Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
nectarine tree advice please?
Hello,
I've got two nectarine trees growing planted two to three years ago. One is pretty large maybe 9-11 feet high and the other which I think gets a lot less sun is only about 6 feet. Both (particularly the large one) get fruit, but in past years bugs and the local wildlife have mostly gotten it. This year I'm going to spray shortly, so hopefully some of the fruit will get to mature. My question is with the larger tree one of the longer branches appears to be bending under the weight of the fruit which is larger than a quarter at this point and great in number. (It's also been very rainy so that could be why?) There's probably 25 of the little things on a 4 foot branch. Should I pluck half or so of them off? I'm worried that the branch might actually snap, and that the great number of fruit might keep the tree from producing any that are normal sized. They are starting to turn red, so I'm guessing I should act quickly? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
nectarine tree advice please?
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
nectarine tree advice please?
Yes, go ahead and thin out the fruit. Fruit trees will often drop excess
fruit on their own when the fruit is still small (the "June drop"), but in a "good" year they can still overproduce. Not only is this a physical strain on the branches, but it can contribute to an alternate year bearing habit, where the tree uses up a lot of resources one year on a heavy crop, then bears very lightly the next. Commercial orchards sometimes use sprays designed to thin the crop; the obvious way to do it at home is to just clip out the extras. One guideline I've read is that you should be able to fit your fist in-between the individual fruits. If you're still worried about the strain on a particular branch, you can devise a prop or crutch for it until after harvest, but that's not usually necessary. Just as an interesting aside, I've read that nut trees such as pecans bear heavily over longer cycles, three or four years, and it serves to manage the squirrel population, by building up their numbers then crashing them down in a lean year, with the effect being that more nuts get a chance to germinate. Cheers, Sue Zone 6, Southcentral PA "evilpaul13" wrote in message om... (evilpaul13) wrote in message . com... Hello, I've got two nectarine trees growing planted two to three years ago. One is pretty large maybe 9-11 feet high and the other which I think gets a lot less sun is only about 6 feet. Both (particularly the large one) get fruit, but in past years bugs and the local wildlife have mostly gotten it. This year I'm going to spray shortly, so hopefully some of the fruit will get to mature. My question is with the larger tree one of the longer branches appears to be bending under the weight of the fruit which is larger than a quarter at this point and great in number. (It's also been very rainy so that could be why?) There's probably 25 of the little things on a 4 foot branch. Should I pluck half or so of them off? I'm worried that the branch might actually snap, and that the great number of fruit might keep the tree from producing any that are normal sized. They are starting to turn red, so I'm guessing I should act quickly? Anyone? |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Whats a good Nectarine Tree to grow? | Australia | |||
Nectarine Tree In Front Yard | Edible Gardening | |||
3 metre tall nectarine tree. | Australia | |||
Broken branch on nectarine tree - will they ripen? | Australia | |||
Nectarine Tree: Leaf Predator | Edible Gardening |