I planted some fruit trees this spring and with the snow we had in mid-May in SW PA some of my buds took a really hard hit. This is either a Bartlett or a Harrow Sweet pear that was looking fairly good until a week or two ago when all the leaves started to shrink and it just doesn't look good overall. I thought that the buds and leaf development on it was in the right spot that the frost didn't really phase it, but now I'm not so sure. Does anyone have any thoughts as to what may be wrong and if its possible to save?
Thoughts on my Pear Tree
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I think that the dark areas on the leaves and trunk are from the cold weather. I don't think it is a fungus. However, if the problem continues as more growth is added it is some fungal problem and must be addressed. Oneeye is correct. It appears that your tree is planted too deep. You must be able to see the root flare.
Thanks for the replies. I figured my biggest issue was frost damage, but I wasn't sure. Is there anything that I can/should do to help with leaf production because all but one pear tree got hit with it and and have either leaves at the top of the branches or towards the bottom of them with large spots of no leaves. I have one peach tree that has green below where the buds should be, but no leaves because of the freeze. I do plan on mulching, but I haven't been able to get my husband to go get it yet.
In relation to the root flare I've attached pictures of all of the tree bases, and am wondering if they're all too deep. I know at least one cherry is because I had to dig it out for the picture because we got 2 inches of rain yesterday in 35 minutes. I was told by my local extension office when I planted them that the graft union on the pear and cherry trees should be about 2 inches above ground and the peach tree's graft should be about ground level.
Pear Trees:
Cherry Trees:
Peach Trees:
In relation to the root flare I've attached pictures of all of the tree bases, and am wondering if they're all too deep. I know at least one cherry is because I had to dig it out for the picture because we got 2 inches of rain yesterday in 35 minutes. I was told by my local extension office when I planted them that the graft union on the pear and cherry trees should be about 2 inches above ground and the peach tree's graft should be about ground level.
Pear Trees:
Cherry Trees:
Peach Trees:
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Yep, they are all too deep. By the looks I'd say around 3 inches, maybe a little less.
P
Peace perfect peace
Hi,
We do things a little differently in both the uk and france "Let me explain and then you have a think,
(A) Getting the tree (in this case pear but any tree or long term plants) ready for any sudden weather changes, ie the ground must have both really good drainage (yours looks like a very wet area) and when planting ensure that you've used slow acting feed for the root system,
Did you do this ?
But the thing to think about is not getting caught out by late frost etc a good straw mulch around the base helps not only in very dry weather to keep the soil moist "But more important it also helps keep the root system warmer, and another very good idea is to use fleece wrapped around the fruit tree all the way down to the mulch level to keep wind damage/snow? / and freezing winds from causing damage,
After all these trees are young and all ive mentioned are weak area's to the tree "now" until it get's a good root system strong enough to both hold the tree steady in wind (i use a stake for the first year and if the trees roots have got a good hold then & only then remove the stake)
But yours has nothing !! whats the tree to do should strong winds start to push it side to side ? Any root growth wont hold in the ground and without good roots you'll not have any above ground growth !!!!!! or a healthy tree,
The fleece also helps keep rain off the buds just enough so the tree can not have the marks yours have,
Last but not least, Have a look at the weeds etc all starting to grow around the base of your tree, these are the pathway for insects etc ,
I again keep this area clear of all weeds etc by using old news papers held down by stones etc
at this early planting stage and later keep it clear as it aids feeding the tree and if you like a bit of colour then plant tagets (they sort out a host of insects) or spring flowering bulbs, these will remind you it liquid feeding time if you want to use Liquids ?
A fruit tree such as this pear takes 7 years before its classed as giving full harvest,
As it gets larger you'll need to keep it pruned if you want a good sized pear off the tree, if you neglect to prune you'll get three or four times the harvest "But" very small pears,
"Feeding"
Again i use horse manure and always have this i apply during the months of febuary/march when the roots are wakening up and getting ready to grow,
The mulch is replaced over the manure until all signs of bad weather has gone end of may /early june. And then the straw is removed,
The fleece,
This is very light and can be removed or replaced with little warning of bed weather, ie if a sudden late frost is forcast or rain rain & more rain then its simple to take action and replace it should you have removed it early and you have leaf growth and dont want the rain to damage the leaf,
Now i know this may seem like a bit of work but most of it is only until the young tree has settled in and rooted well after this stage you'll be looking at spraying etc but this can only be done when your expecting good leaves etc,
Hope this little has given you some room for thought?
Remember if you start off right you'll have fruit for many many years?
Start off wrong and you'll have problems for many years??????
We do things a little differently in both the uk and france "Let me explain and then you have a think,
(A) Getting the tree (in this case pear but any tree or long term plants) ready for any sudden weather changes, ie the ground must have both really good drainage (yours looks like a very wet area) and when planting ensure that you've used slow acting feed for the root system,
Did you do this ?
But the thing to think about is not getting caught out by late frost etc a good straw mulch around the base helps not only in very dry weather to keep the soil moist "But more important it also helps keep the root system warmer, and another very good idea is to use fleece wrapped around the fruit tree all the way down to the mulch level to keep wind damage/snow? / and freezing winds from causing damage,
After all these trees are young and all ive mentioned are weak area's to the tree "now" until it get's a good root system strong enough to both hold the tree steady in wind (i use a stake for the first year and if the trees roots have got a good hold then & only then remove the stake)
But yours has nothing !! whats the tree to do should strong winds start to push it side to side ? Any root growth wont hold in the ground and without good roots you'll not have any above ground growth !!!!!! or a healthy tree,
The fleece also helps keep rain off the buds just enough so the tree can not have the marks yours have,
Last but not least, Have a look at the weeds etc all starting to grow around the base of your tree, these are the pathway for insects etc ,
I again keep this area clear of all weeds etc by using old news papers held down by stones etc
at this early planting stage and later keep it clear as it aids feeding the tree and if you like a bit of colour then plant tagets (they sort out a host of insects) or spring flowering bulbs, these will remind you it liquid feeding time if you want to use Liquids ?
A fruit tree such as this pear takes 7 years before its classed as giving full harvest,
As it gets larger you'll need to keep it pruned if you want a good sized pear off the tree, if you neglect to prune you'll get three or four times the harvest "But" very small pears,
"Feeding"
Again i use horse manure and always have this i apply during the months of febuary/march when the roots are wakening up and getting ready to grow,
The mulch is replaced over the manure until all signs of bad weather has gone end of may /early june. And then the straw is removed,
The fleece,
This is very light and can be removed or replaced with little warning of bed weather, ie if a sudden late frost is forcast or rain rain & more rain then its simple to take action and replace it should you have removed it early and you have leaf growth and dont want the rain to damage the leaf,
Now i know this may seem like a bit of work but most of it is only until the young tree has settled in and rooted well after this stage you'll be looking at spraying etc but this can only be done when your expecting good leaves etc,
Hope this little has given you some room for thought?
Remember if you start off right you'll have fruit for many many years?
Start off wrong and you'll have problems for many years??????
I know it looks really wet, but that's only because we got 2 inches of rain yesterday evening in 35 minutes and it's been cloudy and very foggy all day today so nothing has had a chance to dry. Its actually well drained soil. I tried getting them through all our frosts this year since they broke dormancy right after planting due to a stretch of warm weather, and then I got caught out on a frost or two due to it unexpectedly getting 5-10 degrees F colder than was forecasted.
When it comes to fertilizer I was actually told not to give them anything for the first year besides water. They were just planted this spring as 2 year old bare root trees.
Staking them never crossed my mind until after they were planted, and I figured that I'd do more damage at that point trying to put a stake in so I didn't bother. I'll definitely remember the fleece. I've only ever know people to cover them for cold not for rain.
I do have all intentions of getting them mulched but my husband keeps going away on the weekends with our truck, and I'd rather not use bagged mulch form somewhere. I do have some old hay bales, but I didn't want to use them because of the chance of ending up with more grass growth with hay since I don't have straw.
I know I can easily get some old horse manure to put around them. I hadn't done that because I was told not to fertilize them this year. I have been staring to think though that I should actually do it, but was unsure since it is getting towards the end of June.
Thank you all for advice. I've been trying to figure out what I should do since the weather was so up and down for me this spring.
When it comes to fertilizer I was actually told not to give them anything for the first year besides water. They were just planted this spring as 2 year old bare root trees.
Staking them never crossed my mind until after they were planted, and I figured that I'd do more damage at that point trying to put a stake in so I didn't bother. I'll definitely remember the fleece. I've only ever know people to cover them for cold not for rain.
I do have all intentions of getting them mulched but my husband keeps going away on the weekends with our truck, and I'd rather not use bagged mulch form somewhere. I do have some old hay bales, but I didn't want to use them because of the chance of ending up with more grass growth with hay since I don't have straw.
I know I can easily get some old horse manure to put around them. I hadn't done that because I was told not to fertilize them this year. I have been staring to think though that I should actually do it, but was unsure since it is getting towards the end of June.
Thank you all for advice. I've been trying to figure out what I should do since the weather was so up and down for me this spring.
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Whoever told you not to fertilize young pear trees apparently knows nothing about fruit trees and especially bareroot trees. A young tree needs added nitrogen in order to grow foliage for the first couple of years. Always use an organic fertilizer. Fertilize your tree before bud break in the spring. When using horse manure make sure that the hay the horse ate was not contaminated with herbicides. This is a very common occurrence with hay growers, spraying the hayfields with a herbicide like picloram. Fill a bucket half full of the manure and fill it up with water and let it sit for at least 24 hours. Then pour the liquid over a weed like a dandelion. Come back in two days and see if there is any change in the weed. If so, the manure is contaminated. Horse manure by itself does not have enough nutrients to grow a healthy pear tree, so you must use fertilizer also.
P
Peace perfect peace
Hi k and chuck,
"K" ref as chucksaid who eved told you not to feed newly planted (long term plant/tree's is wrong) Hence i did mention slow acting feed such as what i use its called guano (it's really sea bird defication "poo") now this is very slow acting and you dont need much per tree,
Just think this tree is going tobe in place for a very long time hence like human's are told the first meal of the day is the most important one "well in this case to get those roots going" Its start in life is important,
Now "k" Im sure chuck and any of the more experienced gardeners will agree with what im about to say,
Planting trees really should be done in september and all the info ive talked about used including the staking, Now ref staking you dont have to use the old method of one stake you can use the cross stake method this lets the tree grow without being held back "google cross stake tree supports for the demo, and the stake is placed away from any roots,
One point "K" when it comes to any planting or sowing times you need to know your area, ie here in france and the uk you'll buy seeds and the info will say sow these during April etc etc , But in verious parts of france and the uk (scotland) the weather is'nt sowing anything outside time as the tempature is still freezing and the seeds would just rot,
All the gardening info given is only a guide and that's all, what you can do with rooted pear tree's ETC is buy them later if need be and keep the roots wrapped in sacking and stored in a dry frost free place for a few weeks until the weather is better for prepering (and this is the word preper) the planting.
I hope this lots helping you "K" and good luck with your gardening
"K" ref as chucksaid who eved told you not to feed newly planted (long term plant/tree's is wrong) Hence i did mention slow acting feed such as what i use its called guano (it's really sea bird defication "poo") now this is very slow acting and you dont need much per tree,
Just think this tree is going tobe in place for a very long time hence like human's are told the first meal of the day is the most important one "well in this case to get those roots going" Its start in life is important,
Now "k" Im sure chuck and any of the more experienced gardeners will agree with what im about to say,
Planting trees really should be done in september and all the info ive talked about used including the staking, Now ref staking you dont have to use the old method of one stake you can use the cross stake method this lets the tree grow without being held back "google cross stake tree supports for the demo, and the stake is placed away from any roots,
One point "K" when it comes to any planting or sowing times you need to know your area, ie here in france and the uk you'll buy seeds and the info will say sow these during April etc etc , But in verious parts of france and the uk (scotland) the weather is'nt sowing anything outside time as the tempature is still freezing and the seeds would just rot,
All the gardening info given is only a guide and that's all, what you can do with rooted pear tree's ETC is buy them later if need be and keep the roots wrapped in sacking and stored in a dry frost free place for a few weeks until the weather is better for prepering (and this is the word preper) the planting.
I hope this lots helping you "K" and good luck with your gardening