Winter is the most important season for fruit trees and bushes, even though there is no fruit to pick. While the trees are dormant, you can prune them, plant new ones, mulch them, check them for disease, and plan the coming year — all jobs that are difficult or impossible once growth starts. A fruit garden that is well cared for in winter will crop better in summer, because winter is when the tree's structure is set, its roots establish, and its problems are easiest to see. This guide explains how to care for fruit trees, bushes and vines through winter.
The first principle is dormancy. A deciduous fruit tree in winter has no leaves, so you can see its branch structure clearly, prune it without the tree losing water through leaves, and move it or plant a new one with little shock. An evergreen fruit plant such as a citrus in a pot, or a strawberry plant holding leaves through a mild winter, is different: it is still active, still loses water, and needs gentler treatment. Knowing whether your fruit is dormant or active decides what you can do to it in winter.
Pruning in winter
Winter is the main pruning season for most fruit trees, including apples, pears, plums and cherries. Prune while the tree is dormant, from late autumn after leaf fall until early spring before buds break, on a dry day when the wood is not frozen. The aims are to remove dead, damaged and crossing branches, to open the centre of the tree so light and air reach the fruit, and to keep the tree at a size you can pick from. Use clean, sharp secateurs or a pruning saw, cut back to a healthy bud or branch, and do not leave stubs, which can rot. Our growing apples, growing pears, growing cherries, growing peaches and growing plums guides cover each tree through the year, and the pruning calendar helps you plan the timing by plant.
Not all fruit is pruned in winter. Peaches, nectarines and apricots are usually pruned in spring, after flowering, because winter pruning can let disease into the cuts in cold, wet weather. Grapes are pruned in winter while dormant, but they bleed sap if pruned too late, so finish before the sap starts to rise. Currants, gooseberries and other bushes are pruned in winter to remove old wood and encourage new fruiting wood. Strawberries need no winter pruning, just a tidy-up: remove dead leaves, check for disease, and mulch around the plants. If you are unsure when to prune a particular fruit in your area, check your local extension service for advice.
Planting and transplanting fruit in winter
Winter is the best time to plant bare-root fruit trees and bushes, which are sold in the dormant season without soil around their roots. Plant as soon as they arrive, on a mild day when the ground is workable — not frozen and not waterlogged. Dig a hole wider than the roots, set the tree at the same depth it was growing before, spread the roots out, backfill with soil mixed with a little compost, firm gently and water well. Stake a new tree if the site is windy, and mulch around it, keeping mulch away from the trunk. Our winter transplanting guide covers the transplanting steps in detail, and the winter mulching guide covers the mulch that protects new roots.
Do not plant if the ground is frozen solid or waterlogged: heel the plants into a sheltered spot, with their roots covered in damp compost, until the ground can be worked. Do not feed a newly planted tree in winter — it has no active roots to take food up, and fertiliser can burn damaged roots. Feeding waits until growth resumes in spring. In zones 11 to 13, which are frost-free, the dormant-season logic barely applies, and planting follows the local seasons rather than a winter window. In zones 1 to 4, plant in late autumn before the freeze, or wait for the spring thaw, because the window is short.
Mulching and feeding
Mulch fruit trees and bushes in late autumn or early winter, with compost, well-rotted manure or wood chips, spread out to the drip line and kept away from the trunk. Mulch holds moisture, steadies soil temperature, suppresses weeds and feeds the soil as it breaks down. It is the single most useful winter job for established fruit. Do not pile mulch against the trunk, which holds moisture against bark and invites rot and gives voles cover to gnaw bark in winter. Our winter mulching guide covers materials and depths, and the mulch calculator works out how much you need.
Do not feed fruit in winter. A dormant tree cannot use fertiliser, and winter rain washes it away. The feeding year for fruit starts in spring, when growth resumes, and the main feed is usually given then, with a mulch of compost doing the slow work through winter. If a soil test shows a specific deficiency, follow local advice — but do not guess, and do not feed in the depths of winter. Our soil pH testing guide explains how to check the soil before adding anything.
Frost protection for fruit
Fruit trees in flower are far more vulnerable to frost than dormant trees, and the danger period is late winter and early spring, when buds are swelling and a late frost can kill the blossom and with it the year's crop. A dormant tree can survive cold that would destroy its flowers, so the winter job is to delay flowering if you can — by planting in a frost-free spot, avoiding a frost pocket at the bottom of a slope, and not feeding in late winter, which encourages early growth. Covering a small tree with fleece on a frosty night when it is in bud can save the blossom, but covering a large tree is rarely practical. Our winter frost protection guide covers covers, fleece and cold frames in detail.
Citrus and other tender fruit in pots must come under cover before the first frost, into a greenhouse, a porch or a bright indoor spot, and they need watering sparingly and no feeding through winter. Figs in cold zones benefit from having their branches wrapped or laid down and covered in winter, depending on the variety and the severity of the cold. Strawberries need little protection beyond a mulch, but in a very cold zone a fleece or straw cover helps. Frost dates vary even within a zone, so treat the ranges in this guide as averages and check your local extension service for your area.
Pests and diseases in winter
Winter is a good time to check fruit trees for problems, because the bare branches make everything visible. Look for canker — sunken, dead patches on bark — and prune it out on a dry day, cutting back to healthy wood and disposing of the diseased material, not composting it on a cool heap. Look for scale insects, woolly aphid and other pests sheltering on bark, and for old fruit mummies still hanging on the tree, which carry disease into spring and should be removed. Clear fallen leaves from under fruit trees, especially apples and pears, because they can carry scab and other diseases. Our apple scab, fire blight, brown rot fruit and peach leaf curl guides cover the diseases most likely to be found in a winter check.
A winter wash — a traditional dormant-season spray — is used by some gardeners to control overwintering pests, but it is not needed in every garden and it is not a substitute for pruning, clearing and mulching. If you use any spray, follow the label, apply it on a dry, still day when the tree is fully dormant, and check local advice first. Do not spray when bees are active, and do not spray in frosty weather.
Planning the fruit year
Winter is the time to plan the fruit garden: which trees need replacing, which varieties to add, whether a tree needs a pollination partner, and where a new tree will go. Many fruit trees need a second, compatible variety nearby for pollination, so a tree that flowers well but never fruits may be a pollination problem, not a pruning problem. Order bare-root trees in winter for planting in the dormant season, and note what each tree did last year — when it flowered, whether frost damaged it, how much it cropped — so you can make better choices next year. The planting calendar hub and the zone 5 winter gardening guide will help you line the plan up with your zone.
Common mistakes
The most common mistake is pruning peaches and other stone fruit in the depths of winter, when the cuts are vulnerable to disease — prune them in spring instead. The second is piling mulch against the trunk, which causes rot and gives voles cover. The third is feeding fruit in winter, which wastes fertiliser and can damage roots. The fourth is planting in frozen or waterlogged ground instead of heeling plants in until conditions improve. The fifth is leaving diseased leaves and mummified fruit on the tree, which carries disease into spring. The sixth is forgetting that blossom is far more frost-tender than dormant wood, so a late frost can take the whole crop. And the seventh is planting a single variety that needs a pollination partner and wondering why it never fruits. If you are unsure about pruning, planting or protection for your fruit in your area, check your local extension service for advice.
Frequently asked questions
When should I prune apple trees?
In winter, while the tree is dormant, from late autumn after leaf fall until early spring before buds break. Prune on a dry day when the wood is not frozen. Peaches and other stone fruit are the exception — prune them in spring after flowering.
Can I plant fruit trees in winter?
Yes, bare-root trees and bushes are sold and planted in the dormant season. Plant on a mild day when the ground is workable, not frozen or waterlogged. If the ground is frozen, heel the plants in somewhere sheltered until it thaws.
How do I protect fruit blossom from frost?
Plant in a frost-free spot, avoid frost pockets, and cover small trees with fleece on frosty nights when they are in bud. A dormant tree survives cold that would kill its blossom, so the danger is late frosts in spring, not midwinter cold.
Should I feed fruit trees in winter?
No. A dormant tree cannot use fertiliser, and winter rain washes it away. Mulch with compost in winter, and feed in spring when growth resumes.
Why did my fruit tree flower but not fruit?
Often a pollination problem: many fruit trees need a second, compatible variety nearby. It can also be frost damage to the blossom, or a young tree that is not yet old enough to crop well. Check whether your variety needs a partner, and note when it flowers against the last frosts.