Fruit: A History of Apples

Excerpt from the Popular Garden Series magabook Orcharding with permission from its publisher, BowTie magazines, a division of BowTie Inc. Purchase Orcharding here. Most historians believe the apple originated in the Dzungarian Alps, a mountain range separating Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and China, where wild apple trees still produce teensy apples the size and shape of the […]

Fruit: A History of Pears

Excerpt from the Popular Garden Series magabook Orcharding with permission from its publisher, BowTie magazines, a division of BowTie Inc. Purchase Orcharding here. Pears were much beloved by the ancients. Homer called pears a “gift of the gods.” Roman horticulturists used grafting techniques to develop more than 50 different pear cultivars. Hardy varieties of pears […]

Aphids in Fruit Trees

Aphids will eat your roots and leaves. Here are the signs of an aphid infestation.

Powdery Mildew

More information on this destructive disease.

Fire Blight

This serious bacterial disease can take control of your orchard.

The Fruit Tree Owner’s Toolkit

Excerpt from the Popular Garden Series magabook Orcharding with permission from its publisher, BowTie magazines, a division of BowTie Inc. Purchase Orcharding here (deep link http://www.shopanimalnetwork.com/product.aspx?cid=85&pid=838) The following tools come in handy for tending fruit trees. Try to clean and dry pruning tools after each use, then wipe the pruning tools with an oily rag […]