Stone Fruit
Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots and cherries are called stone fruits
because they have a hard, stony pit. Now fruit tree breeders are making hybrids of their favorite stone fruits. Pluots, Nectaplum, Peacotum are a few of the new hybrids available. Not to confuse you I will stick to non hybrid cultivars for the following pages. However, the nectaplum is amazing! Regardless of which stone fruit trees you choose the plant will need lots of sunshine and good soil. Planting your trees in a sunny spot will not only give you great fruit it will help eliminate some diseases that are directly related to moisture and air flow around your tree. Full sun means your tree is in direct sunlight 6-8 hours a day. Most stone fruit trees require chill hours for proper growth and fruit production. Erik and I are experimenting with apple trees and have found that the high chill hours stated on some apple varieties might not be correct and we suspect that stone fruit cultivars are the same. We have 15 stone fruit trees with varying chill hour requirements and all are producing fruit nicely. Learn about chill hours by clicking here.
We have planted our orchard with stone fruits that have successive ripening times This style of planting helps with cross-pollination of our trees and fruit yields. For more information on high density planting and successive ripening of stone fruit trees visit Dave Wilson Nurseries.
because they have a hard, stony pit. Now fruit tree breeders are making hybrids of their favorite stone fruits. Pluots, Nectaplum, Peacotum are a few of the new hybrids available. Not to confuse you I will stick to non hybrid cultivars for the following pages. However, the nectaplum is amazing! Regardless of which stone fruit trees you choose the plant will need lots of sunshine and good soil. Planting your trees in a sunny spot will not only give you great fruit it will help eliminate some diseases that are directly related to moisture and air flow around your tree. Full sun means your tree is in direct sunlight 6-8 hours a day. Most stone fruit trees require chill hours for proper growth and fruit production. Erik and I are experimenting with apple trees and have found that the high chill hours stated on some apple varieties might not be correct and we suspect that stone fruit cultivars are the same. We have 15 stone fruit trees with varying chill hour requirements and all are producing fruit nicely. Learn about chill hours by clicking here.
We have planted our orchard with stone fruits that have successive ripening times This style of planting helps with cross-pollination of our trees and fruit yields. For more information on high density planting and successive ripening of stone fruit trees visit Dave Wilson Nurseries.
Care for your stone fruit trees
Plant bare-root stone fruit cultivars during winter dormancy. Soil needs to drain well. If soggy soil is a concern, plant in raised beds or atop mounds. Dig a square hole to encourage roots to penetrate surrounding soil (in a round hole, roots may grow in circles). Keep soil moist but not soggy. Once the tree is established, water deeply once or twice a month (more often in hot inland areas). Apply a thick layer of mulch on top of the soil annually.
Fruit Thinning
Why do I have to thin my fruit?
Removal of some fruit will increase the size and flavor of fruits that remain on the tree. The remaining fruits reach optimum size and are of better quality than if thinning had not occurred. Trees will set more fruit than they can support, they do this in hopes that their children (seeds) will go forth and make new trees and keep the family tree going (bad joke I know).
What if I don’t thin the fruit?
Broken limbs, disease and poor fruit quality are some of the issues. Allowing a tree to bear too much fruit can be stressful for the tree. Fruit thinning promotes good winter hardiness, and enables developing fruit buds to form correctly for next years crop of fruit. This practice is extremely beneficial for peach trees.
Removal of some fruit will increase the size and flavor of fruits that remain on the tree. The remaining fruits reach optimum size and are of better quality than if thinning had not occurred. Trees will set more fruit than they can support, they do this in hopes that their children (seeds) will go forth and make new trees and keep the family tree going (bad joke I know).
What if I don’t thin the fruit?
Broken limbs, disease and poor fruit quality are some of the issues. Allowing a tree to bear too much fruit can be stressful for the tree. Fruit thinning promotes good winter hardiness, and enables developing fruit buds to form correctly for next years crop of fruit. This practice is extremely beneficial for peach trees.
Fruit Thinning with Jim
Apricots
Peaches
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Nectarines
Plums
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