Fruit Trees
The main reasons for fruit trees “not being amazing” are incorrect watering, inadequate fertilizer, application of fertilizers at the wrong time of year, incorrect pruning for the variety, under-pruning or over-pruning, and most importantly not choosing the right varieties in the first place. My new organic book goes into depth on all these subjects so please consult it month-by-month for the tasks you need to do. It is too late now to do corrective pruning on deciduous fruit trees but not too late to fertilize them lightly which should be done here just as flower buds swell and not too late to fertilize citrus and avocado. Citrus should have been fertilized in January. If you failed to do this, follow January’s instructions and do it now. February is the month for feeding avocados. (Read pages 81 and 82 on that subject and feed avocados now.)
I agree that the vegetarian lifestyle is a good one, though I don’t adhere to it religiously and eat fish a couple of times a week. If you are planning to plant a vegetable garden, be sure to place it in full sun. You could grow vegetables either in the ground or in raised boxes filled with good top soil. Be sure to put wire on the bottom of boxes to keep out gophers. Perhaps you can attend one of my seminars or talks on this subject. Be sure to come up and say hi. Please check the list of upcoming events.
Pat:As always,enjoyed your talk at the San Diego Hort Society on Monday. I have a question that you may have touched on. I have an active veggie garden in Leucadia. For compost, instead of composting outside of the garden, I just dig a trough and put the old veggies under the new veggie garden. Is that an issue? Thank you
Digging or plowing the old vegetables into the ground and letting them rot in the ground is an old practice used more by some gardeners back east than here. These gardeners chop up the remains of the garden and plow it under and most of it rots over winter. Then they plant again in spring. Many French gardeners compost in a trench, covering the compost with soil and letting it sit a few years before planting on top of it. But the trench is next to the garden, not in the garden where they are currently growing their plants.
Another way is to chop up spent plants and bury them under your paths. They will eventually rot and improve the soil. The problem with turning the whole veggie garden over and then immediately planting again is that some plants such as members of the cabbage family and corn, to give two examples, have very woody stems. These take a long time to rot and will subtract nitrogen from the soil in order to rot. Also, things like lettuce when turned under in the ground may increase the incidence of disease. Beans, including fava beans, and peas on the other hand can be turned under the soil and you can then plant on top of them in two or three weeks. This is because they are legumes and have a high nitrogen content so they rot quickly and give nitrogen to the soil instead of subtracting it.
When you compost the remains of things like lettuce and cole crops and tomatoes that might have some fungi and diseases and if you are getting a good hot compost pile going you are getting rid of a lot of pathogens. It is great if one can purchase a chipper and cut up the stuff fine, but just chopping with a spade and piling it up works also. I also think the whole process of mixing all the plants up in the compost makes for a very complex structure of bio-organisms thus letting the healthy ones take over eliminating the bad guys in the natural process of rotting. You want it all to break down into something where you can’t see what it once was. When it reaches this stage it smells wonderfully sweet and earthy. You just know this stuff is good and you can use it in your garden to produce the most wonderful results.
I used to do trench composting in an open trench here in California. I dug a big trench next to a bank and it was in the shade and easy to keep moist. I just chopped up all the remains of the vegetable garden at the end of the season and threw it in that trench and stuff from the flower garden too, and after a year or two and I dug the most wonderful stuff out of the bottom of that trench. But eventually tree roots got into that trench and that was the end of one of the best compost piles I’d ever had, like something out of the past. It came to a sad end when tree roots ate all the goodness out of my compost. So I had to switch to the 3-bin method on top of stepping stones and visquine plastic to keep out the tree roots. I much preferred the slower trench method, more old-fashioned but in a shady spot against a bank I got simply great compost with little effort expended.
There is a whole chapter in my memoir, “All My Edens” called “Romancing the Compost Pile” and it’s fun to read. (Chapter 6.) This chapter has EVERY detail and more than you would ever need to know and it’s in story form to make it all the more memorable. I hope you will relax (with a glass of wine?) sometime and enjoy that chapter. You are a gardener so you will enjoy all the nitty-gritty bits I tell the non-gardeners to skip!
Additionally, my organic book has a complete but less detailed explanation on pages 97 to page 99. (Take a look. It covers the whole subject of compost in compact form, with boxes and sidebars to boot.)
We live in Del Mar Heights and would like to plant a peach tree. Since we have only seen citrus trees in the area, we are wondering if a peach tree would thrive. What would you suggest? Thank you. J Arnold
Peach trees grow well here as long as you choose a low-chill variety and prune properly in winter and dormant spray in winter after pruning. My experience however is that ‘Panamint’ nectarine will grow extremely well in a home garden and give you a big harvest of delicious fruit that personally I think is better and sweeter in coastal zones than peach.
That said, I recommend the following varieties of low-chill varieties of peach, all of which should bear where you live: Floridaprince (this one is early and pretty good), August Pride (said to have good aroma as well as flavor), ‘Bonita’, ‘Desertgold’, ‘Eva’s Pride’, or ‘Midpride’ (this is one of the best and has low chill as do all the others.) You should be able to order any one of these from a reputable nursery.
Hello Pat,
Are there any peach trees you could recommend for Escondido? Or would you also suggest the Panamint nectarine? We want to grow a smallish fruit tree in our front yard.
Thank you,
Emery
I have a problem in my small grove.. In the past 4 years something had eaten my Peach, plum, Apricot and Apple trees.. And has not touched my Citrus trees.. I find tiny holes tru out the tree and then they dry up and die.. My apple tree was hollow.. Eaten from the inside out.. I havent seen any bugs either so I dont know what it is..
The problem with your deciduous fruit trees is of great interest but I could not diagnose the source of the difficulty without seeing the trees or hearing other details such as where do you live, how much do you water, what kind of soil do you have, and if your varieties are properly adapted to your climate zone.
When people try to grow deciduous fruit tree varieties that are not properly adapted to the climate in which they live the trees are often attacked by insects. Weak plants attract pests first, which may seem strange but the same thing happens even in the animal world. The weak die first. The fact that your citrus is unharmed indicates that perhaps the care received by your citrus fits it better than the care your deciduous fruit trees are getting fits them. Also, citrus bark does not generally attract boring insects.
Just listening to the details, many small holes in bark, for example, sounds like borers. There are many various kinds of beetles and borers that attack the bark and cambium layer of deciduous fruit trees and once they have girdled a tree, it will die and then the tree may rot out from within. The best defenses against boring insects are appropriate watering and fertilizing, along with a regular program of winter cleanup, pruning, and dormant spraying more than once after leaves have fallen and before they leaf out in spring. A healthy tree will make enough sap to ward off many insects by flooding them out.
When you tell me that the entire inside of an apple tree was gone this sounds like a case of a neglected tree dying inside, perhaps also weakened by animal pests, for example, the roots might have been attacked and eaten away by gophers, then it sounds as if the center of the tree died and perhaps termites moved in from below, along with borers and other pests. The attacks of insects might then have been followed by dry rot. Additionally, this story is reminiscent of many trees I have known in cold-winter climates—wetter climates than ours, where a tree may die from root rot and then rot from the inside and become a hollow tree. We had a wet season with heavy rains last winter. Sometimes neglected trees die after a wet winter due to root rot because they didn’t have enough vigor to ward off diseases and take advantage of the rains.
I prefer if I can to put a smiling face on life wherever possible and thus cannot help but remark we don’t seem to have enough hollow trees any more for beneficial creatures such as chimney swifts, owls, and bats. My brother once had a hollow tree, or snag, on his property and it became the home of several red-headed woodpecker families. When the tree eventually blew down in a storm, the woodpeckers mourned it in the most heart-rending way and flew away never to be seen in such number on that hillside again.
All of the above is just speculation. I suggest you consult an arborist to find out what really killed your trees.
I just removed an apricot tree that after ten years has not once produced fruit while all the other trees on the South side of my La Mesa home are thriving.
It was sold to me as low chill fruit tree.
Could you recommend a plum, peach, or
an apricot that would do well.
I enjoy your book. Must secure new one
Thank you.
Jean
One cannot know for sure why your apricot tree failed to bear fruit but I can make an educated guess. Since all your other trees are bearing and this one is not my immediate thought is pollination. I bet the nursery sold you a tree supposed to be low-chill but difficult to pollinate, like for example ‘King’. If I were you I would give apricots another try. I like ‘Blenheim’ best. Harvests are usually heavy every other year on ‘Blenheim’ and lighter on alternative years, but the flavor is divine if you let the fruit ripen on the tree. It likes some winter chill but unless your site is totally frost-free and warm year round, you should have success in La Mesa. Apricot needs to be pruned properly in winter. Check my book for a few basic guidelines.
For plum, ‘Santa Rosa’ gets my vote hands down. As I’ve said before I wouldn’t bother growing a peach tree but instead would plant a nectarine. ‘Panamint’ is my choice and to this day in my opinion is one of the best trees for home-grown fruit that anyone can plant in Southern California.
Hi, I purchased a house two years ago (in Los Angeles) with a very large avocado tree in the back. It was in need of pruning, which I had done. Last year it bore very tiny avocados which died once they reached the size of a cherry. This past December, I had my gardener dig a trench around the base which he then filled with fertilizer I purchased from Home Depot. The leaves were plentiful and green. The tree flowered well, yet I’ve seen two full size avocados at the top (unreachable) and a few almond size avocados at eye level. What can I do to get my tree to bear fruit? Thanks!
Karen
I am sorry to tell you this but avocado trees usually do not need pruning except to snap off any dead wood inside the tree and maybe to reduce the height of the tree if necessary to reach the fruit. The bark of avocado trees is easily sunburned so care should be taken not to create gaps or lessen the shade provided by foliage. Avocado growers seldom if ever prune avocado trees and doing so can ruin crops. You may have cut off all the fruiting wood by pruning. If any pruning is necessary best time to do it is after, not before harvest.
Also, digging or cultivating under an avocado will always make all the fruit fall off. The roots of avocado are right on top of the soil and if you ever rake or cultivate under an avocado all the fruit will fall off. It is never necessary to dig a trench to feed any tree, but this is particularly true of avocado trees. The roots of the tree are right on top of the ground all over under the canopy of the leaves. Just sprinkle balanced organic fertilizer recommended for avocado’s all over the top of the ground under the tree from a foot away from the trunk to the tips of the branches then water it thoroughly into the ground. Do this job in February.
Why not try to feed the avocado properly next year? Give each mature tree at least one pound of actual nitrogen in February. Fertilize with organics, mulch the tree. Let all leaves lie under the tree. Give the roots time to heal and give the tree time to grow back and maybe the tree will bloom, bear fruit and do well after all. Read the instructions for feeding avocado’s on pages 81 to 83 of my organic book.
Grafting an avocado is not easy and requires an expert. Anyway I doubt your tree needs grafting. If you wish to follow this course consult the Rare Fruit Growers for someone who can help you.
This is a P.S. to my earlier answer to your query regarding your avocado tree. When I wrote my other answer I had just returned from vacation and was somewhat tired and rushed. I am now writing to you again to clarify my reply. First, I notice a typo. Mature avocado trees require 2 pounds actual nitrogen per year, not one as I said previously. Secondly, the small fruit probably fell off because of digging under the tree. The size of the small fruit however was most likely caused by another factor. These small seedless fruits are called “cukes”. When they occur on commercial trees they are usually thrown out but they are edible. Small seedless avocados called “cukes” are caused by climatic factors, such as swings in temperature. Also a total lack of bees or failure to be pollinated might be the problem.
You probably do not know what variety of tree you have but Hass avocado’s often produce many “cukes” along with good fruit. Try using a long bamboo pole with a hook taped on it to get the good fruit from the top of the tree. Then try to identify the variety of the tree by comparing the fruit with avocados at your local weekly Farmers Market. (The one in Hollywood is a good bet, but very busy so maybe farmers don’t have time to chat.) In our area growers who bring their own fruit to local markets are often willing to share expertise and advice, but talk to more than one since one guy might be more knowledgeable than another. A three legged orchard ladder can also be a help in reaching high fruit.
The “cukes” your tree bore this year were most likely caused by wide swings in temperatures or wet weather. Mulch the ground under the tree, feed next year with a balanced organic fertilizer providing 2 pounds actual nitrogen to your tree, never again dig under the tree. If after giving the tree this care and if the tree again fails to bear good fruit next year it is time then to look for a grafting specialist. When and if that happens I suggest going to a meeting of the Rare Fruit Growers in your area for help and advice on grafting. (Please see my answer to another reader of this blog regarding pollination of avocado trees.) If you think you have a Hass tree, then you can graft a “B” variety into the tree to provide pollination but possibly the weather will be less erratic next year and you might get a good crop. Additionally, some varieties bear better in alternate years.
Pat, thank you again for the wonderful program presented to our FB Garden Club! A question…we have a large Asian pear tree in the middle of our fruit grove which has produced almost no fruit in the 4 years we have lived here. We planted a second tree nearby last year which produced some fruit. This year we see no frui….until today when we were about to cut the large tree back. This morning I see several small 1/2″ fruit! So we decided to keep the tree and look into other causes for the minimal production. What would you suggest to increase fruit? Added note…our grove has 14 valencia and several plums, peaches, pomegranates and persimmons, all which produce well. The nectarine only this year produced some fruit.
All Asian pears need a pollinator. In order for your tree to bear fruit you need to plant another variety of Asian pear that blooms at the same time. Sunset Western Garden Book usually provides such details, but on this score they say “Consult your nursery.” If this is a nursery specializing in Asian pears, you are in luck but actually most nurseries don’t have the answer to this question. I hope you know the variety you have. Without that information I can’t find out what variety would be a good pollinator for your tree. I would suggest you read the websites of nurseries specializing in Asian pears for the answer to this question. Here is one that might be of help: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1990/v1-304.html Also, don’t forget you will need bees to do the pollination. You are wise to prune to keep the tree smaller. Additionally thin the fruit when you have some to one fruit per node.
I have 5 years asian pear, i bought it from home depot. Had no fruit. I have 5 ys. persimmon tree, when eruits are about one inch, will drop. I gave them 10-10-10 fertilzer& weekly once the water with dripping system. But no fruit.I am living in L.A. . Summer time how often they need water. Thank you Peter
The Los Angeles basin is Sunset Climate Zone 22. You may have an Asian pear variety that needs more winter chill. It is always better to purchase plants at a good nursery than at a place like Home Depot that may not have the right varieties for your locality. Most varieties of Asian pear will bear well in Zones 14 to 21 and 2 to 12 and most are self-fruitful, that is they will bear fruit but only about one-fourth the amount of fruit without a pollinator, but at least that is some fruit. However, depending on the variety you have, you might get fruit if you have a pollinator. You need to plant another Asian pear to have cross pollination and also you need to be sure there are bees to do the pollination for you. Another problem you might be having is that it sounds as if you fertilized vbery thoroughly and too much. Deciduous fruit trees do not need much fertilizer. If you fertilize them too much they will put a lot of energy into growing a lot of green leaves but not many flowers. The balanced fertilizer is a good idea but not so frequently. The correct way to fertilize deciduous fruit trees here is to fertilize lightly when the blossoms are just about to open in spring. You did not say if the tree bloomed. If it bloomed and you got no fruit this means you had no bees and needed a pollinator besides. You could graft a pollinator onto the tree, but mainly get out there with a paint brush in spring and hand pollinate the flowers as if you were a bee. Regarding your persimmon tree, when fruits drop off when they are one inch in size this most likely means your tree is stressed and I am just guessing it is not getting adequate water. Water deeply once a week. Soak the ground well and make sure the water reaches the roots, then wait a week or even two weeks before watering again. By watering with a drip system you may not be giving your persimmon adequate irrigation. I don’t know where in Los Angeles you live but in some areas the soil is decomposed granite. This is wonderful soil but has such good drainage that the water just pours straight down through it and then it dries out. Water your tree deeply and the roots will go down deeply into the ground instead of being on the surface of the soil where they will dry out quickly and stress the tree.
P.S. Regarding your persimmon tree, you did not say what variety you have or what type of fruit. ‘Fuyu’ grows very well in Los Angeles. ‘Hachiya’ might not have enough winter chill in most parts of Los Angeles. Also, I should have told you that fruit drop on young persimmon trees is a common problem. Besides allowing the tree to go dry, as I have already said, over-fertilizing can lead to fruit drop. Fertilize with an organic balanced fertilizer or you could apply aged chicken manure just once a year in late winter or early spring.
Evening Pat,
I live in Yorba Linda, CA. I want to plant 3 varieties of banana plants, 4 trees – cherimoya, calamondin, persimmon, meyer lemon and 4 berry shrubs – blueberry, raspberry, loganberry, and blackberry. What varieties or brands do I need to buy that are good for my area.
Thank you.
Elfie
I will take a stab at answering some of your queries, but before you come to any decisions, I suggest you attend several meetings of the Rare Fruit Growers in your area. These people are extraordinarily knowledgeable regarding the finest and latest fruit varieties. Most likely you live in Sunset Zone 22 or 23. If you are living on a south-facing hillside then your property is likely to be warmer and it may be possible for you to grow fruiting bananas, especially to the south of a warm wall. You really need to do your own research and make your own decisions based on your own personal desires, not mine. Besides attending the Rare Fruit Growers meetings, also purchase a copy of Sunset Western Garden Book http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Western-Garden-Book/Kathleen-Norris-Brenzel/e/9780376039163. Be sure to get the old edition, still available on the internet. It is green with a pink echinacea blossom on the cover. Do not purchase the new edition (green with a yellow gazania on the cover) unless you want to have both, since though they have updated it in many ways, they have omitted many common and important plants from the encyclopedia section. Here are my personal suggestions for varieties of the fruits you want to plant: Banana: ‘Cavendish’, ‘Gold Finger’ and ‘Ice Cream’ bananas. These three are tasty and reasonably easy to grow, but there are many other varieties to choose from. Cherimoya ‘El Bumpo’ (Here again there are many others to choose from.), Calamondin: There is a variegated variety if you like that. Otherwise just plant any calamondin. (Rare Fruit Growers may know of specific varieties, but if any selections exist, they are not widely known.) Persimmon: ‘Hachiya’ is my personal favorite, but it depends if you like soft fruit or the crunchy ‘Fuyu’, If you have room plant both. Lemon: ‘Meyer Improved’, Blueberry: ‘Chandler’ (one of many choices), Raspberry: ‘Bababerry’. Loganberry: ‘Thornless Logan’, Blackberry: ‘Marion’. You will not go wrong with what I have suggested here but please see the lists in Sunset Western Garden Book and especially in regard to berries, choose the characteristics that mean the most to you. There are dozens of blackberries and raspberries to choose from and many would thrive where you live.
Planted 15 gal persimmon tree 6 months ago. Moved it one time since first planted. Too close to other tree. It is now dead. Possible I didn’t water enough? I scattered a good deal of gypsum around it when I planted it. I thought it would help with clay. I want to take it back to nursury but wonder if I killed it. (Fuju Persimmon) northern Orange Co. Katie
Trees seldom survive if moved too soon after planting. Don’t be too distressed. Mark it up to experience. Simply purchase another. I don’t think it’s fair on the nursery to take it back since you moved it just when it was getting established, thus you killed all its young feeder roots, too tender to take out of the ground.
Hello pat, I am enjoying reading your advice. I have an apple tree that produce tons of apples and they are all with worms, pretty much not eatable. I do not wish to spray any chemicals in my small garden. any suggestion? I was wondering if I should just cut it down, get rid of this tree, but I feel bad for it. And also, my lemon tree had tons of flowers but only 3 lemons on it… any suggestion to why? I live in Sacramento CA. thank you so much.
I have a small cling peach tree … that this year when open them up there are small black bugs that come out of the top and the seeds are terrible looking inside and I see white spots which I think is sap ??? The peaches fall off daily on their own … what can I use for treatment for the next year crop ???
Read all the answers I have written on peaches. Many pests afflict peaches. Apply dormant spray after winter pruning. Netting the entire tree is one way to keep out flying pests.