/r/BackyardOrchard
A subreddit for all people who wish to grow or are currently growing fruit trees and plants for fruit production.
A subreddit for all people who wish to grow or are currently growing fruit trees and plants for fruit production. All questions, guides, and personal pictures are welcome.
When asking questions please give: Location, Age of plant, and Plant ID unless it is unknown.
Plant Hardiness Zone Map for the US
Plant Hardiness Zone Map for Australia
Plant Hardiness Zone map for the British Isles
Plant Hardiness Zone Map for Canada
Related subreddits:
/r/BackyardOrchard
32,188 Subscribers
Saving a pear tree
I have 2 pear trees on my property. Since I bought house (2021) one has been thriving and one has been dying. 2 years ago I got about 60 pears off the good one and 12 off the bad. Last year good one had about 80 and I got 0 on bad one. This spring it appears the bad one didn't make it through winter. This tiny branch is the only sign of life. If I trim it and pot it would it regenerate? Should I cut literally every part of the tree down except below the good twig? Or is a total loss?
TL:DR - Can I grow a pear tree from a branch trimming?
20:03 UTC
Pruning/training baby peach tree?
I bought a bare root O'henry peach tree from Costco and it's growing well. I'm starting off my journey growing fruits so I watched the OSU Master Gardener youtube video for reference. From the video, Monica Maggio mentioned that it's preferred to do open center pruning, though I'm stumped as to which branches to start with. I have some general questions and feel free to share any other tidbits of knowledge or references for me to look at. Any responses drawn in paint to tell me what to trim too would be super appreciated!
Is it too early to start training/pruning?
It looks like new growth is growing from the base as well as at the top. Would I prune the base growth (that aren't shooters)?
Is it too early to determine when to start the first V prune cut?
Thank you!
18:26 UTC
Bug on my avocado tree
I’ve noticed a few of these beatles on my avocado tree. Friend or foe?
17:44 UTC
New Avocado tree - leave leaves on ground or rake up?
Generally for fruit trees the advice is to rake up in order to stop spread of any pathogens, etc. However, I'm seeing mixed advise on Avocado tree leaves. Anyone able to advise? Thanks.
16:13 UTC
Planting Lemon and Guava Tree Along Side of House
How close can a Meyer lemon and Pineapple guava tree be planted to the side of the house?
15:51 UTC
Pruning Oddly Shaped Apple
This honey crisp apple was girdled by rabbit damage last winter. I cut below the damage and let it grow for one season and this is what I have. There where no branches after my cut last year.
Tree was planted 3 years ago. The lowest branch is about 11 in off the ground, the cut and largest branch is about 16 inches off the ground.
13:26 UTC
Peach trees in New Brunswick
Our local nursery has brought in a few peach trees be zone 5b I can’t imagine they would do well in the climate? Don’t they usually grow way south of us? Educate me if anyone is having some success with these in our area. thank you
12:00 UTC
Beautiful Persimmon from the yard.
05:35 UTC
Save this Tree
Lost this big old apple tree, anything I can do to save it? There are some big shoots coming off the stump a couple inches from the ground, can I train one of those into a new tree or will it die because the stump is compromised?
04:01 UTC
Spacing for "Grow a Little Fruit Tree" method
In Ann Ralph's book Grow a Little Fruit Tree, she has diagrams of various configurations for what she calls "close planting" including a hedge row, 2 trees 18" apart pruned as 1 tree, 3 trees 18" apart pruned as 1 tree, etc.
But I'm wondering what the spacing should be for single stone fruit trees with space to get between them for pruning. Would they still need to be planted 10-12 feet apart? The images in the book make the mature little fruit trees appear not very wide, like they would be fine with only 6 feet apart. But I can't find anywhere in the book that specifies the spacing in this scenario.
Anyone have any insight about this? (Trees I'm planting are peaches, plums, cherries, and apricots).
03:22 UTC
Is using native soil to back fill fruit trees really that important?
I’ve been reading on this for hours and still wonder if the fear of “roots getting lazy” is perhaps overblown a tad? Especially if you loosen everything up and layer nutrients appropriately and get your hydration right?
Has your experience shown you that using predominately native soils for planting fruit trees is as critical as the internet says it is?
00:11 UTC
Tree arrived damaged
The tree’s bark is cut though.
Is it reasonable to ask the company to ship another?
23:37 UTC
Peach tree pruning
Peach tree in my yard finally had a year with no die back. I had let it get a little overgrown, but had left it till now so I could see what was still alive on it. Any thoughts on what to leave as the central leader?
23:15 UTC
Air layering
How long should I keep my air kayer for a plum tree?
20:50 UTC
Apple trees haven't bloomed last 2 years
I purchased a house a few years ago in zone 6B that already had a small orchard with a number of well-established fruit trees. Each trunk is maybe 4 in diameter and probably 7 years old. There are apples, peaches, and pear trees that all seem healthy. Unfortunately I don't know any of the cultivars and I am not in touch with the previous owner to ask. This will be my third summer with these trees (the second which I was responsible for their pruning and care).
Two of my apple trees are happy and currently full of flowers & pollinators. Three of the five apple trees have not produced any flowers (or therefore fruit) since I've been here. I'm looking for an explanation about why they have not flowered for two (probably three, but I wasn't here to confirm) years in a row. Some things I've considered...
- Late freezes - I don't believe there have been late freezes that would have caused issues, let alone three years in a row.
- Nutrients/soil/sunlight - all of my other trees are doing swimmingly. Peaches and pears abound, as well as the other two apple trees, all in the same conditions.
- Pests/disease - nothing I've noticed
- Biennial bearing trees - this was my hope until this spring when they didn't flower again
I'm now wondering if the three non-flowering apple trees are exclusively tip-bearing, and that I've simply been pruning off all the tips/potential buds during dormancy. Could this be a reasonable explanation? Is there any way to tell at this time of year? Or do I just need to wait until next year and try to not do any heading cuts on these trees in the meantime?
It seems unlikely that I would have headed off every single branch on all three trees for three years in a row, but I have not seen one single flower on any of these trees so I'm out of other ideas.
I would appreciate any thoughts or advice!
18:44 UTC
Free warning in NW OH tonight
Looks like the low will be 30 tonight... Should I do anything to protect my two young trees or will I likely be OK?
18:43 UTC
Is this root stimulator type ok for fruit trees and berries?
First time grower and I didn’t notice this container mentioning if this is OK on edibles.
Google search had vague results.
Can I safely put this on my fruit trees and berries?
I appreciate it!
14:12 UTC
Is my apple tree dead? Post 2
Adding new pictures to my previous post as I was not able to edit it.
Our apple tree produced well last year, but this spring it hasn't shown any leaves yet. The branches are kind of flexible and not very brittle, and the inner bark has a yellow-green color.
Is this a sign of dormancy, or is the tree dead by now?
I've also attached pictures of the trunk for reference.
I live in San Carlos, CA.
Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BackyardOrchard/comments/1c6wzql/is_my_apple_tree_dead/
13:10 UTC
My plum tree is bearing so much fruit this year! Do I need to manually prune some off to ensure healthy fruits?
02:52 UTC
How much native soil (heavy clay) do mix in when planting fruit tree mounds?
I am planting 24 (mostly dwarf )fruit tree varieties. Great sunny spot though soil is heavy clay.
I am planting on mounds to improve drainage.
Can I mix in the native (wet) clay chunks to topsoil/compost mix for filling in over root bulb or should I leave clay out? Why or why not?
I know wet clay is frowned upon, maybe I mix in dry clay for next tree?
Yes I’m a first timer Thanks!
00:07 UTC
Peach Tree info/help
Last year we noticed that our yard has a pretty mature peach tree growing in it. The peaches looked perfect but most were unfortunately un-edible due to bugs/worms/etc
Definitely would like to make sure we treat it properly this year, so I was wondering what sort of spray/fertilizer may be needed, when to spray it, and any other advice on getting some nice peaches off this tree this year? Not sure if location matters, but we’re in Southeastern Wisconsin and I’ve never seen a peach tree in this general region before
Thanks in advance!
22:17 UTC