My Nectarine and Volunteer Peach trees have limited blossoms. They are only on a few branches. It there anything I can do to extend the number of blossoms?
The trees are under an overhang of several feet so they don't get wet and they've never had leaf curl. They are planted on a south-facing wall and I don't think they are exposed to much wind. I've put compost where they are but nothing else. The peach tree produced visually attractive but tasteless fruit for several years until --- duh --- last year when I watered the trees regularly. One nectarine produced 1 delicious nectarine 2 years in a row; last year it produced a few more and they were good. It's fairly close to a down spout, so it got more water than the other 2 until I started watering them religiously last year. The 2nd nectarine tree produced its first fruit last year; because the blossoms were so much different, I thought it would produce plums, but it, too produced nectarines. I've trained all 3 to grow against the house, but I think I need to be a little more agressive with pruning for them to produce more abundantly. What I'm most curious about is how to get more branches to blossom - the blossoms seem to be concentrated on a few select branches.
Peaches and Nectarines bloom on 1 year wood, requiring heavy annual pruning to produce well. A commercial orchardist may remove 1/3 of the tree each year to produce young fruitful wood. Very different pruning than most other fruit trees.
Peach and nectarine bear fruit on last years fresh wood. Opposite to apple trees. Maybe you are cutting of the flowering wood apart from not having enough water. Liz http://extension.unh.edu/pubs/HGPubs/growpech.pdf http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1355.htm
I agree with Liz on the fact that the flowering wood may be getting pruned out. Did you prune in the fall, maybe inadvertantly pruned off the forming/formed buds for this spring? Janet
I want to thank everyone for their advice. I think the problem is in the way the trees are being pruned.
