How to Care for Your Fruit Trees in Winter: A Seasonal Guide

By Veronica

Winter may seem like a quiet time in the garden, but it’s a crucial season for fruit tree care. Proper maintenance during the colder months ensures strong growth, better fruit yields, and healthy trees come spring. Whether you have apple, pear, plum, or cherry trees, follow these essential winter care tips to keep them thriving year after year.

1. Pruning: Shape and Strengthen Your Trees

Winter, particularly between late November and early March, is the perfect time to prune deciduous fruit trees, as they are dormant. Pruning improves airflow, reduces disease risk, and encourages better fruiting.

Make sure to use clean, sanitized and sharp tools to prune your fruit trees. If your tree has canker or another fungal disease, clean your tool between the cuts to avoid the spread of the disease.

Pruning Tips:

• Remove dead, diseased, or damaged wood to prevent the spread of infection.

• Thin out crowded branches to improve air circulation and light penetration.

• Cut back any crossing branches to maintain a strong, open structure.

• Avoid pruning stone fruit trees (such as cherries and plums) in winter to prevent silver leaf disease – wait until spring or summer instead.

• You may also use Prune & Seal on the wounds after pruning. It speeds up recovery and prevents pests and disease. It is particularly useful if you already have problems with Canker or else. 

2. Winter Wash Treatment: Pest and Disease Prevention

Applying a winter wash to your fruit trees helps eliminate overwintering pests, such as aphids and scale insects, and reduces fungal spores.

How to Apply Winter Wash:

• Choose an organic winter wash based on plant oils or a traditional lime sulphur solution.

• Apply to the trunk and branches on a dry day, ensuring good coverage.

• Repeat as recommended on the product label, usually once or twice during the dormant season.

• Remove moss and lichen from the bark with a soft brush before applying the wash.

3. Mulching: Protect and Nourish the Roots

Mulching is essential in winter to insulate roots against frost, retain moisture, and provide essential nutrients.

Best Practices for Mulching:

• Apply a thick layer (5–10 cm) of organic mulch, such as compost, well-rotted manure, or wood chips, around the base of the tree.

• Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk to prevent rot and pest infestation. When the mulch is in contact with the trunk, it can soften the bark and leave an open door to disease.

• Mulch in late winter to early spring to help suppress weeds and improve soil health.

4. Feeding: Boost Nutrients for Spring Growth

While winter is a dormant period, fruit trees benefit from feeding in late winter to encourage strong spring growth.

Feeding Tips:

• Use a balanced organic fertilizer or well-rotted manure in late winter before new growth begins. If your trees are grown in the ground, you can use chicken manure (coated with seaweed for extra nutrients). However, for container grown trees, prefer seaweed on its own. 

• Choose a fertilizer high in potassium (such as wood ash or sulphate of potash) to promote flowering and fruiting should it be required.

• If your soil lacks magnesium, apply Epsom salts to prevent deficiencies that can cause leaf yellowing. You will recognise magnesium deficiency by the yellowing of the leaves between the veins and the edges. If so, use the magnesium salts as a foliar spray diluted in water with a few drops of washing up liquid. 

Final Thoughts

Caring for your fruit trees in winter sets the stage for a productive growing season. Regular pruning, pest control, mulching, and feeding will ensure healthier trees and a bountiful harvest when the warmer months arrive. Take the time to invest in winter care, and your fruit trees will reward you with delicious, homegrown produce year after year.

Need expert advice or the right products for winter tree care? Visit our garden centre or browse our online store for pruning tools, organic washes, and fertilizers to keep your fruit trees in top shape this winter.