Unsatisfied w/fruit quality, try it another year or new tree?

13 years ago

I am trying to decide when enough is enough and you remove a fruit tree/bush after giving it enough time to prove itself. I assume if you take good care of the tree each year (prune, spray, mulch, etc.) you generally should know after a couple crops what to expect as far as quality of fruit despite the variability of the weather?

Also, for example with a Fuji apple tree that could be purchased from more than 30 online vendors , should they all taste the same since it is the "same apple" or will root stock or some other variability in how the tree is produced effect taste? I realize that the same fuji apple grown in the North Georgia apple growing hills will probably taste better than my Atlanta grown fuji as my climate is not ideal for apples?

I know you can't judge a fruit tree too quickly as i have had excellent elberta peaches the first year and mealy elberta peaches the second year, and guess the variability was due to weather or something in the way i cared for the tree, but the tree has potential to yield great fruit so I will still keep it. Should i expect the fruit quality to generally be the same or improve with time over the maybe 20 year producing life of this tree?

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Comments (5)

alan haigh
13 years ago
At this point there are many strains of Fuji so there will be differences in taste- especially in earlier ripening ones. For later strains the difference will be mostly in color and hopefully taste won't be much affected. However, many feel that Red Delicious was ruined during the quest for deep red color- I don't think it was that hot to begin with.

Yes, every fruit I grow varies in quality from season to season and site to site. I notice that the wider the range that a commercial variety is grown the more consistent its quality, except with varieties where I'm on the edge of their suitable climate, like Goldrush, which fluctuates from good to great. It's great when we have a long enough season.
garedneck
Original Author
13 years ago
Harvestman, i removed the following tree and assume you would have done the same?

I planted a Halehaven Peach Tree four years ago which had the appearance of a happy, healthy, growing peach tree except each year the peaches would never ripen. Each years crop was very similar as the peach tree would set a normal size crop, they were thinned, at normal harvest time while slightly smaller than other peaches they would stay hard and never ripen and become sweet and juicy! Instead of ripening they would eventually go from hard to rot and fall off the tree. After doing the same thing three years in a row i decided the problem was with the tree itself and thus would buy a Halehaven from another vendor. So my question is how long does it take to determine that the problem is the tree? All fruit trees don't appear to be created equally!
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alan haigh
13 years ago
It would depend on the problem and there would never be a clear formulation of how long to wait. I would have given that peach 2 seasons and then assumed that either the tree was mislabeled or the variety couldn't perform in that specific spot. I've had a certain peach fail on one part of my property where others did well but succeed at another.

I never figured out if it was the specific tree or the variety itself that was the problem though I could have by planting another tree of the same variety in the same spot as the failed tree.

It's common to have varieties that are productive at one site and not at a site nearby. Often there is no obvious reason, at least not obvious enough for me to notice such as hours of sun or soil conditions.
gator_rider2
13 years ago
Kmag turn tree around in quality fruiting. Its must on watermelons for flavor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Good tasting fruit
oregonwoodsmoke
13 years ago
I think it depends upon what is wrong with the fruit. If you simply don't like it, give it some time. If it has behavior problems, then replace it with something better suited.

I've spent 6 years getting inherited fruits trees back on their feet. On the other hand, a very bug prone prune turns out to be mislabeled and it's been marked for removal with just one fruit crop. It's been a problem child all along, so it was already on probation.

My weather varies a lot from year to year and the fruit varies, so I would be willing to give 3 years. With some trees, the fruit gets better after the first couple of crops.

But a peach that never ripened would be replaced by something that liked the site better.

Unsatisfied w/fruit quality, try it another year or new tree?

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alan haigh

garedneck
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Unsatisfied w/fruit quality, try it another year or new tree?

Comments (5)

alan haigh

garedneckOriginal Author

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garedneck
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