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Home Fruit Gardens: Table 1.2. Monthly Maintenance

Your schedule may vary from the one below by as much as 2 weeks (earlier or later) depending on the region of Pennsylvania in which you are located.

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Updated:

March 9, 2023

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Home Fruit Gardens: Table 1.2. Monthly Maintenance

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Throughout the season, scout to identify insects and diseases in the orchard. Apply fungicides and insecticides (see pesticide recommendations in each chapter) according to your scouting and the schedule below.

	Apples	Stone Fruits
January	Check for mice, deer, and rabbit damage. Collect scions for grafting. Cut and burn dead or diseased fruitwood. Cut out fire blight.	Check for mice, deer, and rabbit damage. Cut and burn dead or diseased fruitwood. Remove all mummified fruit from peach trees to keep the brown rot fungus from overwintering.
February	Begin pruning all fruits except peaches. Collect scion wood for grafting. Collect and burn all mummified fruit in trees or dispose of in sealed plastic bags. Check pesticide stock.	Prune and burn all black knot infections on plums and cherries.
March	Finish pruning. Begin grafting. Fertilize when ground thaws. Calibrate sprayers. Check for mite and aphid eggs.	Fertilize when ground thaws. Calibrate sprayers.
April	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Remove tent caterpillars. Spray for gypsy moths. Apply a delayed dormant oil spray for mite and aphid eggs. Hang pheromone traps. Continue grafting. Start scab sprays when green tissue appears.* Apply insecticide at 1⁄2 inch green if rosy apple aphids were a problem.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting and schedule. Begin pruning when buds swell. Hang OFM pheromone traps. Apply leaf curl spray before buds swell if leaf curl was a problem last year. At bloom, begin controlling brown rot on peach.
May	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Place bees for pollination. Take soil samples for nematode analysis. Take soil samples for mineral analysis. Watch for fire blight at bloom. Watch for plum curculio damage on fruit. If codling moth has been a pest, monitor with traps.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Cut out cytospora canker. Take soil samples for nematode analysis. Take soil samples for mineral analysis. At petal fall, watch for plum curculio damage on fruit. Pick up leaf curl leaves that have fallen.
June	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Cut or pull suckers. Apply calcium sprays if bitter pit is a problem. If fruit rots have been a problem, begin spraying. Thin fruit and look for plum curculio and codling moth damage. Dispose of thinned fruit and drops. Mow, cultivate, keep weeds away from trunk.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Cut out cytospora canker. Check interval between last application and harvest. Dispose of thinned fruit and drops. Thin fruit and look for plum curculio damage. Mow, cultivate, keep weeds away from trunk.
July	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Summer prune lightly. Pull suckers. Budding. Remove fallen fruit. Watch out for codling moth second generation. Watch out for Japanese beetle damage. Maintain fruit rot sprays if rots are still a problem. Check for borers.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Summer prune. Remove fallen fruit. Check for borers. Order trees needed in two years.
August	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Budding. Remove fallen fruit. Take leaf samples before Aug. 15 for nutritional analysis. Harvest early fruit and chill immediately.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Complete summer pruning. Remove fallen fruit. Take leaf samples before Aug. 15 for nutritional analysis. Control peachtree borer. Budding.
September	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Obey PHI periods. Test for nematodes if not yet tested. Remove fallen fruit. Harvest and identify disease and insect pests to aid in next year's control strategies.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicides and insecticides according to scouting. Test for nematodes if not yet tested. Nematode test for new plantings. Control peach tree borer. Remove fallen fruit.
October	Clean and store sprayer. Mow close for mouse control. Rake and dispose of leaves. Pick up fallen fruit and dispose.	Control peachtree borer (late Sept.). Clean and store sprayer. Remove fallen leaves and fruit and dispose.
November	Mow orchard. Winterize equipment. Rake and dispose of leaves. Paint tree trunks white.	Paint tree trunks white. Apply leaf curl spray. Rake and dispose of leaves.
December	Check and renew deer repellents. Clean up orchard floor.	Clean up orchard floor.

	Strawberries	Brambles
January-February	Don't fertilize.	Prune. Remove brush. Fertilize. Remove borer-infested tips.
March	Don't fertilize.	Prune. Remove brush. Fertilize. Remove borer-infested tips.
April	Remove mulch from over plants.	Apply lime sulfur spray. Place mulch between rows. Don't fertilize.
May	Apply bloom fungicide spray. Scout for insects and diseases.	Apply bloom fungicide spray. Scout for insects and diseases.
June	Keep fruit off of the ground. Pick damaged fruit and discard. Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicide and insecticide if necessary.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicide and insecticide if necessary. Pinch growing tips on black and purple raspberries and blackberries.
July	Renovate planting. Narrow bed width and reduce plant density to improve next season's disease control. Fertilize.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicide and insecticide if necessary. Pick ripe and overripe fruit. Continue to pinch black and purple raspberry and blackberry tips.
August	Water if necessary. Begin day-neutral harvest.	Remove old fruiting canes. Begin primocane-bearing harvest.
September October		Mow closely next to rows to reduce mouse and vole injury.
November- December	Cover plants with straw.

	Blueberries	Grapes
January-March	Remove dead and scale-infested wood and mummified fruit. Prune. Remove brush. Fertilize.	Remove dead wood and mummified fruit. Prune. Remove brush. Fertilize.
April	Rake soil below the plants just before bloom. Mulch.
May	Apply bloom fungicide spray. Scout for insects and diseases.	Apply bloom fungicide spray. Scout for insects and diseases.
June	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicide and insecticide if necessary.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicide and insecticide if necessary. If not extensive, remove diseased fruit and leaves.
July	Water if necessary. Harvest.	Scout for insects and diseases. Apply fungicide and insecticide if necessary. If not extensive, remove diseased fruit and leaves.
August	Water if necessary. Harvest.	If not extensive, remove diseased fruit and leaves.
September	Harvest late varieties.	If not extensive, remove diseased fruit and leaves.
October		Mow closely next to rows to reduce mouse and vole injury.
November- December		Rake up leaves and discard