As we go throughout the month of January, I have a couple of winter gardening tips.
As you're sitting inside looking at the snow waiting for it to melt, here are a couple things that are important to keep in mind and some things to look for when it comes to fruit trees.
1. Sun scald.
In Utah, this is a major problem for fruit trees. If you have a tree and the bark is flaking off on the southwest side, it's most likely sun scald damage.
This is something that happens in the winter. As the sun comes up and it hits that side of the tree, the sap will start to run. At night, it will freeze and cause the bark, or just underneath the bark, to burst, and the bark will flake off.
To prevent it, you can wrap your tree with a white wrap. You can also paint them with a latex-based white paint. It's like a 50/50 water to paint ratio, or even a little bit heavier on the paint side. It works just fine, and will reflect heat off the tree instead of absorbing it.
2. Rodent damage.
Even though there's snow on the ground and the trees are dormant, gophers and voles aren't. Especially if you're in northern Utah, where that's a major problem.
Making sure that you have vegetation cleared away from around the base of the tree will help prevent against voles and gophers.
For gophers, you're able to see the mounds. For either species, you'll want to trap or poison to try and get rid of them. That way, they don't damage the root system or girdle the tree, especially for younger trees.
Those are a couple things that you can do as you're waiting for the sun to start shining a little bit more, the snow to melt, and for things to warm up for spring.
Keep your fruit trees in mind as you're out and about.
I hope you guys have a phenomenal winter, and are looking forward to spring.