Right Winger
Registered User
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I planted a dozen mixed apple, pear, plum and cherry trees three years ago. They've finally come good this year after producing nothing in 2021 and very little fruit in 2022. (Apparently this is normal and to be expected; the first couple of years, the trees are busy developing roots and don't really fruit much.) So far so good, but now I've got a couple of questions:
1. Some of the trees have branches with lots of fruit and other branches with nothing. Should I prune these branches at this stage of the year to encourage growth of the fruiting branches?
2. What should I do to protect the fruit from birds? I've seen ads for reflecting metallic strips for hanging on the trees that make a bit of noise and scare away the birds. Or old CDs work too. Allegedly. There's also artificial hawks (on tall poles that sway in the wind) that do the same thing. Has anyone got any real life experience as to whether these work or not?
1. Some of the trees have branches with lots of fruit and other branches with nothing. Should I prune these branches at this stage of the year to encourage growth of the fruiting branches?
2. What should I do to protect the fruit from birds? I've seen ads for reflecting metallic strips for hanging on the trees that make a bit of noise and scare away the birds. Or old CDs work too. Allegedly. There's also artificial hawks (on tall poles that sway in the wind) that do the same thing. Has anyone got any real life experience as to whether these work or not?