Nectarine tree

[carbide]

I have a semi-dwarf nectarine tree that I planted about 10 or 12 years ago that has never produced any nectarines. Every year the tree sets a good amount of fruit but the fruit never makes it to fruition. I have yet to have any of the fruit get to be the size of a golf ball. By the time the fruit has been on the tree for a few weeks they all start to rot and fall off. I have 8 peach trees (three different varieties) that produce very well. Since a nectarine is simply a peach without any fuzz I can't figure out why the peaches produce but the nectarine doesn't.

Any ideas?

[Tim Vaughan]

It could be a number of things, but even the Bible 2000 years ago in Luke chapter 13 says that under those circumstances you should heavily aerate and fertilize this spring, and if it doesn't work this year, pull it out. Like anything else, sometimes you get a "lemon", or sometimes the micro climate you have just isn't appropriate for that particular variety.

[carbide]

Tim,
How do you heavily aerate a tree? Last year I tried some of those fertilizer spikes around the tree and it didn't seem to have any effect on the outcome. This year I had planned on using twice the recommended number of spikes to give the tree one last chance.

The tree was purchased from Stark Bros. which is supposed to be one of the premier suppliers of fruit trees, but I've already removed a number of non-producing trees that I bought from them. The only trees from them that have really done well are their plum trees which seem to have a boomer crop every year.

Thanks for your response.

[Tim Vaughan]

Dig around it the root with a shovel. There's something I've used for years called "Ironite" It's got most all of the micros, so I put in a half pound or so around the drip line of the fruit trees people pay me to maintain. You do it once a year at any time and it pretty much clears up any micro deficiency your tree might have. There could be other problems, though.