Winter in The Garden: Dreaming (& planning) for Fruit Trees

On this February day I have done a quick walk though of my snow-covered garden and started my search for seeds, bulbs, fruit trees, grape vines, and shrubs.

Winter is a perfect time to dream and design what you want this spring, summer, and fall gardens to look like.

And, yes, there are activities you can (and should) be doing to keep your garden alive-yet-dormant during these cold months:

• Check for heavy snowfall on perennials and remove it to avoid breaking

• Remove heavy snow on evergreen trees to avoid breaking

• Prune grape vines ( in the Spring they bleed)

• Review and order fruit trees (see below for more tips)

• Sharpen, organize, and inventory your gardening tools

Remember: ordering fruit trees in the winter is ideal!

Some basic tips when doing so include:

• Order fruit you like to eat! If you don’t like pears, don’t plant them.

• Make sure you have room for all the planting (take into consideration width and spacing)

• If space is a concern, look into dwarf and semi-dwarf trees

• Choose according to your planting zone

• Consider whether you will need different varieties of the same fruit for cross-pollination