Hi all,
I am new to planting fruit trees. This past year I decided to get into planting fruit trees. The majority of my fruit trees are doing pretty well. This particular topic is about a bare root nectarine tree I planted about 6 weeks ago. When purchased, the buds were green, and I was very excited about its future. About two weeks after planting, you could see all the buds/shoots curling, shriveling, and later turning brown. This was happening from the top of the tree, slowly working its way down. I honestly thought the tree was dying. I performed the scratch test about 3 weeks ago and there was still green at the bottom of the tree. The very top though, had no green, and felt very dry and stiff. I decided to prune about 3 inches off the top, to hopefully help stimulate it. Eventually I did see new buds/shoots start from the bottom. Now here is the issue. The bottom third of the tree, seems to be alive and well (though its very odd how far down I am seeing growth compared to my other fruit trees). My question is, will the top also eventually come to life at any point? Should I prune more from the top? Is this tree a lost cause at this point? Please review the attached picture and let me know your thoughts. Thanks in advance!
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thebigjoe1
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- Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:16 pm
I would wait and see which of the buds will break. Then trim back to those buds.
It’s not a particularly good specimen of a tree though I’m afraid.
So it’s a personal choice of giving it a season to see if it recovers or replacing with a better shaped tree straight away.
Die back is never welcome in any of the stone fruit family.
It’s not a particularly good specimen of a tree though I’m afraid.
So it’s a personal choice of giving it a season to see if it recovers or replacing with a better shaped tree straight away.
Die back is never welcome in any of the stone fruit family.