Richard Sherratt wrote:

We pruned our ~50 year old (guesstimate) tree the winter before last.
The thing had been neglected and badly treated for about 10 years
before we bought the house, so it was a last-ditch attempt at rescue
before deciding to get rid of it. This year we got a bumper crop of
nectarines, so many that one of the new-growth branches has broken
with a green stick type break. The nectarines are sort of thinking
about ripening. The ones exposed to the sun are red on top but green
underneath.

Standard stuff so far!


Someone suggested cutting the branch off and putting it
somewhere where the birds can't get to it.

Why. You might as well chuck it all away.

The usual trick is to prop the branch back up in the same position. On
the farm, they would use a forked stick or two. With luck, the branch
will re-knit and continue for years.

Next year, you will know to do this early. You could also knock a few of
the flowers off to lighten the load. Wait and see how the fruit goes
this year.


Someone else suggested
bagging some of the branches if not the whole tree. Is it worth trying
to save the broken branch load of nectarines? What sort of bag? Where
do you get them? This is Camberwell, Melbourne.

Are the birds a problem?
Mesh Onion bags, or buy a complete tree net (no idea either)