Taste of Fall

very nice

David

Thank you.

Hmmm... I have a few questions: Does the trunk of the ornamental pear and others seem too tall for the trunk width? Do you add fertilizers to the trees? Have you pruned the trees?

I had two maples, I added fertilizers to the maples and they grew fast, tall and beautiful. I did not prune them and the tops were thick with leaves. Then one day strong winds cracked the trunks of the six year old trees. My failure to prune the tops of the trees to help the wind flow through.

I hope the same does not happen to you. I am just curious on what care has been done for your trees, if any.

The ornamental pear (redspire) was pruned to that height from the nursery, it seems about right as it's at shoulder height (perfect for mowing underneath) while the overall height is now about 25'... about twice the height as when planted seven years ago.

Same pear in blosom this past spring:

I was just curious. With the newer closer photos it does look like air could flow through easily. Thanks for answering my curiosity. I over did it with the fertilizers in the past. I have used the spike years ago. Now I just punch holes around the trees and put compost around them a couple times a year. I do prune, but not as much as I should. Afraid of doing more harm than good.

You are correct, overfertilizing is more harmful than no fertilizing. Once established roots will expand to compensate for the tree's nutritional needs. I operate from the point that fertilizing inhibits root system maturity. Naturally one should check that the soil is suitable for the type of tree; ph, drainage, and exposure are much more important than fertilizing. Trees are very efficient at storing nutrients.

I find it hard to keep fruit trees going well without fertilising even though my soil is quite rich with high CEC. Especially the citrus need to be fed yearly. But I am not talking about concentrated chemical fertilisers, if I used those it might last longer. The ornamentals I don't fertilise although most are natives; acacias, callistemons, eucalypts etc, which are well adapted to less than wonderful soils.

David

beautiful pictures! the red maple is my fav. What a wonderful tree.

Donna in WA 8-9 zone

Orchard/grove trees are very different from specimen, ornamentals, shade trees... that's like comparing annuals to perennials.

Thank you. That tree was planted more than 50 years ago. Here's another view:

in this shape or is it just Mother Nature showing off?

Donna in WA zone 8-9

I trained the deer to be landscapers.... they keep the lower branches of trees perfecly trimmed... if I could only train them to mow grass as well. Maybe if I imported some Mexican deer... lol