Is it safe to put bird feeders out in Utah County at this time? I heard there was a health risk for the birds because of a disease outbreak. I was wondering if that outbreak had passed.

Birds are welcome visitors in our yards and gardens. They add visual interest and entertainment to our landscapes and help us with pest management by eating insects. Bird feeders are one of the ways gardeners attract birds to their yards, but for now it’s best to leave the bird feeders on the shelf.

Right now, the United States is experiencing a highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak. This virus is very rarely a health risk for humans. Avian influenza — commonly known as bird flu — is commonly found in migratory waterfowl like geese and ducks, which can be asymptomatic, but still shed the virus when infected. Unfortunately, the virus can be deadly for many other wild birds and domestic chickens. The avian influenza strain circulating this year is very contagious and very serious. The virus is spread in droppings and respiratory secretions, causing severe illness in susceptible birds.

There isn’t good data right now about how this avian flu strain affects the songbirds that visit the bird feeders in your garden or how easily they could pass the virus to other birds, so it’s best to keep bird feeders and birdbaths put away for now. Avoid doing things in your yard and garden that encourage wild birds to congregate. Once it’s safe to put out bird baths and bird feeders again, make sure they’ve been cleaned and sanitized.

The first Utah cases of this avian influenza strain were reported in Utah County earlier this month. If you have backyard chickens, take steps to prevent contact between your flock and wild birds. Use secure screening to keep wild birds away from chicken coops and roosting areas. Exclude your chickens from ponds, ditches and streams used by any ducks, geese and other waterfowl. Make sure your own poultry have access to clean fresh water that is available only to them.

If you suspect you have sick birds in your flock of backyard chickens or need information about when it will be safe to put up the bird feeders in your garden again, you can contact Robert Erickson, the field veterinarian at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, 801-520-4311.

Hello! I moved to Utah about a year ago. I want to grow some fruit, but I have very little sun in my yard. I do have a very wide driveway, paved, that gets a lot of sun, so I’m wondering if I can plant a dwarf fruit tree in a large container in that area? The tag on the tree I want says it won’t reach over 6 feet tall. One nursery told me that fruit trees planted in containers have a significantly lower yield, but another nursery said that wasn’t true. I’m hoping you can give me a definitive answer?? Also, if it’s a possibility, what special treatment do I need to give it? Thank you so much for your help!

The answer to the first part of your question is- it depends. The size of the container determines the size and productivity of the tree. Obviously, the larger the fruit variety you choose, the larger your container should be. For a mature dwarf peach tree, you would need a container that is about 4 to 5 feet in diameter and 3 to 4 feet tall.

For the second part of your question, outside of general good tree care there’s one other factor to consider. There will be quite a bit of reflected heat from your driveway and that reflected heat will be a problem for your tree. Very hot weather is stressful for fruit trees and the bounce-back heat from your driveway can turn our usual summer temperatures into scorching weather for plants on your driveway.

When we grow plants in containers, we are exposing their roots to more heat and stress during the summer and colder temperatures in the winter. Roots are also sensitive to cold temperatures. This isn’t a problem for plants growing out in the landscape during the winter because the ground insulates the roots and also holds in some warmth from daytime sunlight. If you grow your fruit trees in containers, they won’t have that advantage. You can try insulating the containers during the winter with straw bales, stacks of bagged bark nuggets or soil amendments, or something similar. Or you can move the trees in containers into cold a storage setting for the winter once the trees are dormant. A garage or cellar are two possibilities.

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