On 10/9/2014 1:14 PM, Hypatia Nachshon wrote:

Have posted in the past about two :"classic" variety fruit trees r+-
3-4 years old, planted same time. Blenheim Apricot doing well, Santa
Rosa plum not. Lots of suckers which I remove -- Apricot has none
--little and tired foliage.

NOTE that in the past I had same two trees, same two varieties;
yielded for years like gang busters till they had to be "retired".

Even factoring in global warming; even gnashing teeth over TWO recent
heat waves never before experienced at this season in my [censored]
years in So.Calif coastal...

...with all this, I'm still thunderstruck to behold the "ailing" plum
BLOSSOMING, when it's supposed to be shedding leaves (like its
companion apricot), in prep. for "winter"!

Now I don't know whether to fertilize it or not!

Will post pic later today.

HB


Do not fertilize the trees now. All stone fruits require a winter rest.
Feeding now will encourage new growth and interfere with that rest
period. It's bad enough that the 2013-2014 winter was exceptionally
warm, which prevented sufficient rest even for stone fruits specially
hybridized for mild-winter climates. If this winter is equally warm, a
number of deciduous trees across southern California might start dying.

The plum might be blossoming in response to stress. Many woody plants
and herbacious perennials will bloom out of season to propagate their
species when stressed. In your case, the plum might even die without
setting fruit.

I am very concerned about my 'Santa Barbara' peach tree. It requires
about 300 hours of winter chill (hours of temperatures at or below 45F
from the beginning of November to the end of March). Living somewhat
inland with the Santa Monica Mountains between me and Malibu, the
average winter chill in my garden was been over 350 hours over the 12
years from the winter of 2001-2002 through the winter of 2012-2013. The
winter of 2013-2014, however, provided less than 130 hours. I got only
three peaches this year, and the tree was quite late in leafing out.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary