Almond care guide: when & how to prune, fertilize and spray

When: 6–10 weeks before the first fall frost.

• zones 6–7: about Aug 16 – Sep 13
• zones 8–10: about Sep 22 – Oct 20

Pruning in warm, dry weather right after harvest avoids the canker diseases that enter through wet-season cuts.

1. Keep an open-center vase with 3–4 main scaffolds.
2. Remove dead, diseased, crossing and inward-growing branches, plus water sprouts.
3. Thin crowded shoots so light reaches inner spurs. Spurs older than about 5 years can be removed gradually.
4. Mature almonds need only light pruning. Heavy cuts reduce the crop.

Tools: Bypass pruners, Loppers, Pruning saw

When: from 2 weeks before to 2 weeks after the last spring frost, then every 8 weeks (2 times a season).

• zones 6–7: about Apr 1–29
• zones 8–10: about Feb 11 – Mar 11

Almonds need nitrogen to grow the new spurs that carry next year's nuts.

1. Spread fertilizer around the drip line and water it in. Split the yearly amount between early spring and early summer.

What to use: 🌿 Organic tree & shrub food (e.g. Espoma Tree-tone 6-3-2) · 🌿 Finished compost or composted manure · Fruit tree spikes or 10-10-10 granular

When: 2–6 weeks before the last spring frost.

• zones 6–7: about Mar 4 – Apr 1
• zones 8–10: about Jan 14 – Feb 11

Kills overwintering spores of shot hole, leaf curl and brown rot on bark and bud scales before they can infect new growth.

1. Spray on a dry day above 40°F/4°C, just before buds swell.
2. Cover all bark and buds thoroughly.
3. Rinse your sprayer well afterward. Copper corrodes metal parts.

What to use: 🌿 Copper fungicide (e.g. Bonide Captain Jack's Liquid Copper) · 🌿 Lime sulfur (e.g. Lime-Sulfur Spray)

When: 3–6 weeks before the last spring frost, then every 1 weeks (2 times a season).

• zones 6–7: about Mar 4–25
• zones 8–10: about Jan 14 – Feb 4

Almonds bloom in late winter, often in wet weather when brown rot infects the flowers.

1. In wet weather, spray at early bloom and again at full bloom. Spray in the evening to spare bees.

What to use: 🌿 Wettable sulfur (e.g. Bonide Sulfur Plant Fungicide) · 🌿 Bacillus-based biofungicide (e.g. Serenade or Cease) · Captan (fruit tree fungicide)

When: 2–6 weeks after the last spring frost.

• zones 6–7: about Apr 29 – May 27
• zones 8–10: about Mar 11 – Apr 8

Mulch keeps roots cool and moist, suppresses weeds and slowly feeds the soil. Applying it after the soil warms lets roots wake up first.

1. Spread 2–3 in (5–7 cm) of mulch over the root zone.
2. Keep mulch 2–3 in (5–7 cm) away from stems and trunks. Mulch piled against bark invites rot and rodents.
3. Don't go deeper than 3 in (7 cm) in total. Too much mulch suffocates roots.

What to use: 🌿 Shredded hardwood or pine bark mulch

When: 2–6 weeks after the first fall frost.

• zones 6–7: about Nov 8 – Dec 6
• zones 8–10: about Dec 15 – Jan 12

Voles and rabbits girdle young fruit tree trunks under snow, and winter sun can split bark (sunscald).

1. Wrap the lower 18–24 in (45–60 cm) of young trunks with a plastic spiral guard or hardware cloth.
2. Pull mulch back from the trunk so voles have nowhere to hide.
3. Optionally paint the trunk with diluted white latex paint (50:50 with water) to prevent sunscald.

When: 4–10 weeks before the last spring frost.

• zones 6–7: about Feb 4 – Mar 18
• zones 8–10: about Dec 17 – Jan 28

Navel orangeworm larvae and brown rot spores overwinter in nuts left on the tree and ground. Removing them is the most effective non-spray control.

1. Knock or pull off any shriveled 'mummy' nuts still hanging in the tree.
2. Rake up fallen nuts, husks and debris under the canopy.
3. Bag or destroy them. Don't compost unless your pile gets hot.

Tools: Rake, Pole pruner or long stick

When: 8–12 weeks before the first fall frost.

• zones 6–7: about Aug 2–30
• zones 8–10: about Sep 8 – Oct 6

Almonds are ready when the green hulls split open and the shells inside are dry and brown.

1. Wait until most hulls have split open and some are starting to drop.
2. Lay tarps under the tree and shake the branches or knock nuts down with a padded pole.
3. Remove the hulls right away, and pick up every nut, since leftovers harbor pests.
4. Dry nuts in a single layer in a warm, airy, shaded spot (or mesh bags hung indoors) for 1–3 weeks until the kernels snap rather than bend.
5. Store dried nuts in the shell in a cool, dry place, or shelled in the fridge or freezer. Shelled nuts go rancid at room temperature.

Tools: Tarp, Padded pole