Yes, the red leaves are the earlier growth, and they actually look a little greener today. I guess I didn't remember them being so red last year, and the other 2 varieties don't look red or fuzzy. A photo is below... do you all think that is "normal fuzziness" or powdery mildew on the shoots (bottom left corner especially)?

Californian: Nectarines have a natural drop, like most stone fruits (except cherries), but there is no reason to wait for it. Thin off the smaller fruits in favor of the larger, better positioned models. The big ones are less likely to drop naturally anyway, the moreso after they have been thinned. Thin off all the doubles completely. There is no reason to try to conserve half of a double unless you have an extremely poor fruit set. I hope that little black branch on your Asian pear is not fireblight. Probably not in California, but you never know. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Thanks scottfsmith! It seemed like spraying helped (and I found aphids on the tip leaves of both my pears). I am loathe to squish anything between my fingers but became so frustrated I finally did press the leaves together and rub in an effort to smash aphids without destroying the top growth. My top leaves on the Asian Pear died anyway but they seemed worse than my Turnbull Pear when I discovered the aphids. It is probably too early to tell if the problem is really resolving, but if not, I will take a pic and post it. I did definitely have a worm issue and aphid problems. I noticed a small scar on the Asian Pear trunk bark today about 18-24 inches above ground and hope its not fireblight. I have several animals in the back yard from time to time and they like to rub and get up against the trees also so I sort of thought they may have been the problem. The trunk is only about 1" diameter and animals could have damaged it although that seems a little high for my cats and small dog. Pics of fireblight have me worried. The sites recommend pruning 12 inches below any damage for fireblight, and since it's a young 6-8 ft tree, it seems crazy to cut it down nearly to the ground. I sure hope that is not what caused the bark damage I saw.

So far they haven't touched my nectarine, kumquat, or apricot tree leaves. What spray is recommended? There are small pears on the tree so I don't want to use anything that would make the fruit poisonous.