i prune that santa rosa like crazy- the more i prune it, the quicker it grows back. I prune it 2-3 times ayear by about 50%. unlike my european plum trees that grow with 10 or so major limbs, this tree has about 3-4 limbs and hundreds of 2-3mm diametered stems growing off the main limbs. truth is, i think im gonna get rid of it. it was an impulse buy from a local nursery. I have had it for about 3-4 years and only get about 60-80 blooms and 1-2 plums per year- this year i got no plum set at all. i have a bavay gage tree in a large pot and it needs a ground home and i have zero room. so i think this crazy growing non fruit producing santarose plum has to go and the bavay gage will take its place.

Pigs will do 'rototilling' in the orchard for you. Chickens confined to the orchard will eat as many insects and larvae (and fallen fruit) as they can find. Many insects overwinter in the soil under the trees, then reinfest the trees. Chickens are your friends. If you ran a few (two or three) young pigs in your fenced orchard, then put in a flock of chickens after them, to scratch and pick through the soil, there's a good chance your infestations would be less the following year. Below is the site for ATTRA (National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service). Just type "chickens orchard" in their search box for more info. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: ATTRA home

Ken, you don't like fruit trees ==>> i have a half dozen or so fruit ... i just dont spray .. dont care.. and suggest to dreamers.. that their crop will never look like store stuff w/o proactive IPM ... scale.. i was wondering if that was an exoskeleton ... more along he line of a mollusk .. which arent bugs.. per se ... and too lazy to look it up ... in the case above.. this scale has been building for quite a few years.. that infestation did NOT occur this year.... and if i.. with 30 years of experience.. can NOT time out precise repeated sprayings of oil... then one might suggest the OP.. as a novice.. isnt going to be able to either ... and when it comes down to doing ANYTHING.. repeatedly ... i usually just get rid of it ... ergo.. no more privet for me.. too many teenage nightmare trimming the family ones... is OP is up for the challenge... go for it.. but the easy answer is.. get rid of it .. ken ps: actually personally ... if this were a $100 exotic specimen.. i would go systemic hardcore bayer tree and shrub.. one application.. done forever.. but OP doesnt want chems .... but this plant is NOT exotic .... nor worth the cost of cure ...

Yes, good idea, I now have 2 tough plum rootstocks - 1 here and 1 from a failed peach tree. I'll have to make that new skill jump sometime. Is there a decent simple guide for someone with zero knowledge on grafting?