Sixshot
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Newbie here! Question about a nectarine tree.

Hi there,
I am a total newbie who's getting into gardening and I live in a desert area. I bought a plum and nectarine tree from my local garden center (I was told they'll grow fine out here) and I planted them. The plum tree seems to be doing great, but the nectarine tree looks like it's dying. It had a lot of leaves on it when I got it, and now they're all shriveled up.

I have been trying to water them in the early morning or the evenings, when it's cooler. I read not to water them too much so I'm just watering them once a day. The nectarine tree still is green on the inside, although some of the branch tips are turning brown and look dead. They almost look kind of burned... I planted both trees in a place that gets full sun because that's where I was told they needed to be. Since it's the desert, is it maybe too much sun? Anyway I really want the tree to survive, so is there anything I can do to help it?

Thank you!
Martin

TheLorax
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Hello and a warm welcome to you.

Are you in a position to share with me what county and state you are in?

Also too, would you check your tags and share with me which plum and which nectarine you were sold please.

Sixshot
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Hello! I'm near the city of Palmdale, California (a couple of miles east). It's in Los Angeles county. The trees are a Semi-Dwarf Santa Rosa Plum, and a Goldmine Semi-Dwarf nectarine.

TheLorax
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Rats, lost my post by screwing around and ending up logged out! I hate that when that happens but here goes again-

OK, you're in the high desert. Mojave, right?

I know very little about selection of fruiting trees for this challenging area however I suspect once you choose varieties that are capable of surviving and thriving that the actual growing of them from there on out isn't going to be much different than anywhere else. One thing I do know is that you're going to have to pay particular attention to a fruiting tree's chill hours in order to ensure best possible fruit production but then we all have to do that when selecting varieties to grow. One factor that would concern me would be a late spring frost with prunus spp. I've gotten zapped my fair share with late frosts so have been attempting to select later blooming varieties. Don't know how susceptible your actual growing location is to late spring frost though but you are the high desert.

Based on what little I know for your area, looks as if you've chosen well however there are pomegranates, apricots, and peaches that may also do well for you. Is anyone growing any apples or pears around you? Those might be ok dependent upon which variety you buy? There are probably other fruits that will do well for you but I don't know which ones they would be.

The 'Santa Rosa' plum is one of the few plums that is black knot resistant. Mind you, resistant doesn't mean immune. It is also self fruitful therefore it doesn't require a pollinator. Good pick. Same deal with the 'Goldmine' regarding no need for a pollinator. Great picks! Either you did a lot of research before you bought them or you had a horseshoe up your rearend!

You planted dwarfs! That's great. Probably no need for a ladder to provide care for your trees in the future. I like dwarfs, I'm short and have fallen off my fair share of ladders in the past. No one likes to go kaboom and splat on the ground.

I need to know a little bit more about the trees you bought. Did you buy either one as a bareroot or as a potted plants or a ball and burlap tree? I ask this because the odds may be against you on that nectarine if it was fully leafed out when you planted it. Bareroots are always best for a multitude of reasons so please seriously consider buying bareroots in the future. When did you plant these trees? As a rule of thumb, early spring while a plant is still dormant is the best time. The shriveled up leaves on the nectarine doesn't sound good but I suppose it could be transplant shock. Is your soil very sandy? Where exactly did you plant that nectarine? Is it close to any structures that would be radiating heat or reflecting sun? How big was the hole you dug to plant it in and how did you amend the hole? Do you have a 3-4" layer of mulch surrounding the base of your trees? You mention you are watering them once a day. Have you been checking to make sure they need water? I've found that plants recover from too little water a lot better than they do from too much water. Did you notice the leaves curling and discoloring on the nectarine before they shriveled up and died?

I'm really excited for you! Glad you took the plunge and tried fruits.

TheLorax
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Did a little searching for you and found a very nice site-
[url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xiazsgs7zwQC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=high+desert+fruit+trees&source=web&ots=iQYo3-SR1J&sig=G69YWW-sizrKZCe1YbRkxzAXNxw&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA81,M1]Growing Food in the High Desert Country[/url]

editing to correct link so you don't have to scroll all over.
Last edited by TheLorax on Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sixshot
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Thanks so much for all that information! The online book looks like it's got lots of useful stuff in it.

About my selection of the plants... it was totally luck, hahaha! I had no idea which types would be the best for this area. I did a little research about what kinds of fruit can grow out here though, and I asked the guy at the garden center if they had any that would be well suited to this area. So he's really the smart one :)

The trees they had were in plastic pots and both already had leaves on them. The plum tree actually looked a lot weaker than the nectarine when I got it, and seems to be doing really quite well now that it's in the ground.

About how I planted them -- I dug a hole about twice as wide as the pot, and about as deep, maybe a bit shallower. The ground is very sandy but as I dug deeper, it was kind of hard so I broke up the sides of the hole (they were as smooth as cement). I added a little bit of potting mix into the ground but mostly I just refilled the hole with the dirt I'd removed. I don't have any mulch surrounding the base of the trees but I will definitely go do that if it's important. The plants themselves are near my house, but not too close. I'd say the plum tree is about 35 or so feet away from the house, and the nectarine tree is about 75 feet away.

I've noticed that when I water the plum tree at night and then check it in the morning, that the ground is usually still pretty damp. So I try not to water it in the morning too. But with the nectarine, the ground is always dry again, so I usually give it some more water.

Also I was wondering, I have read a little bit about composting, can I use compost as a mulch?

Again, thanks so much for all your help!

Martin

TheLorax
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I've been known to have a few horseshoes up my rear before but not normally.

I think you have done little wrong. Your timing was off in purchasing the plants. Dormant bareroots establish best and both of your trees were fully leafed out by the time you planted them so sometimes that's simply too much stress on a little potted tree that's been grown under ideal conditions for its entire life. When I'm dealing with poor soil conditions I normally dig a hole at least 3x the size of the pot if not larger. I amend the soil with what ever I have laying around (which is lots of different bags of goodies) and then I mix in some of the soil that I originally removed from the hole.

One other thing, I normally elevate the tree about 3" above grade to allow for settling.

I wouldn't do much to the plum tree other than to back off the water. Let it dry out between waterings. When you do water it, water it slowly and thoroughly and then hold. A deep watering is better than keeping the ground saturated.

Regarding the nectarine, I think you might want to consider gently removing it from the hole and re-digging that entire hole considerably deeper and wider. At this point, I don't think you've got much to lose. The tree is already stressed and it is doubtful its roots have grown beyond the original root ball. Something isn't quite right if it is drying out completely in one day even for the high desert. Yes, do use compost. I use mushroom compost and composted manure and hardwood bark chips and compost from my own composter all mixed up with some soil from the original hole. I think anything goes but see what that online book says. Perhaps they might offer other suggestions.

Yes, definitely mulch well around the bases of those two trees. I know there are people out there who use gravel as a mulch but I wouldn't recommend it. Good old hardwood chips should be fine. Should help retain water and will also help with weed seeds taking root in that recently disturbed soil.



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