Fruit trees are a fantastic way to grow produce and add beauty to any yard in Alton, IL. The blooms can be spectacular to see, and when summer comes, the fruit can be even better than what you get at the store. However, if not grown and cared for properly, trees won’t produce. There are several reasons fruit trees might not grow the high-quality fruit you expect. Madcow Outdoor Service in Alton, IL, is here to help you treat your unproductive fruit trees.
Treating Poor Soil
Trees should be planted in an area with deep, well-draining soil in a pH range of 5.5 to 7.0 for optimal growth. If your trees aren’t fruiting, test the soil and make corrections as needed. Acidifying nitrogen, elemental sulfur, aluminum sulfate and iron sulfate can neutralize alkaline soils. Acidic soils can be treated with agricultural limestone.
Solving Pollination Problems
If your trees flower but never fruit, you likely have a pollination problem. The easiest fix is attracting pollinators to your yard with flowers and letting them do their thing. Some people farm bees near their gardens, keeping their hives or renting a beehive to pollinate their gardens and orchards.
Strategic Pruning
Fruiting trees require very specific pruning to grow optimally. Over-trimming makes the trees focus on vegetative growth, diverting their energy to branches. If you don’t prune enough, more nutrients are diverted to the leaves. In either case, the result is little to no fruit at the end of the season. Mad Cow Outdoor Service can maintain your trees for you with our extensive experience with tree trimming and pruning.
Keeping Trees Pest-Free
Fruit trees attract more than just pollinators. A whole slew of pests sees your fruit trees as a giant buffet, ripe for the taking, like aphids, caterpillars, mites, squirrels and other animals. Then, there’s the element of diseases. Mildew, fire blight and other infections can prevent flowering and fruiting. So the best thing to do is keep your trees as healthy as possible. Regularly check for signs of pests and diseases and treat them as soon as you notice a sign of a problem.
Careful Fertilization
Haphazard fertilization can also lead to fruiting issues. Too much or not enough fertilizers prevent trees from growing healthily. Heavy fertilization causes trees to grow wood and leaves instead of fruit. Not enough fertilizer can leave trees unable to form fruit at all. If your tree is overfertilized, it could be due to fertilizing the lawn too close to the tree. If the tree is under-fertilized, you will notice stunted growth. Our team can help you find the perfect balance to fertilize your trees. Contact us today to learn more.
Madcow Outdoor Service Can Help
At Mad Cow Outdoor Service in Alton, IL, we understand how important it is to have healthy fruit trees. If your fruit trees are struggling, we offer services such as early detection of diseases, pest control, soil fertilization, and tree pruning to help them return to full health and harvests. We can do more than just care for your trees. We offer mowing, tree removal, lawn care, landscaping, seasonal lawn maintenance, cleanup services, plant healthcare, and more. You can call us at 618.228.9663 and request a free estimate so we can devise a plan for outdoor services that works for you.
