I am in central alabama zone 8. I have multiple varieties of cherries and almonds which are supposed to be pollinators for the others. I also have 8 bee hives for pollination. In 4 years, i have never had a single almond or cherry. Does anyone have any idea on what could be the issue? Thanks.
Do they bloom? If they bloom did you have freezes? Do they set fruit and the fruit falls off while small.
We need more info to offer an answer.
I was in a deposition when I was posting.
The trees are always loaded with blooms.
They have never set fruit.
They have bloomed after the last frost in all but one year. They bloomed before the last hard frost/freeze last year so I knew I was not going to have anything.
I have two varieties out of 5 different varieties of nectarines that are the first to bloom of all my trees and make the most beautiful necta – raisins (what I call them right before a few hundred nectarines the size of raisins fall to the ground) every year due to a hard freeze. I thought about removing them but they give my bees some early blossoms to feed on.
If it’s not freeze damage then you may be having the same issue that others including myself have had. Nectarines in particular sometimes don’t set well in warm dry climates esp when chilling is lacking. Our friend in Phoenix has given up on them. Mine usually set fairly well but not the last two yrs with lack of chilling.
Cherries can have the same issue in areas with short winters and marginal chilling.
I thought Alabama is anything but dry!
Maybe you know where snowdude lives but I don’t.
I know I lost the nectarines because of the freeze damage. I don’t know what is happening with the cherries and almonds.
I had the appropriate number of Chill hours for for the varieties of Cherries. I never have fruit set though the trees are covered in flowers.
I have the following cherry varieties planted: Stark Crimson Sweet Cherry, Stella Sweet Cherry, Craig’s Crimson Cherry, Brooks Cherry and Champagne Cherry.
I have the following almonds planted and I know I was taking a chance on them since we receive a lot of rain in central Alabama: Hall’s Hardy Almond and Stark’s All in One Almond.
Nectarines are: Karla Rose, Ruby Grande, Arctic Fantasy, Early Glow and Red Gold. I lost the nectarines 2 years in a row due to late freezes.
Any information is appreciated. Thanks.
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The orchard property is located in Lowndes County Alabama between the two small towns of Lowndesboro and Hayneville.
Read the first line of the OP 
If the climate requirements are met and the polinators are there, I’d be looking at getting a soil test. Some growers feel that without certain nutes present, fruit won’t set or develop. If you are in a wet region like me, the rain washes out nutes. Esp if there is insufficient organic matter to hold them. Your extention agent should be able to recommend what is needed for almonds and cherries.
Thanks for all of the post. These trees are in the middle of a hobby orchard consisting of 220 fruiting trees and plants. I am in the region know as the “black belt” due to the color of the soil which is very fertile. Everything is under drip irrigation. I think I will give the cherries and almonds one more year and if no fruit set, i will rip them out of the ground and replace them.
Cherries don’t fruit as young as most stone fruit. I’ve gotten the first fruit at yr 3-4. So maybe they just need more time.
Almonds are not well adapted to wet climates. I suspect you’ll end up pulling those out. I would think they’d at least set some fruit.
Wish I could be more help.
I have 30 cherry trees in year 4 in the ground. They have Low vigor but lots of blooms. We had one cherry last year and one this year. My Almonds bloom beautifully but No fruit. They are in year 4. I think the almonds freeze but the cherries frustrate. I am in zone 7 in the panhandle of Texas.
Must be an environmental issue.
My cherry tree(used to have 3 but down to one since 2017) started flowering and fruited in year 3 and has not stopped since. This one Black Gold produces lots of cherries every year.
Just curious, what do you mean by nutes?
nutrients, NPK and the lesser ones, sounds like @snowdude knows what hes doing just having some bad luck on those varieties. What does a 200 tree hobby orchard looks like? inquiring minds want to see 
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Yup. Like @Moley said. The important seed making nute is manganese - don’t need a lot but if you get a lot of rain it can be washed out. A soil test will so indicate. In dryer areas this is not so much a concern, rather the accumulation of applied nutes that can approach toxic levels, as @fruitnut has indicated in other posts.
How do you know? Soil test.
I will find a google photo as that will be the best. But i will provide a list of the varieties. Several varieties are planted multiple times:
Muscadines- Fry, Scarlett, Cowart
Table Grapes- Reliance, Flame, Thomcord, Concord, Perlette
Peaches- Fingerlakes Super Hardy, Redhaven, Belle of Georgia, Suwanee, July Elberta, White Giant
Plums- Bubblegum, Methley, Santa Rosa, Red Plum (unknown variety), Elephant Heart
Pomegranate- Angel Red, Unknown Variety, Wonderful
Apples- Dorsette Golden (will be removed, as wrong zone), Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Anna, Gala, Pink Lady, Winesap Spur, Golden Delicious Spur, Arkansas Spur, Granny Smith Spur, Red Rome Beauty Spur, Cumberland Spur, (various other varieties planted around the property for wildlife)
Nectarines- Karla Rose, Ruby Grande, Arctic Fantasy, Early Glow, Red Gold
Pears- Moonglow, Seckle, Bartlett
Asian Pear- Shinho, 20th Century, Hosui
Cherries- Stark Crimson Sweet, Stella, Craig’s Crimson, Brooks, Champagne
Almonds- Hall’s Hardy, Stark Crimson
Plumcots- Spring Satin, Willis Orchard (unknown variety)
Apricots- Wilson Delicious, Stark Sweetheart
Pawpaws- Mango, Shenandoah, Potomac, Allegheny, Susquehanna
Figs- Celeste, Green Ischia, White Marsailles, Brown Turkey, Alma, LSU Purple, Peter’s Honey Fig
Persimmon- Common, Fuyu, Imoto, Matsumoto Wase,
Guava- Pineapple (unknown variety), Robert Pineapple, Pineapple cross
Jujube- Sherwood, Tigertooth, Georgia, Sherwood, Li, Lang
Mulberry- White, Everbearing, Shangri La, Packistan
Che- Darrow, Unknown variety from hidden springs
Loquats- Vista White, Gold Nugget, Early Red
Pecans- Ambling, Excel, Ellis, Gifford, McMillan, Syrup Mill
Hazel Nuts- Fingerlakes Super Hardy, Barcelona,
Walnuts- Stark Champion, Lake English, Heartnut, Bountiful Butternut
32 varieties of Blueberries, 2 varieties of Gooseberry, 81 black berries and raspberries, 7 Kiwi (2 male)
Various Chestnut, Crab apple, apple trees planted for wildlife and sourwood planted for bees not included in the “hobby planting”
For Full Disclosure, a Tornado hit our place in the country dec 25, 2012 which forced me to clear a lot of downed trees and thus i replaced the area around that house with an orchard and other plantings.
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