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Cornucopia - Australia

Fruit tree problems

18 years ago

Hi. We moved to our current house 18 months ago. There are mature fruit trees in the yard, but three of them are having problems:

The orange tree and apricot tree haven't fruited the last two seasons, and the nectarine tree grew fruit last year but the fruit all dropped off while they were still small and green.

Can anyone suggest what's going wrong? My only thought is that all three trees are lined up against a double storey brick boundary wall to the north, so they don't get heaps of sun in spring. The trees would have been planted many years before this brick wall went up. But this IS Perth... we grew apricot and nectarines in Hobart in my childhood and they went bezerk every year!

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Comments (4)

Spatzbear
18 years ago
Do you know how the previous owners cared for those trees? Did they feed them regularly? Mulched them? Watered them? Do they need a good hard prune?

And did you feed them since you moved in?

Just a few suggestions. Good luck! :)
Raymondo
18 years ago
I'd suggest a haircut and a feed. Check the web for good pruning tips on each of the fruit types. To feed, heap a good dollop of reasonablty well-rotted animal manure under them, not touching the trunk and concentrate particularly on the drip line and just beyond. Water in and mulch heavily, again not against the trunk. Best feeding times are early spring and autumn.
Hope this helps.
Ray
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I've only been in the house since November so I can't tell you too much. I think it will get good sun in the summer and it will get good sun when it grows taller. I am just trying to get an overall plan for the yard. Ill start researching those fruits you mentioned.
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pepino
18 years ago
I'd probably hold off on the haircut for the orange. Being in the sandy soil of Perth it is probably deficient in minerals and might just need a dose of citrus fertiliser in addition to the mulch and composted manure as mentioned above.

Do the trees look healthy? If they look healthy, you're already on the right track.

I don't have any more advice than what was provided above. It sounds like a pollination issue with the nectarine but I can't imagine why. Perhaps it needs water?
wicky_Aus
18 years ago
I agree, don't prune the orange, unless it is dead wood. Give them a light regular feed throughout the warm months and a good drink.

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