The Best Tree Care Videos on the web

Chuck Ingels is a master teacher on schoolyard-scale orchards and a dear friend of Common Vision. In this 2-hour segment he goes through the basics of fruit tree care. Below the videos we have outlines that break down the subjects so you can skip to the sections you need. Some of this is more complex then you need to know. Please email or call us with any questions.



Basics of how trees grow:

0:40 Roots - how they grow
4:30 Chilling Requirement
6:40 Sunlight Requirement
7:00 Pollenization
10:15 Soil Requirements
12:20 Parts of the Tree -
17:50 Planting the Tree
26:00 Post-Planting Care
29:30 Water and Irrigation
34:05 Fertilization
36:00 Pruning

Note: on Pruning: Common Vision recommends an open center kept very short. This is a little different then the "fruit bush" described in that the cuts are made with a little more choice involved.


0:45 Pruning "fruit bushes" cont.
9:45 Espalier
13:30 Managing an overgrown mature tree
22:55 Fruit Thinning
27:55 Common Problems with fruiting
29:18 Budding and Grafting
37:10 Citrus Trees
42:00 Pest Management - Codding Moth
45:27 Boreres
48:00 FireBlight
52:50 ShotHole Disease
53:30 Peach Leaf Curl
56:45 Brown Rot

Maintaining the height ~ Simple Guide to Pruning

Here is a simple slide show with a simplified breakdown of when to make what cuts to produce a short productive fruit bush.  Thank you Chuck Ingels.  For apples, pears, asian pears, and cherries this strategy is especially effective.  For peach, nectarine, pluot, plum, and apricot a little more finesse can make a big increase in fruit yield.  More on that later.   Either way, this general method is the outline for maintaining all school orchard trees. 

How to Prune

Footage from UCTV Gardening Series

Mulch those trees!

Get some wood chips, spread them around the tree (2 inch to 6 inches deep) and keep away from the trunk 6 inches. Next year, do the same thing. Mulching is a technique for covering the root area of Trees with a protective material.

This helps retain water, reducing water loss by up to 30%. Mulch also supresses weeds, which compete with young trees for nutrients and water. Organic Mulches also slowly add organic material to the soil and encourage beneficial soil organisms.

Coarse wood chips make excellent mulch, when applied properly. Most cities offer free mulch, from their tree trimming and maintenance operations. Call, and get a load delivered. This Mulch tends to derive from many varieties of trees, rather than the single source you usually find in purchased bags. Variety is better. Although some Mulches are considered Allelopathic (like Black Walnut Eucalyptus etc. "can kill plants") all of the coarse wood chip mulches, applied properly, will be beneficial to your trees. You want coarse material (chips, not sawdust!) so that air can penetrate, and it can dry out and not support mold or fungi.

Watering your Fruit Trees

Watering once or twice a week is best. Here are the guidelines for watering based on region and tree age.


Basic Summer Watering Chart: (80% of these rates for coastal schools)

▶  1st year trees:   10 gallons per week.  
▶  4’ diameter canopy:   15 gallons per week.
▶  5’ diameter canopy:   25 gallons per week
▶  6’ diameter canopy:   30 gallons per week
▶  7’  diameter canopy:  45 gallons per week
▶ 10’ diameter canopy:  80 gallons per week  

How we got those numbers:
Inland Counties: Requirement in Gallons/week is about equal to canopy area.  Example: A canopy with a 4ft diameter has an area of about 12.5 ft^2. (If you need a review on how this works, please see the math teacher down the hall). Thus this tree wants about 12 gallons/week. Add 20% if you are watering in the day time for evaporation loss.

Coastal Counties: Follow the same formula as inland, but use only 80% of the water. Example: A tree with a 4ft canopy diameter will want 80% of 12.5 gallons or about 10 gallons. Add 20% if you are watering in the day time for evaporation loss.

Spring and Fall:
50%-80% of the summer water amount.
If a fall fruit has already harvested, reduce down to 25-50%.

Check the soil under the mulch several times before leaving for Summer. Adjust water quantity up or down so that between waterings the soil is not wet enough to stain your palm, or dry as dust.

Don't let water stand against the trunk.... not good!

Fine tuning your watering amounts:
You can check the moisture level with a metal probe into the soil (e.g. straightened hanger). It should go down about a foot for your new trees. That means there is enough water at the root level. If it's too dry or too wet just prior to your irrigation, adjust the amount up or down by a gallon.
If the soil is Sandy or Sandy Loam, divide the total amount of water in two, and water twice per week. If the soil is heavy clay, once per week for the entire amount should be fine.

Thinning the Fruit (April - June)

Need thinning: Apple, Pears, Asian Pears, Plums, Pluots, Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches Do not need thinning: (unless trees are stunted and have a large crop) Fig, Persimmons, Pomegranates, Avocados, Guavas, Citrus, Jujubes, and Nut trees When the fruit is the size of a pea and an olive is the best time to thin. Even if you're late..... do it anyway. Our Dave Wilson friends show us how to thin the fruit of a schoolyard orchard

Summer Pruning (Late Spring)

Here our Dave Wilson nurseries teach a little about early summer pruning and fruit thinning.

Paint the Trunks! (Spring)

Before the Summer heat, all young fruit trees can benefit from painting the trunk. This protects against sunburn that can cause damage or even death of the tree. Here our friends at Dave Wilson's show us how.

Got Aphids? Control their farmers

Aphids suck the juice from tree leaves.  Ants love the sweet excretions of the aphids.  Therefore ants farm and protect these pests for their own enjoyment.

The most effective strategy for getting the aphid population in check is to stop their farmers with a sticky physical barrier on the trunk called Tanglefoot. 

Do not apply it directly to the bark.   We recommend using 4” wide wrap of waterproof paper or tape on the trunk of the tree and applying Tree Tanglefoot over the wrap.  Tree Tanglefoot will remain sticky longer when applied on top of a surface resistant to oil.  Check the video below for the best way to apply the bands to larger or irregular trunks.

Apply Tree Tanglefoot Insect barrier in a uniform fashion. It can be applied in a heavy or light coat. Heavy coats are approximately 3” wide and 3/32” thick. A heavy coat is used when the insects to kept from the tree foliage are large or numerous, or when there is little time available to maintain the band. Light coats are 3” wide and 1/16” thick. A light coat is good as a general barrier against smaller or less numerous insects, or when the band can be maintained regularly.

Be certain that the ants do not have an alternate route for climbing the tree such as low branches that touch the ground or a sign post that touches the branches.

Generally, Tree Tanglefoot will remain sticky and effective until it is covered with insects, dust or other debris. A build-up of debris or insects will create a bridge for other insect to cross. This debris requires removal and possible re-application in spots. If an area is unusually dusty or the surface of the barrier is stiffened, Tree Tanglefoot can be rubbed around to expose a new sticky layer beneath. Remove bands at end of season.

> Here's a short video showing how

Feeding Trees: Compost, Mulch, and Fertilizer

A- "Keeping it Simple!"
Generally speaking compost and mulch will provide the tree with everything it needs.

Apply compost in March June, September.

A March/April application of addition organic fertilizer in the first 2 years OR if the trees are deficient in nutrients is a good idea

Look for good quality compost and/or a balanced fertilizer with micro-nutrients (see below for more). Because fertilizers vary in strength, you need to read the Label to find out how much to feed each tree.

Trees need to be well watered before fertilizing, so water them the day before or early on the day you're going to fertilize. The dripline is where the majority of the feeder roots are sucking up nutrients (not directly around the trunk).

First, push aside any mulch that is around the dripline of the tree. You want the compost / fertilizer on the soil. Second, spread the fertilizer in a circular band just within the radius where the branches and leaves end, not near or touching the trunk. Third, cultivate the fertilizer into the top few inches of soil (scratch it in with a toothed tool). Finally, water the entire area, to soak fertilizer into the soil and down to the roots. Replace the Mulch.

You've done it !

B- "More in Depth"
Just as we do best with a balanced diet of; Fat, Protein, and Carbohydrate, the Trees do best with a balanced diet of N (Nitrogen), P (Phosphorous), and K (Potassium). That's the N-P-K, and the numbers give the percent in the bag (or box) by weight. Just as we need Vitamins and Minerals the Trees need Macro and Micro Nutrients, such as; Iron, Zinc, Sulfur, Calcium etc. Many California soils are deficient in available Iron and Zinc

If you've got some yellow leaves, or leaves with yellow areas (chlorosis) you would do well to add some Micro-Nutrients. Particularly if using a general fertilizer of just N-P-K. If you're in a store where sales people are always, "busy" look for an Organic mixture with balanced NPK like 5-5-5.

C- "But I'm 'Certified' Organic!"
Compost does the trick here. Or if your trees need a boost make sure your fertilizer is OMRI approved.

Bud to Blossom to Fruit