Fruit Tree Care
Supporting fruit tree stewards across Boulder County
CFR’s Fruit Tree Care Program supports residents in caring for healthy, productive fruit trees that strengthen our urban canopy and nourish our community. Well-maintained fruit trees provide fresh food, reduce waste, support pollinators and biodiversity, cool our neighborhoods, and help create more resilient local ecosystems.
Through this program, we help tree stewards build the skills and confidence needed to care for their trees season after season. Whether through personalized guidance, hands-on workshops, or practical care resources, our goal is to ensure fruit trees continue to thrive — providing beauty, habitat, and nutritious fruit for our community.
Together, we’re cultivating a healthier, more resilient urban orchard that benefits our neighborhoods today and for generations to come.
Learn more
Seasonal Workshops
In partnership with our friends at Benevolence Orchard & Gardens, CFR offers seasonal workshops for tree stewards who want to build skills and care for their trees themselves. These hands-on sessions show how small, timely actions each season can make a big difference in tree health and fruit production. Whether you’re new to fruit trees or looking to deepen your knowledge, these workshops help stewards feel confident giving their trees the care they need.
Winter fruit tree pruning
When: mid-late January
What: This workshop will focus on how to prune back branches and encourage strong branching structure that will promote air circulation and stimulate robust fruit production. Before trees leaf out (late Jan through Feb) is the best time to prune!
Grow your own fruit trees
When: early-mid April
What: This workshop will give you the skills to successfully plant and care for fruit trees by supporting healthy growth, meeting nutritional needs, managing water wisely, building resilience to pests and disease, and creating habitat for beneficial insects.
Springtime fruit
tree care
When: early-mid May
What: The session will cover meeting your trees’ nutritional needs, efficient water use, building resistance to pests and diseases, and an introduction to planting understory plants to better support your fruit trees and larger habitat.
Summertime fruit tree care
When: late June
What: Learn essential summer tree care practices, including pest management, sunscald prevention, selective thinning, and more, all designed to improve the health of your tree and enhance the quality of your harvest.
On-site fruit tree care services & support
For stewards who need extra help — whether due to large or aging trees, multiple trees, or simply a preference for professional support — we connect residents with trusted local experts through our partnership with We Love Trees.
We partner with We Love Trees because of their deep expertise, thoughtful approach to tree health, and strong alignment with our mission to keep fruit trees productive and safe in our communities. Tree stewards who mention Community Fruit Rescue receive a 10% winter pruning discount, making expert care more accessible when it matters most.
During the trees’ dormant season (typically January-February) is the ideal time to prune your fruit trees. To get started, connect with the WLT team below:
Call: 720-385-7075
Email: info@welovetrees.earth
Please note: an on-site consultation with We Love Trees is required before pruning work can be scheduled. Consultations and services fill up quickly, so we encourage you to book early to ensure pruning can be completed before the end of February when trees may begin to bud.
Fruit tree care resources
We also provide practical guides and resources for stewards who want to learn more about caring for their trees at their own pace. Our resource library continues to grow, helping residents navigate pruning, seasonal care, and common fruit tree challenges. Coming soon, CFR’s Community Tool Library will also offer pruning tools and other tree-care equipment available for community members to borrow or rent, making it easier for everyone to give their trees proper care without needing to purchase specialized gear.
Community Tool Library
Coming Spring/Summer 2026!
Caring for fruit trees requires the right tools — but not everyone wants or needs to purchase specialized equipment for occasional pruning and seasonal care. That’s why CFR is developing a Fruit Tree Care Tool Library to make essential equipment more accessible to local tree stewards.
Launching soon, this rental library will allow community members to borrow high-quality tools for maintaining healthy, productive trees. Planned equipment includes:
Hand pruners (multiple sizes and styles)
Loppers
Long-reach pruners
Pole saws
Hand saws
Backpack sprayers
Additional seasonal tree care tools
By lowering the barrier to proper tree care, we hope to empower more residents to confidently maintain their trees, improve fruit quality, and extend the lifespan of Boulder County’s urban orchard.
Meet our experts
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Eric Johnson
Widespread Malus
Eric is the co-founder of Widespread Malus, an initiative that aims to plant, manage, and harvest apple trees throughout Boulder County. He has 30+ years experience with plant propagation, gardening, orchards, composting and soil improvement. He has been a science and math teacher in the Boulder Valley schools, helped to develop garden-based science curricula, and taught horticulture in the Boulder area. Boulder County has been his home for nearly 60 years. He lives in north Boulder with his wife and daughter. -
Wesley Swartz
Benevolence Orchard & Gardens
Wesley is the founder and visionary behind Benevolence Orchard & Gardens. As a permaculture specialist and skilled arborist, Benevolence Orchard and Gardens is Wesley's ever-evolving brainchild, born from his unwavering commitment to turning his dreams into reality. When he’s not inoculating mushrooms or grafting fruit trees, you can catch him teaching classes and curating community events, aimed at inspiring others to become actively involved and acquire new permaculture skills. -
We Love Trees
The team at We Love Trees has a vision of tree care that includes the needs of trees, the humans that live among them and the natural environment. They enjoy being with trees and observing the various roles they play on our planet. Rather than short-term solutions, they opt for an expansive approach that includes all the life phases of trees. CFR is excited to partner with the trusted and knowledgeable arborist team at We Love Trees to provide services to our larger fruit tree sites with services such as consultations, diagnostics, pruning, removal, and pest management, among many others.
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Erin Hauer
Community Fruit Rescue Advisor
Erin Hauer is a project manager at a local landscape architecture firm that works closely with community, ecology, and water resources. As a Tree Care Advisor, Erin is involved in growing Community Fruit Rescue's tree care program, bringing insight from her master’s studies abroad on participatory design and management as well as her research experience with the European Forum on Urban Forestry. Her first harvest memories in Boulder were made while gathering fallen apples from a community lawn and baking them into pies with her grandmother.