I have been growing fruit trees (apples, figs, Juliet/Romeo cherries, apricot) in containers. They grow great in the summer. in late November/early December after letting them spend time in the 20s outside (goal is to send them into full dormancy) I move them into my attached, unheated garage that stays about 35-45 degrees. Come spring last year the Juliet cherry bloomed great, then turned brown and died. Same thing happened to the Romeo this year. The apples and fig are okay. The apricot bloomed fabulously and then only tufts of leaves come out at the ends of the branches. There doesn’t seem to be any insect activity.
What would people suggest I do this year to keep everything alive and healthy in the spring?
The first thought is cold injury somewhere along the line. Blooming and then dying can be a symptom of winter cold injury. However the least hardy plant, the fig, survived.
Next possible issue might be poor drainage. What is your mix like? How does it drain?
Another might be if they got too dry in winter. That seems like a long shot.
Here in the PNW,the Spring rains defeated the fruiting on a Carmine Jewel.The flowering was great,but with a lot of precipitation,sometimes diseases can be introduced.All the flowers died and I cut the bush back by about a third to clean wood.
Next year,I’m going to attempt a covering to help prevent a repeat. Brady