This past month we were able to spend some time at a client’s house in Exeter, RI pruning the fruit trees in their orchard. Among the types of trees were apple trees, pear trees, peach trees, plum trees, and another kind of tree that we don’t get to see often: a pawpaw tree. A pawpaw tree is a small tropical looking tree that almost never grows to be more than 25 feet tall (at the most) and is actually native to North America. The fruit from the pawpaw tree is similar in look to a mango or even a shorter, fatter version of a banana with rich, creamy, sweet flavors somewhat reminiscent of banana cream pie.

While we did just post a huge blog about the benefits of pruning during late February and early March, pruning can certainly be done at other points in the year depending on the goals you are trying to achieve. Since the leaves are currently off the trees and they are dormant, many of the same benefits apply. Reasons for pruning during this time of year include providing shape and structure to the trees, helping more vigorous fruit grown to occur in the spring and summer, and to prevent any disease from occurring.

Another reason to prune right now is to help protect the trees from deer. During mating season (right now) male deer will tend scrape their antlers against trees in order to polish them, mark their territory to drive away other males, or even attract females. This can result in broken branches and ripped tree bark which can be very harmful, especially to younger trees. Pruning any lower branches on your trees will keep the deer from chewing on them, which will in turn help to keep them away all together.

If you’d like to find out more about our pruning services, please contact us at 855-RILawns.