Hello friends, I bought a HaleHaven Peach from my local nursery and last year when it started to fruit - it proved to be a nectarine. It was 4 years old, so I thought that I would just keep it and hope it does ok. This year it is having some sort of a problem in that the leaves on the upper branches are dying, and the entire tree does not look healthy. It gets the same care as all of the rest of my trees, and none of them are having the same issue. Any ideas???
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The issue is probably on the lower trunk or with the roots. Check for some kind of canker, borers, girdling from voles or weed eater, or something similar.
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You know, I have looked, and do not see anything, but of course I cannot see the roots Thanks so much and I will look again.
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You know, I just went out and checked more and found no fewer than THREE bungies tangled around at the base of the tree!!! One was pretty tight. I have no idea how they got there, but Thanks Fruitnut for sending me out to look closer. Life is full or surprises. I hope that that was the problem and the tree can come back. Peggy
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We have an idea. We do not remember, but we probably bungied the little tree to keep it straight the first year, forgot the bungies when they came loose, and they got buried beneath the little tree. At our age, we forget things. So glad that I found them,. Hope the tree can come back!!! Thanks again Fruitnut.
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Great news. Hopefully that was the issue.
Do you think that I should prune off the branches that are defoliated?
Interesting. Those bungee cords cut into the bark strangling the tree? do you mind posting a picture. also looks like the tree has/had leaf curl disease? at 5’O clock it looks like there are few curled leaves still hanging.
Only prune off dead branches. If that really was the issue it might take off this summer.
Doesn’t sound like the most likely cause. There could be something else going on. The tree doesn’t seem big enough to be strangled by a bungee cord.
Well, I don’t know, but when I put my fingers down below the soil, I found one of the bungees really pressing against the tree. I am not sure if it encircled it, but it was tight at that spot. I pulled it out and 2 more came up too!!! There is nothing really to show in a photo - the bungies were underground, and now they are in the trash!!! I will study for Peach Leaf curl, and see if that could be part of the problem as well. I have not had any problems with my peach trees, but I have heard that nectarines are a bit more fussy??
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Hopefully it was girdling caused by the cords.To me though,there looks like something else too.
Possibly Leaf Curl,although the leaves don’t show any definite visual signs.Maybe Blossom Blight.My Nectarine and Peaches haven’t suffered that yet,like some Plums,Apricots and Cherries,but I’ve read it happens.
When you planted it, how old was it and was it potted? I’ve had trees die that I took out of the pot and planted without even looking at the roots or spreading them out
If the roots encircle the tree, it can die
Blossom Blight/Brown Rot was my guess. Peach Leaf Curl I would expect the nuclear orange/red melting.
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If it was PLC I would expect some of the rubbery leaves to still be on the tree now in a Z6- terrible year for it here in S.NY and I’ve still got plenty of diseased leaves on my nursery trees that I grow too close together. My orchard trees didn’t get it, or just got very mild cases.
I was under the impression that blossom blight only affected blossoms.
As far as gridling, I’m doubtful- when that occurs you can see a big indentation on the trunk and to do that it needs to be tight enough to stop vascular flow- it tends to be all or nothing on peaches.
I would pull away the grass that shouldn’t be under a small tree like that anyway, peaches and nects should be allowed to grow at full vigor until they establish. Look at the tops of the roots to see if their is any ugly crown galls once the grass is pulled away. Cut the out as best you can if there are any.
Give the tree some urea fertilizer, maybe a half cup of pure urea pre-dissolved in 3-4 gallons of water spread from a few inches outside the trunk to beyond the drip-line and mulch the sorry thing. If it’s worth keeping it will quickly respond with new vigor.
Hopefully it didn’t suffer from a sudden drop of temps in March and is suffering from dead cambium cells in the trunk. That freeze here in S. NY (Mar 19th) didn’t cost me any trees but it did cost almost my entire nectarine crop. Oddly, most of my J. plum varieties have heavy crops, although they and cots were the only ones showing any green at that time. Most of my peach varieties are fine, but only Carene of my yellow nects has crop. That’s weird too because it is my earliest nect and tends to come out of dormancy early.
The more you know the less you know you know.
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As I understand it the fungus that does brown rot can affect the blossoms, twigs, and ripening fruit. It just has a different name for each stage.
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But it starts with the fruit, IME. It becomes a problem when rotten fruit is left on the tree.
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That was exactly my first thought. I had a late hard freeze in April several years back and one of my peach trees looked exactly like that. However it went from wilted at top to whole tree and dead in only a few days. If its hanging in there after a couple weeks still it could easily fully recover.
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There is no fruit left on my trees and the sour bush Cherries,Apricots and some Plums are affected each Spring.I do spray now,with Daconil and Immunox,which helps,but there is some,(about 25%) noticeable damage.
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