit produced by their tree is often much smaller than the ones they’re used to seeing at the store or farmer's market. Is something wrong with my tree? you may wonder.

However, small fruit are a natural occurrence in a young tree. But while smaller fruits might be what nature originally intended, you can encourage your tree to give you larger fruit, without the use of any added chemicals. You just need to know a few small tricks.

Fruit thinning
Usually in the early stages of a fruit tree's growing, experienced gardeners do something called 'fruit thinning'. The theory behind this is that with less fruit to put it's energy towards, the tree will be able to more efficiently put growth into what fruit there is. When there are hundreds of immature fruit on one tree competing for the available nutrients and energy, you will most likely end up with some of the immature fruit falling off anyway before maturity, and what is left to grow will not be as large as you may have hoped.

To take care of this problem, simply pick at least a third of the fruit extremely early in the growing season. The remaining fruit should grow to a reasonable size. If it's your tree's first year, you may even want to pick all the fruit off and allow the tree to put all it's energy into growth, rather than production.

On some trees, the fruit has a tendency to grow in clusters, my lemon tree is one example. During the fruit thinning process, you would aim to remove some of the fruit in a cluster, allowing the remaining fruit more physical room. I have found that sometimes the fruit in a tight cluster will push each other further and further apart as they grow and this can cause some of the fruit to come off the branch. It also stresses the branch that they're all hanging on. Having loads of fruit starting to grow on a young tree is not always a good thing.

A more mature tree will often naturally produce larger fruit.

Photo credit morgeFile

Conditions out of your control
Sometimes, small fruit are caused by conditions out of the gardener’s control. If the weather conditions are less than ideal, this can affect the size of the fruit and if there are any fruit at all. If the weather is particularly cloudy very early in the season, or conversely, particularly hot, then fewer carbohydrates will be available to your plants. A lack of water or certain nutrients, or excessive pests and diseases can also damage the growth of flowers and fruit. If you notice these things going on early in the season, you can take steps to try and correct the.

Experiment
The best way to find out how to gain larger fruit sizes is to experiment. You can test different thinning techniques and particular combinations of nutrition, anything you can think of to produce larger fruit. You might even head down to your local nursery and ask them for advice. They will be able to give you advice based on your region and your specific tree, and recommend any products they think may be beneficial. So don’t settle with small fruits. Go out there and find out what exactly you need to do to improve the size.

More about birds......

Some information on netting your tree 

If you have a problem with birds on your fruit tree, you may have tried some of the solutions in the previous post. The plastic animals, scarecrows, wind chimes, and highly reflective tape can do the job, particularly with smaller, more timid birds. The problem is, we don't want to scare all birds completely out of our yards, we just want to keep them off the fruit tree.

The birds get braver
The other thing is, birds have a natural tendency to get bolder as time goes by. While at first a scarecrow or plastic owl may be enough to keep the little peckers cowering away, unless you change up your scaring strategy fairly often, you'll look out one day and see them sitting on your scarecrow's shoulder. And having a delicious breakfast of cherrys. Or maybe it's peaches. Apples? Whatever fruit is on your tree, there will be  a bird who is partial to it. Those feathered little fiends! It's not that you don't love birds, you do, but when they're tucking into your lovingly-grown fruit, it's hard to feel charitable towards them.

Try some bird netting
Many gardening stores market a particular type of bird netting. You can buy it by the yard or the meter and it's basically a giant net that you can throw over the entire tree. The holes are about one half of an inch wide. or 1.3 cms. It can be quite a nuisance to install, but it should definitely keep the little birdies off your tree.

The problem with bird netting
One problem with this type of netting is if you have quite small birds in your area, you may find they can actually become caught in the netting and become very distressed and even choke themselves. No one wants to see birds caught in their tree netting when they go and check on their beloved fruit crop.
Another problem is if you have larger birds, or very bold birds, they can land on the netting, which presses the netting to the tree and may allow the bird access to it through the netting

Apple tree with bird netting.

Photo credit Andrew Wiggins

Something else you may consider using though, is a fabric called 'tulle'. It is very fine netting with holes too small for any bird to fit its beak or head into. It is easy to source, any fabric or crafting shop should sell it and it's relatively cheap. Buying enough to cover one tree will probably end up costing less than half of what it cost for the actual bird netting. Birds landing on it will not be able to access the fruit through the net.

It is harder to put in place than the bird netting though and you may need to get creative with a needle and sew a few bits together to make a larger piece. But the netting is so fine, no birds can get caught in it. It will, however, keep bees out too, which you don't want, so leave the netting open at the bottom. Tulle is a much  cheaper alternative to bird netting, and safer for the little wee guys. It may not be practical if you have a very large tree or several that need netting though, so ask at your local garden center if they have any other alternatives when it comes to the size of the holes in the bird netting.

Maybe you could plant two fruit trees, one for yourself and one for the birds?

Keep the birds off your fruit tree

Bird problems!

If you are lucky enough to have a fruiting tree in your yard, I am sure you get much enjoyment from it. There is something very satisfying about eating fruit that's growing in your own back yard. Looking out the window and seeing a magnificent tree covered in fruit is also a great pleasure. And people walking by your front gate will think what a fabulous gardener you are because, wow, look at that tree!

Who's eating from my fruit tree?
But along with the joys a fruiting tree can bring, there are a couple of things that can very quickly turn your wonder into annoyance and even despair. Fruit trees seem to attract more unwanted creatures than any other plant in the world. Do you have a nocturnal visitor noshing on your apples? Or is it the birds that are feasting on your prized crop? We can't really blame them, but it can also bring a gardener to tears, to see the hard work eaten up by a furry or winged fiend.

Feathered fiends
One of the main problems of course is birds. It's incredible how quickly a flock of birds can descend and decimate a tree. Here in Australia, we have cockatoos that love to do this, they can destroy an orchard of apples in next to no time. It can seem almost impossible to get rid of these pesky birds. Or it may not be a flock but just individual feathered visitors, sitting undetected in the branches and pecking away all day. However, there are several different ways you can deter the birds from your beloved fruit tree..

A flock of cockatoos can decimate an apple tree in minutes.

Photo credit morgueFile

An owl during the day?
One method of repelling birds is to place a plastic owl within the vicinity of the tree. On the edge of your roof overlooking the tree can effective. If you find any animal that usually eats birds and purchase a plastic version of it, this can be enough to deter certain birds from seeing your tree as lunch. You can try, owls hawks, cats, or scarecrows (ok, maybe they don’t actually eat birds....).
Ask at your local gardening store if there is a particular bird scarer they recommend.

Other plastic 'predators'
If you get a plastic animal of some sort,it may cure the bird problem for a while. But take care to move your 'animal' around from time to time so the birds don't wise up. However, some birds are really brave (or really stupid, they don't call them birdbrains for nothing) and will continue to ransack your tree.

Noisy or reflective objects
So something else to try is any reflective surface or noisy object. You can purchase reflective tape designed especially for scaring birds. Old cds hung on strings from the branches of your tree will spin in the breeze and catch the light. Wind chimes are a perfect combination of movement and noise, provided there is wind of some sort of course.

Net your tree
A last resort, which may be needed for larger, more incorrigible birds like cockatoos is of course netting your tree. A nuisance yes, but that may be what's required to save your crop. This is easy to do when the tree is small, not so easy when the tree is large. You may be able to hire someone to do this job for you every summer before the fruit sets.

This banana palm is growing in a cage to protect it from birds.

Photo credit morgueFile

Those with more space and /or more trees, may even consider building a cage for their trees. The upside of this, is that if you have chickens, you can let them into the cage also, and they clean up all the fallen fruit for you, whilst keeping the pesky birds out.

There's nothing like food from the garden, so it's worth figuring out a solution to your bird problem.

Training your new fruit tree

Training branches to go in the right direction

Tree training
Many people associate pruning with changing the structure of your tree to fit a different shape or style. Altering the structure of the tree in this way is known as 'tree training'. This is a way to develop an alternate form for your tree but pruning is also used to prevent diseases, prevent lopsidedness, and encourage healthier fruit growth on your tree.

Pruning for balance
Pruning is useful to keep your tree looking balanced. If you have an abundance of branches on one side of the tree, then you can prune carefully to get rid of some of the larger branches which weigh down the tree on that side. Think about it more in terms of maintaining rather than altering. While pruning is useful occasionally, most of the time you can use training as a healthier and more efficient alternative.

Training trees has been around in one form or another for a long time. Through tying down branches or propping them up from the ground, one can direct the growth of the tree to take whatever shape they want. This is usually started when the tree is young, to encourage it to develop fully in the form you want. Espaliered trees are an example of this.

This is a good example of tree training, note the lack of branches in the center of the arbor and the way the trees growth has been encouraged to create a tunnel effect.

Photo credit morgueFile

Training is partly about pruning but more so about redirecting branches. Rather than just cut off all the branches that aren't going in the right way, you try to redirect them. You can equate this to putting braces on your teeth to get them to grow straight  for your fruit tree. Eventually the branches naturally grow that way you've been training them.

What form to take
It can be difficult to decide how exactly to train your tree. There are different forms and shapes to choose from and different reasons for doing it. Some training methods allow a high density of trees in an orchard, and some are meant to provide maximum access to the center of the tree. Depending on where your tree is, you may want to train it to fit in a particular space.

To train a tree, you will need some sort of outside brace to push or pull a branch. Alternately, if you want to push 2 branches closer together or further apart, you can place something in between them or lash them together with rope. Successfully training your branches just takes a little imagination in deciding what to tie things to and what to push things off of. You may even attach branches to a wall, spreading them out in  fan shape, called an Espaliered tree.

Have a look at this demonstration of how to espalier a fruit tree.

Does your tree need training?
Have a think about whether your new fruit tree could benefit from a little training as it grows. Whether you decide to give your tree a completely new form, or to just optimize the branch placement for easier access  and healthier fruit, there is probably some way that tree training can benefit you.

Caring for your fruit tree

How to care for your new fruit tree

If you have just recently planted your first fruit tree, it's probably  safe to assume you are not yet an expert on the subject. A lot of fruit trees die in their first year due to poor poor knowledge on behalf of the gardener. So it is vital that you understand how to care for your new fruit tree in such a way that will ensure it's
longevity and productivity.

Fruiting in the first year
During the first stages of the tree’s life, the roots, trunk, and branches may not yet have fully developed to full strength. If your tree starts producing fruit in it's first year, the weight is sometimes enough to snap off an entire branch. If this is the case, you can provide external support for your branches, but you may also want to consider removing some or most of the immature fruit before this becomes a problem. If your tree is fruiting heavily while so young, this diverts energy the tree could be putting put into growth. So another reason to remove immature fruit on your young tree is to encourage more growth of the tree itself.

A very heavily fruiting, mature mandarin tree.

Photo credit morgueFile

Nutrition for fruit trees
Proper nutrition for your tree will optimize any results you're hoping to see, and will also help your tree develop into a healthy, strong specimen. Exactly what your tree needs will depend on the area, climate, and type of tree you have, and a good place to get information on this is at your local nursery. You can tell them about the conditions your tree is living in, how healthy it is looking, and they should be able to help you find what you need to improve the outlook for your tree.

Too much water?
Many people think that the best way to ensure a tree’s health is to provide large amounts of water, but this is probably not the case. Giving the tree too much water can do more harm than good, as it can wash the nutrition your tree needs out of the soil. And if your tree is in an area without good drainage, having wet roots all the time will case them to rot. A deep watering twice a week in summer is probably all it needs and quite possibly no extra watering will be needed at all.

Mulch
It is a good idea to provide you tree with some mulch, this helps it conserve water in the heat and can keep weeds down around the trunk. Be careful not to mulch right up to the trunk though as this can cause the trunk to rot; keep an area clear right around the trunk. Sugar cane mulch or straw are very good mulches to use for fruit trees.

Liquid fertilizer
I am a fan of organic fertilizers, so I recommend making our own weed or compost tea, using the liquid from a worm farm....dilute it though as this is rather potent, or using a fish emulsion. Giving your tree a dose of fish emulsion when it is first planted can help your tree settle in to it's new home.

Mature fruiting apple tree.

Photo credit morgueFile.

Older fruiting trees
If your tree has started fruiting, never leave any of the fruit on the ground to rot. Once dropped fruit begins to rot, it provides a perfect home for unwanted insects or diseases that can then start to annoy your tree. If you are picking the fruit, remove it carefully, be sure not to tear the branches.

If you follow these simple tips, you can be sure that your tree will enjoy a healthy, productive life.

Remember to ask your local plant nursery staff  if you have any unusual tree problems.