Fruit Tree Care

Fruit trees require special programs and chemicals. The insecticides and fungicides Tree Doctor uses for fruit trees are labeled for edible fruit. That means as long as you wait 10-14 days after a spray before you harvest, the fruit will be safe to eat. These are the same type of chemicals a commercial farm would use, and could be sprayed on your vegetable garden as well.

Fruit trees and vegetables are very susceptible to insects and disease. You can have a very basic program, if you are not trying to obtain a high yield and just want the joy of picking some fruit off your trees, or you can have as extensive a program as you want. We provide you with the proper records if you want to sell some of your fruits and vegetables to a co-op or fruit buyer. Whether it's strictly ornamental or you want to eat the fruit off your trees, we can design a plan for you.

Apple trees are what Washington is famous for. Unfortunately they have a wide variety of pests that seriously attack them. Apple maggot, coddling moth, fruit flys, apple scab, and rust will ruin your apple trees. It requires quite a bit of spraying to control apple trees. We can discuss a program that meets your expectations and budget.

Cherry trees also grow well in the Washington, Idaho, and Montana area. Sweet cherries, ranier cherries, and flathead cherries are the most popular. The Flathead Valley in Montana is famous for their cherries and their various uses, including Flathead Cherry wine! Cherry trees are a little more economical to spray for insects and disease simply because of their earlier harvest time than apples. If your cherries are browning or have insect and worm problems, we can implement a program to give you a better crop.

Plum trees are not as popular as cherry and apple trees, but grow well in Idaho, Montana, and Washington as well. The same insects and diseases of apple trees and cherry trees, affect plum trees. Plum trees are usually not the pests first target host, and unfortunately get attached after the pests are done ruining apple trees and cherry trees.

Pear trees grow very well in Idaho, Washington, and Montana. Pear trees do not get as many diseases and pests as apple trees and cherry trees, but do attrach the same pests and diseases as apple and cherry trees. These are easier to control as well as plum trees. We can put together a good plan to control insect and disease problems for pear trees.

Peach trees do not grow as wellin Montana, Idaho, and Washington as apples and cherries. Nevertheless, people will try. All the same insects and disease attach peach trees and require the same type of pest control programs.

Organic fruit tree programs: Tree Doctor can release beneficial insects to help establish insects that kill the bad ones such as coddling moth and fruit flies. We can also provide pheromones to confuse the bad insects that attack your apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees. There are organic insecticides and fungicides for fruit trees, though they do not work as good as traditional pesticides. On Organic fruit tree programs we emphasize spraying organic beneficial fungi and bacteria to help the tree develop natural defenses to insects and disease. This is also going to take additional manual, hands-on efforts.

Stop Fruit Production: If you have ornamental fruit bearing trees such as crabapples, cottonwoods, locusts, etc. we can treat the tree to minimalize the waste it produces. This is not harmful to the tree at all. If you have edible fruit bearing trees and want to minimalize the fruit they produce, we can treat the trees to do that as well, but the smaller amount of fruit that comes, will not be edible, and dangerous if someone tries to eat it.

If you have fruit bearing trees, and they are in a home or business setting, you may be getting tired of the mess they create. Once the fruit falls on the ground it usually rots and attracts pests like flies, bees, and maggots. We can make a chemical application to stop this or drastically limit it. The same goes for trees that produce pods, "helicopters", cotton, seeds, and/or any other by-product.