My wife and I just moved into a new house earlier this year and we have 3 peach trees and 1 plum tree in our backyard. Problem is, we do not have the slightest idea what kind of care they require. We are in Dallas, TX and they appear to be full grown. I did read one thing that said they require watering year round even through the winter. I plan to do this, so if I'm wrong please let me know. What kind of pest prevention do I need to do and when? Fertilizer? Pruning? Any advice is appreciated because we would love to be able to enjoy our own homegrown fruit!
I never water my plum trees as they are to far from the house and I have never had a problem.I need to thin them.They should be sprayed in the spring before the fruit are on the limbs are you will have lots of worms in the fruit,The peaches the same way.They can be pruned back.My plum trees are about 20 years old .I live near Huntsville Texas.I wouldn't think there is much difference except ya'll get lots of snow and ice and I don't. I'm sure other people do much more for their trees than I do.
PLUMS Well, I can't help you with peach trees, but I can tell you a little about how I handle plum trees though: PESTS: The pest that I have the most problem with is the "Plum Sawfly". This little beast lays eggs at the base of the blossoms and when the petals fall off the larvae bores into the tiny swollen fruits. You need to spray some sort of insecticide when the very first flower opens... and again when half or more have already lost their petals. In the fall clear the ground at the base of the tree and lightly dig and scratch it with a trowel and rake. This exposes the pupae for the birds to eat. Aphids are another pest that can colonize the leaves and soft new growth at the ends of the branches. I use a mixture of liquid soap+water+spiritus and spray them at least twice. This concoction is biodegradable and has proven to be adequate for most (but not all) types of aphid. For instance, the black aphid requires several sprayings (4-5). I catch ladybirds and place them on the tree to let them try and clear the aphids before resorting to a spray...but often they just can't keep up. If you spray, try and relocate all the ladybirds before spraying. Naturally there are more toxic commercial sprays available at garden centres and supermarkets. The red spider mite is a problem here to a lesser extent. You can easily get rid of them by spraying as mentioned above. FERTILIZER: I use bone meal in the fall. During the spring, make the ground under the tree very wet and well saturated with water, then spread a thick layer of good compost under the tree, taking care not to let it touch the trunk, where it could cause rotting of the graft. PRUNING: Basically on adult trees, you don't need to do extensive pruning regularly. The method that you choose to prune your plum tree depends upon what your goal is, in terms of the form is that you want it to have. There are two times that you could prune: in June, to avoid the silver leaf disease or after the last plum has been harvested. I like to keep my trees lowish so that I can harvest more easily (without a ladder). I restrict my pruning to new growth that would not yield fruits anyway. I take off the last 1/3rd of the branches, essentially. After making a clean cut with your sécateurs, you could paint on some sealant to prevent disease from entering. WATERING: Well, as far as I am concerned, the only time that adequate water is paramountly important is between flowering and the end of harvesting. The thick layer of mulch (mentioned above) will help to hold in moisture, but during draught-like periods, you should give the shallow roots a good soaking from time to time. During the winter months...I don't know about Texas, but here in Holland, there is water enough from the heavens. You said that you thought the trees were adult ones, so that says to me that they have established themselves and thus have become accustomed to the water levels there. So I can't see that watering would be necessary in the winter time. FRUITING: One final word here...it's about harvest and fruit spacing. You get a better harvest...and you won't stress your tree too much if you remove some fruits early-on. Thinning gives you larger fruits and ensures a good crop the following year. There is what we call here, a "June Drop", this is where the tree itself lets some fruits fall off. It occurs in early to mid June usually. You can thin your plums after this "natural" thinning process has ended. First remove all the damaged or sick fruits then thin the remaining ones so that there is one fruit per every fist-breadth. Additionally by thinning your fruits, you can also prevent the branches breaking from the weight of the crop. NOTE—In May, I carefully check all the new, little fruits on the trees to see if they have a small black hole in them (the worm entrance). If they do, I remove them at this time and thoroughly destroy the little fruits and their hidden residents. I hope that gives you a reasonable insight into Plum tree care, of course you will have to tailor this "guideline" to suit your own climatic conditions. Good luck, Sjoerd
I used to have peach trees in Wisconsin. The second year we got a blight on them and then we moved. All I can say is that the peaches were so good. The best tasting peaches I have ever had. Nothing like the store. We opted not to plant peach or pear trees here because of the spraying required. But they were so good...ENJOY...
Around here, plum trees need to be hit with a dormant spray (copper sulfate) in the fall. Absolutely every year. We can't grow peaches here, but since one of the diseases we spray for is called "peach leaf curl", I suspect the same would go for peaches.
