# Fruit tree, but no fruit **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 4, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767 "2020-09-04T02:20:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/1 "2020-09-04T02:20:40Z")
Not sure where this belongs, but it’s pretty mundane and pointless so… My next door neighbor has a nectarine?(tangerine are citrus, yes?) tree at the corner of his house. It’s been there at least 10 years, preceded by several apricot trees over the years. This is the first time since it was planted that it hasn’t born fruit. It could be location, lack of sufficient water or age or some combination of reasons. I was wondering if a good at plants person could share some more experienced or educated speculation with me as to why. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/2 "2020-09-04T02:25:09Z")
Flying insects did not fertilize the blossoms this year? ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/3 "2020-09-04T02:39:14Z")
I’m trying to remember (cuz who really pays attention to the neighbors trees that don’t cross the property line) but I’m not certain that it did bloom this year ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/4 "2020-09-04T02:55:50Z")
It doesn’t have a mate. Poor tree. I just googled it. Apparently they are self pollinating. Poor tree. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/5 "2020-09-04T03:25:57Z")
Some possibilities: did a late frost kill the blossoms and prevent them from setting fruit? On the other hand, was it warmer than usual last winter so that it didn’t get enough chill hours? Is it possibly getting too much nitrogen (possibly from grass fertilizer nearby)? Was the tree over-pruned or pruned at the wrong time of year, so that it is putting all its energy into growing tree instead of making fruit? Final suggestion, it may have a disease of some kind. This is an area with which I am not familiar, I don’t know what diseases a nectarine tree is susceptible to , or how they manifest themselves. Your neighbor might want to look at hiring an arborist who specializes in fruit trees to take a look at it. I wish them luck, we all need more nectarines in our lives. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/6 "2020-09-04T05:39:15Z")
Disease did cross my mind. No pruning has happened, ever. Didn’t think of fertilizer, a distinct possibility. The first thing they did when they moved in was to install a sprinkler system, so it’s no stretch of the imagination to think that he applied some to the grass. Thinking about it, none of the apricot trees that preceded it in that spot lived more than 10 or 12 years either. So maybe it’s something about that spot, the soil or something. I can’t say for his yard, but mine has quite a bit of clay so it holds onto a lot of water, once you get it into the soil and compacts easily. I used to have a spruce tree about 10 feet from the fruit tree. The spruce died and fell over because the root rotted clean away. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/7 "2020-09-04T05:47:30Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > did a late frost kill the blossoms and prevent them from setting fruit? On the other hand, was it warmer than usual last winter so that it didn’t get enough chill hours It was cold but not terribly so, plenty of days in the upper 30s and a few in the low 40s this last winter. How cold and how much of it does a nectarine tree need? Um, no late frosts ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/8 "2020-09-04T05:58:55Z")
It didn’t happen to have a bumper year last year did it? Some fruit trees- stone fruit are especially prone to it- can start a sort of two year cycle, when they produce a huge crop one year, so basically overdo it, then have none the next year. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/9 "2020-09-04T06:07:13Z")
Hmmm, Maybe? Yeah maybe. Some of the lower branches were saggy with fruit for much longer than usual last year. I sort of remember that because normally none of the tree crosses the property line, but last year Vaderling was having to sorta mow around them instead of going straight down the boundary. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/10 "2020-09-04T09:12:40Z")
A heavy crop last year could explain it. Or a late frost. Other possibility: over-fertilizing, the tree grows leaves instead of fruit. Some books recommend root pruning to force the tree to fruit, but I have never tried it. I am surprised that a tree would only last around 10 years. Most of them are not even fully grown by then. Cherry trees are relatively short-lived, some only last about 25 years, and AFAIK citrus trees last longer. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/12 "2020-09-04T15:57:06Z")
> [@DorkVader](#): > > How cold and how much of it does a nectarine tree need? Apparently 600-900 “chill” hours, i.e. below 45 degrees. That would probably require at least 2 months of nighttime temperatures below that point, maybe more. Sounds like the overproducing the prior year is more likely the culprit. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/13 "2020-09-04T16:43:41Z")
Well, in my case, the wind destroys the blossoms before anything can get going. I’ve got all kinda fruit trees, and very rarely ever get any fruit. One year, I went out and hand-pollinated a butt-load before the wind came up, and actually got a couple of pears. Is it windy where you live? ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/14 "2020-09-04T18:23:15Z")
Not particularly windy. Right now, I think I’m leaning towards Roderick’s overproduction year idea. I’ll have to wait and see if it produces next year ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/15 "2020-09-04T21:57:02Z")
I haven’t grown tree fruit in many years, and never grew peaches/nectarines. However, nectarines are just not an easy fruit to grow. They have to be properly pruned and sprayed. Before the middle of the nineteenth century, commercial growers could only get two or three profitable years before disease and insects overcame them. Same with peaches. I recommend [The New Vegetable and Fruit Garden Book](https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-new-vegetable-and-fruit-garden-book_r-milton-carleton/2620938/item/81505/?mkwid=URE13OvE%7cdc&pcrid=70112893392&product=81505&plc=&pgrid=21326766312&ptaid=pla-292433097256&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_content=URE13OvE%7cdc%7cpcrid%7c70112893392%7cpkw%7c%7cpmt%7c%7cproduct%7c81505%7cslid%7c%7cpgrid%7c21326766312%7cptaid%7cpla-292433097256%7c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy8f6BRC7ARIsAPIXOjiuhc-L9K_-fFIoHxQa--yU5QtrxikEb3pyJViiAMqqIbUTREz-uMcaAismEALw_wcB#isbn=0809280752&idiq=81505). Yes, I know it is no longer new. And I know it is published by a publisher most of whose titles are right-wing political screeds. But this one is good. At least in my area, no tree fruit is really easy. You have to get a good book and do what it says. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/16 "2020-09-05T02:55:26Z")
Did anyone spray insecticide on the tree during blossoming season? You might think that’s a no-brainer not to do that, but some people don’t think about it. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/17 "2020-09-05T06:10:02Z")
I don’t know if it got sprayed or not. I don’t think it did, I don’t think the neighbor would do that during bloom, but I can’t actually say that I know he wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fruit-tree-but-no-fruit/919767/18 "2020-09-05T16:36:31Z")
Interesting. I don’t think I have seen nectarines [in Europe], but here we have two young peach trees that have produced a good crop, and the neighbor has peach trees that have cropped heavily for years.