Help with fruit trees!

[Emil]

Hi,

I live in Southern, CA, zones 9-10. I have a 3 fruit trees and 2 lemon trees in my backyard. The fruit trees are peach, nectarine and plum. They recieve adequate amounts of water plus are fed regularly. My problem is, when the trees give buds that eventually turn into fruit (I don't know the correct term) those buds just dry up. The trees don't produce fruit. I feed them with Bandini fruit/citrus tree food. Is there anything I can add to the soil to give the trees a "boost" in order for the fruits to develop?

Thanks, Emil

[Richard Cline]

Let us assume that the trees came from good grafted stock. (Natural seedlings may not ever be productive.) Lemon trees are very easy to grow and usually highly productive. Peach, nectaring, and plum are easy to grow. The stone fruit may be varities that require more chill than you are getting. It my also be that you are over feeding your trees. I have peach, nectarine, and plum that I never feed. It is a major job each spring to thin the fruit as the fruit set is greater than the tree can support. I use deep watering with two to three weeks between watering.

There are lots of additional questions. Do the trees get sunshine? Are the varities suitable for the area? Do you prune the trees adequately? How old are the trees?

Dick

[simy1]

I am betting is too much nitrogen. those citrus fertilizers are N-rich. Try stop fertilizing them for one year.

[Babberney]

better yet, stop fertilizing them for three years. or stop fertilizing them altogether. Unless you have a good soil test that shows a deficiency.

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[Emil]

Hi Richard,

The peach, nectarine and plum are in there 2nd year of growth. The first year they didn't give fruit either. I have 2 lemon trees. One of them we brought with us to our new house when we moved here 3 years ago. At the old house it was giving lemons, now it's been 3 years with nothing. I think it suffered some stress or was planted wrong? The tree is alive, it does give the white flowers but again no lemons develop. The other lemon tree was given to us, it's also in it's second year at our house. This lemon tree does not give any white flowers, it just sits there! The trees get enough sunshine. I bought them from a local nursery, so I think they should be suitable for my area.

I'll follow yours and the other posters advice. Maybe I am feeding to much, I'll stop feeding them and see what happens. It's been hot here in Southern, CA so I water them every other day. Should I do a deep watering like you? If so, how exactly would I deep water them?

Thanks, Emil

[Richard Cline]

Your trees are young so that would give them an excuse for low production. However, you definitely should be getting fruit on all the trees. Cut back or eliminate the fertilizer. On mature trees I would water once each two to three weeks. Trees like yours could stand watering once a week.

Water with a very low volume for a long time period so that the water soaks in well. Your watering may depend on your soil. In a sandy soil you can add water fairly fast while a clay soil absorbs water very slowly. Many people use drippers for orchard irrigation. Allow the soil to dry before adding more water.

Dick