I can t think of anything more unpleasant than biting into an apple off of the tree you ve slaved over for so long, only to find that you have not been diligent enough with your pesticides. Even though it seems like a hassle to always be spraying pesticides, it is something that you should never overlook. To help keep the pests away from your tree, try to eliminate places by your tree that pests might be living. Always look for old piles of brush, weeds, old leaves, or any other decaying matter where pests could be hiding. If you don't plant your fruit tree correctly, it could end up being very unhealthy. Also be sure that it isn't being constantly hit be the sun at every moment of the day. Either of these can be fatal to the tree. An important thing to keep in mind when choosing a spot for your tree is whether your spot will be convenient for watering, harvesting, and pruning. A place that would not be good to plant a fruit tree is close to your house or your fence. After you have done this you should set your fruit tree into the hole, and spread the roots out evenly so that the tree will be strong and stable. When all of this business is done, take the soil that you dug up and fill in the hole completely. Unless you want big piles of dirt everywhere, you should be sure you use all of the dirt even is it is a couple inches higher than the rest of your yard. It might also be grown in a container or simply with bare roots. If you get a tree in a burlap bag, you should plant it anywhere between fall and early spring. Trees grown in containers are ok to plant at almost any time of the year. If the tree just has bare roots, then the ideal planting time is anytime in winter and early spring. Then, when it does start to produce fruit, the results will be significantly greater. It is very easy to tell the difference between a tree that has been pruned regularly during its growth, and one that has been neglected. Generally the shape of the tree is much more natural looking if it has been pruned.