I have planted a number of stone fruit trees over the last few years (peaches, plums, pluots, etc.) and unfortunately I am finding this spring that some of my spacing as related to bloom timing is far less than optimal. In one case 2 varieties that seem to have matching bloom times this spring are planted over 140 feet apart (with multiple other plums who have yet to bloom planted in between), the trees are mostly planted with 20-30 ft spacing as available in a well established large yard (5 acres with at least a hundred trees), with the stone fruit all in one general section of the yard…
Should I be concerned about this, will they cross pollinate, do I need to cross graft between the two? Or am I over thinking it?
It seems almost everything I find online about cross pollination is talking about optimal cross pollinating in an orchard setting with advice of planting pollinator varieties at anything from 30 ft to 160 ft spacing for Japanese Plums.
This is a question that I’ve seen asked many times but never really answered : " Just how far apart can my fruit trees that I expect to cross pollinate each other be". I guess maybe there is no magic number of feet apart that they can be, and I would think it probably also depends on a lot of factors such as the level of insect pollinators you have, what time of spring they bloom, whether it rains a lot during pollination time, and so on. But I can tell you this. I have some trees that are further than 140 feet that I’m pretty sure are the only things pollinating each other because they are the only things that bloom at same time or the only 2 species I have of that variety. So I think you are fine. Of course it couldn’t hurt to graft a limb or two on all your trees to help. I’ve done that to almost all my plums because I find them so easy to graft.
Meanwhile, if anyone else has any real information about how far apart 2 stone fruit trees can be and still pollinate, I’d love to hear the answer too.
If bee pollinated farther apart than most properties extend. If wind pollinated probably the same answer. 140ft for bees is like turning around and taking a step for me.
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That is such a great answer and it makes me ashamed that I’d never really thought about it in those terms before (bees). I’ve always thought about it in terms of how far wind might carry the pollen, but in truth I’m willing to bet that most of my fruits are actually pollinated by insects (various bees mostly). That being the case, then certainly you are right- the distances would be very far. Thanks for that enlightening response that I should have thought up myself!
I hope @Isaac-1 sees this. If so, Ike, that really ought to bring you some peace of mind!! Most of my bee keeping literature says that typical honey bees forage an average distance of 2 miles but have been observed going up to 8 miles away. Either way, as @fruitnut says, 140 feet is not even a good start for a bee in terms of its pollination distance!!!
Great answer!
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I am still following along, I have also been spending a few hours reading more information on bees and pollination online. The conclusion that I am coming to is that hobbyist fruit growers at least those in the warmer states should primarily focus on cultivating an environment that supports bumble bees, by planting year round food sources for the bumblebees, who unlike honey bees do not store excess amounts of honey, and require late blooming flowers to supplement their food sources.
See https://extension.psu.edu/orchard-pollination-wild-bees
Honey bees may be better in a lot of ways, particularly for use in massive orchards where there is no available nesting area for native pollinators, but honestly how many of us fit into this category.
For some more reading material see https://www.plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Enhancing_Nest_Sites_For_Native_Bee_Crop_Pollinators.pdf
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/7153e/