Grow Your Own Fruit Trees

Trees are wonderful to grow in your backyard. They provide you with shade, and if you plant fruit trees, they provide you with something to eat. We interviewed gardening expert Whitney Jacques to find out how to take care of backyard fruit trees.

What are the basics of caring for a newly planted fruit tree?
When you plant your tree, you want to make sure that you can see a visible root flare. At the base of your tree, you should be able to see the top of the roots of your tree. Now, this allows for some airflow. Trees require water and air for health. Not as much water as your lawn, so you want to just make sure that you're watering your tree about once a week. You want to make sure that you're soaking the area that the canopy covers.

Why does my tree have a scar on the bottom?
All modern trees, basically, if you purchase it at a nursery, are grafted. You'll see on the tree they have a scar line where you have the original rootstock and then the grafted scion that's on the tree. Now, this is a great place to watch to make sure that nothing is happening with your tree that would need a professional to come in and take care of it.

What do you mean 'take care of it'?
If you have sprouts coming out around the base of your tree, that means that there's something wrong with the graft on your tree. So, that's something that would need to be diagnosed to make sure that nothing's happening. You want to look for somebody who's an ISA Certified Arborist, and that's an international standard. They're very well educated. They go through rigorous testing, and they would be the person that you would want to call.