Going to get rid of? The ones that don’t produce, below average taste, too much care. Members with so much access to the finest, especially on this forum.Be prepared for a better tomorrow. I am over the hill but what I have growing for me? Could’t be better. Add a couple, subtract a couple, that’s all. Getting rid of a 6’ combo mango tree and complete redoing a Atamoya tree, that broke last year during a heavy storm, it’s struggling right now. I’ll give it 3 months.
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Ive decided to cut out a Santa Rosa plum that is doing below my expectations. Also looking at a couple old apples that are unknown varieties to me.
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Congrats to y’all on your resolve. I always say I’ll remove things but then they bat their little green leaves at me and I say, well maybe just one more year…The only things I’ve ever purposely gotten rid of were four underwhelming southern highbush blueberries. I dug them out and replaced them with rabbit eye bushes. Three years later they’re covered with more berries than the previous bushes produced in 8 yrs. I have two huge figs that haven’t produced anything, maybe due to too much shade, those babies are on probation.
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I only get rid of the stuff that dies 
then usually try and replace it with something similar or entirely different 
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I get rid of the trees that do not produce fruit in five years after planting. If they produce poor fruit or very little fruit I get rid of them too. They fruit trees have to earn their keep. I take care of them by pruning, fertilizing, staking, trimming, etc… If they do not produce then out they go. I have a Honeycrisp apple that only puts out two or three apples a year. If that is the case this year out it comes next year.
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Kieffer pear. Surprisingly—and disappointingly—the worst hit by fireblight of any pear or apple this season. I do not think the Kieffer now in circulation is the same as the old-fashioned hard cooking pears people used to grow around here. Those would thrive and bear for many years without maintenance, no sign of disease. (Wish I could find one of those still living. Used to be a big one at my g-grandparents’ place. Lots of pear preserves over the years out of that one. Long gone, alas.) Replacing with Turnbull.
Quite a few in-ground figs. Some cultivars have shown neither hardiness (even with protection) nor a tendency to produce anything. A couple of others have put out viral infected growth near ground level—a belated gift from my 2017-18 fig bud mite infestation. Lower buds were obviously infected at that time (though infection did not show for two years), and symptoms are now moving up the bushes (which were planted deep). Hard to justify keeping something sick (and potentially infectious) and/or unproductive when I have the aggravation of winterizing it every fall here in 6b. Will replace most of these with something else altogether and, in a couple of cases, with Malta Black, which is looking like the best performer here so far.
There’s an apricot (or some sort of similar stone fruit) in my front yard, planted by previous owner. Will probably dispose of it. It bears nothing because it’s always hit with brown rot and the bearing scaffolds are too high up for me to conveniently spray. May replace with a persimmon.
Not trees, but I pulled out four stunted, sickly-looking alpine strawberries and one that looked like it had a virus. Replacing with new alpine seedlings.
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That is interesting about the Kieffer JeremiahT. One of the first trees I planted was an improved keiffer, not really understanding yet that it was a totally different cultivar than original keiffer. The improved keiffer is a good producer of tasty pears so I don’t regret planting it but it is earlier and not a good keeper. I would prefer an original but I need another pear like I need a hole in my head. Hope you’ll have better luck with the Turnbull.
In other news, after trash talking my two overgrown figs each has now put on several baby figs! So they are off probation…for now.
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I had an older Kieffer pear at my old house back in the 70’s. It was already there when I bought the house. It was a full sized pear tree and I never had any issues with it. No FB, no diseases at all. This Kieffer pear tree was the most care free fruit tree I have ever owned. I never needed to spray this tree with anything and it produced perfect fruit every year. I just planted a Kieffer pear three at my new location last year. Now it has me worried that this is not the same Kieffer pear tree I used to have. Time will tell.
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Poncho, they are working toward a full time job and than some, if you’re ready for it, you go guy, sure doing great I must say.
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