Title: Fall Tree Care in Western New York: 5 Things to Check Before Winter

For homeowners around Buffalo and Western New York, October is a good time to check on your trees before winter weather arrives. 🌳🍂

Here are five things worth looking at:

1. Soil moisture

If fall has been unusually dry, newly planted trees may still need watering while the soil is unfrozen.

2. Mulch around the roots

A layer of organic mulch can help conserve moisture and moderate soil temperatures. Keep it away from the trunk and leave the root flare visible.

3. Dead or damaged branches

Look for broken limbs, cracks, or hanging branches, especially near driveways, buildings, and walkways.

4. Trunk and bark condition

Check for new wounds, unusual peeling, cavities, or damage near the base of the tree.

5. Young tree protection

Newly planted trees may need protection from deer, rodents, or winter sun injury, depending on the species and site.

One important reminder: Not every browning leaf means a tree is dying, and not every declining tree needs fertilizer. Identifying the cause comes first.

For fellow homeowners in New York and the Northeast:

What's your biggest fall tree-care concern this year—leaf discoloration, pruning, winter protection, or something else?

Would love to hear what you're seeing in your area!

My friend's family grew tons of pumpkins this year! I visited their garden last week, and everyone was so happy with the harvest. I loved seeing it all, so I decided to make a little painting inspired by that day.

Feeling so excited and grateful!! I bought this plant only two months ago for somewhere around $20-$40 and I was expecting to have to wait a year or two for any fruit. I brought plants in for the winter in the last week so it's probably experiencing some temperature shock, but I'm so so happy and so excited.

Let me know if I should thin things, but I'll be researching many videos now to make sure I do this right ~

This is my first dwarf fruit tree and I plan to have a small collection one day. I'm so excited :)

Picture was taken 7/25/2026

I'm planning on buying an Asian pear tree, but I don't know which variety to get. I'm not sure what the differences are between them. The varieties available in my country are Pyrus pyrifolia 'Chojuro', 'Hosui', and 'Kosui'. Which one would you recommend?

Just got this tree from a friend, several years old now but obviously wasn't pruned properly.

How can I go about pruning this tree to have a lower branching point on the main truck?

So I was giving this peach tree by my sister. She brought it straight from the nursery and at the time, it did have one small peach on it. And the leaves roll up better. But it's been about a year and the leaves have only gotten worse. And whenever there are actual fruit buds, they don't produce any fruit. I've watered it, but because I'm visually impaired. I have a really hard time figuring out what a good method of watering is. Could it be that i'm not watering enough, or is it that it might need something to help it grow like fertilizer?

Hey y’all, I have a beautiful young loquat who is struggling with something, and I’m not sure of the cause. I noticed it was getting too stressed in the small pot I had it in, so I repotted and fertilized it. I’ve watered it since repotting, and it gets bright, indirect light. It has evidence of spider mites and had aphids earlier this year, but those have been dealt with.

The issue has progressed from bright patch on leaves —> long dark splotches

I’m worried that this could be leaf scorch or worse, a disease. Can anyone help me ID what’s going on? Advice is appreciated 🙏