Seasonal maintenance
Temperate orchard calendar — key activity windows across the NZ growing year.
Work with the season, not against it. NZ orchards run on a southern hemisphere rhythm — winter structure, spring growth, summer fruit, autumn recovery. Prune pipfruit when dry; stone fruit after harvest. Match tasks to your climate zone.
Prune dry
Winter pipfruit pruning in dry weather reduces disease. Never winter-prune stone fruit — summer after harvest only.
Thin early
Remove excess fruit in Nov while small. Better size, less branch breakage, cleaner harvest next year.
Mulch always
Wood chip or ramial mulch year-round — suppresses weeds, feeds soil biology, holds moisture through dry summers.
Net before ripe
Birds know before you do. Net cherries, plums, and berries as fruit colours — not the day before harvest.
Pair this calendar with the harvest timeline, rootstock guide, and tree training shapes.