Question to Dr. Bob

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Question to Dr. Bob by Corry Mordeaux

How come my fruit trees do not produce much fruit?

Are your apple trees blooming OK, producing bushels of juicy yellow or red apples? Most of us have little trouble with getting apples, but some have been waiting for years to get some fruit with no results. Nothing is happening. Could there be something wrong? Yup.

I have previously discussed your apple tree’s need for good cross-pollination and your need to wait long enough for the tree to come into bearing. But suppose you have two semi-dwarf trees on M7 stocks, say McIntosh and Delicious, that are 8 years old and have still not flowered. What could be wrong? There are a couple of things to look at.

First, over-pruning young trees tends to keep them vegetative and greatly delay their coming into bearing. Prune your trees only enough to train them to the desired form, whether open center or modified leader, then leave them alone. Some people whack them back hard, thinking the vigorous shoots that result are good for the tree. Far from the truth. Those shoots are not productive and can actually harbor more insects than normal shoots. So do not over-prune.

Another reason for a delay in bearing could be over-fertilization, particularly with high nitrogen fertilizers which promote excess vegetative growth and delay bearing. Use only enough balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10 to produce about a foot of new growth on your non-bearing tree. In other words, let the tree struggle a bit and it will produce better fruit.

Dr. Bob’s wisdom lives on.