apples, peaches, and plums questions

[happy acres]

I'm about to plant five apple trees and five peach trees. I already have two plum trees planted. My questions are,
1. When do plum trees bloom /produce fruit?
2. Is it too late to expect blooms /fruit from the apples and peaches this year?
3. How many years does it take for fruit trees to mature?
4. A few years ago, I planted peach trees, but the fruit produced was not good. It had splits and clear goop on it, plus the fruits were extremely small. What caused that, and how can I keep it from happening again? (I have since moved. )
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[baymule]

I want to know too! Just noticed you are from Alabama. My husband is from Florence Alabama. Beautiful country, clear streams, tall trees, super nice people, feels like home! DH has been here in Texas long enough to be an honorary Texan!

 

[ducks4you]

Your young trees can produce fruit as 3-5yo's. Peach trees like it DRY, so if your tree is planted in a spot that gets a lot of water, it isn't gonna be happy. My old peach tree and my young peach trees have produced super sweet fruit, so you do have a problem. Perhaps your trees are flowering late. EVERYBODY all of the country is having a late Spring. Two years ago I had blossoms mid-March. I am just seeing the beginning of leaves this week.

 

[thistlebloom]

We are in completely different growing zones Happy acres, so the timing of your blooming/fruiting I wouldn't know.
The answer to question 3 depends on your rootstock, standard trees can take 7 - 10 years to fruit, dwarfs are much earlier.

Question 4- did you mean the fruit had clear goop, or the trunk and branches? If you mean the trunk, it sounds like borer damage. Borers will generally go after trees that are stressed first (but not always) so you can be proactive and help protect your trees by making sure they are kept well watered, pruned and fertilized. And avoid damaging the bark with mower nicks and weed whips because that is where the larval form of fruit tree borers gain entry. Once borers get under the bark they are very hard to control without getting the heavy chemical artillery involved.

 

[happy acres]

The fruits had it.

 

[so lucky]

Did you spray the tree as recommended? (I wonder if the other readers spray their fruit trees on a regular basis? This is one of the things that has kept me from planting fruit trees so far.)

 

[happy acres]

I've never sprayed any of my trees. I'd rather use natural pest control, if possible. I know sometimes it is unavoidable, but I don't like the idea of pesticides on my fruit and vegetables.

 

[thistlebloom]

I'm sorry, I don't know what that might be on the fruit. Maybe the quality of the peaches, or it's pest resistance is
related to the variety it was?

 

[digitS']

An organic orchardist advised me to be sure to spray the one peach tree this yard has room for with a sulfur-based spray in March, each year. Last year, I followed that with an oil spray.

It kills bugs and their eggs and can be used in the growing season as well as a dormant spray. After the sulfur, I read the bottle of oil spray. It said to wait 30 days after sulfur spray before using!!

It has been 30 days but the peach blossoms are beginning to open! I'm afraid of damaging the flowers (can't be any bees just yet). Well, I will spray the bark, anyway. The tree had a good healthy year in 2013 and I know I didn't wait any 30 days between sprayings! Shoot.

Steve

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. When do plum trees bloom /produce fruit?

Of the three you mentioned plums should bloom first, early spring. Peaches will start blooming just before the plums finish blooming. Apples will wait a bit after peaches before they bloom, but part of how long after depends on varieties. At least that's the sequence they bloom for me. You're in a different zone than me so I can't tell you when these will bloom for you, byt the sequence should be right.

2. Is it too late to expect blooms /fruit from the apples and peaches this year?

Yes, the trees need to get established before they start bearing fruit.

3. How many years does it take for fruit trees to mature?

If by mature you mean to start to bear fruit, it will depend on the types of fruit and if they are dwarf, semi-dwarf, or standard. It's also going to depend some on how old the trees are when you plant them. If by mature you mean final size, several years.

4. A few years ago, I planted peach trees, but the fruit produced was not good. It had splits and clear goop on it, plus the fruits were extremely small. What caused that, and how can I keep it from happening again? (I have since moved. )

Different things can cause different problems. The clear goop probably comes from the oriental fruit moth. If they split, it was probably pretty dry and then rained quite a bit as the fruit was getting closer to harvest. That can happen to a lot of things, vegetables as well as fruits. If the fruits are extremely small, they were probably too thick. You need to thin them.