Maybe add a couple grafts.
In my experience Nectarines donāt generally set as well as Peaches. The exception (here) being Arctic Star, it sets nearly every flower. If you could get that one to fit in your climate Iām sure you would be enjoying a really good fruit.
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I have replaced a few olive trees that had very small fruit (Arbequina and Arbosana) ā too much work harvesting and sorting out when you have to do it by hand. Replaced them with large-fruit varieties like Itrana, Amphissa, and Cerignola. Also removed a few pomegranate bushes that I didnāt like ā hard-seeded types and too acidic (probably also mislabeled). Replaced them by soft-seeded varieties with much better flavor. The past spring I top-worked Gold Kist apricot (most grafts took) and Autumn Glo apricot (it eventually died and will be replaced). Also top-worked a couple of mulberry trees that were bought as Morus nigra but turned out to be Morus alba. Moved a couple of feijoas to a better location (they were shaded out by a large mulberry tree) and removed one that I didnāt like (Nazemetz). This winter I plan to replace a number of fig trees that I donāt like with better varieties. Also will top-work a couple more. Other than that I only replaced trees that died.
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I have found a few nectarines donāt set well, but most do really well for me.
On the subject of removals, I am going to take out a whole bunch of stuff this winter. I am going to fewer varieties with more space for each variety, small amounts of lots of varieties just lets the animals have a continual smorgasbord. It is sad I have to do this after working to get the current set-up I have which works really well other than the fruit swiping.
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Iāve been dealing with the same situation. There was a very light set on stonefruit this year and I got almost none. Apples and pears set well, but I still only got a few. I even lost the last half of the jujubes, something that I havenāt seen bothered before.
Have you tried an electric fence? My father has been having success with one, even in a more rural area than I am. He got more apples than I did, even with far fewer trees. The problem I see with an electric fence is that I donāt see how I would protect the entire yard. Even if I did, I suspect that some of the animals are living within it already, so I would be fencing them in, rather than out. But, Iām toying with the idea of protecting a few sections. Then I can get at least some of each type of fruit.
Trapping alone hasnāt really helped so far. Iām considering poison in the burrows and would be open to any biological weapons which can be targeted to squirrels, raccoons, and groundhogs. 
Nuclear weapons might be overkillā¦
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I had pondered an electrical fence. My main concern is I am in suburbia and the street wraps around our house so there would be ample opportunity for people and their pets walking on the street to get zapped. Also it would not look really good, it doesnāt blend into suburbia super well. If my orchard was in the backyard with no streets next to it that would be a very different matter, I probably would have put one up. One variation I considered was to electrify the fence at night only.
What I plan on doing next year is a lot more pre-emptive trapping and repellant spraying. I only had one large animal trap going this year and I will need to buy 3-4 more. The squirrels didnāt cause too many problems because I had up to a dozen traps going at once. I did have a lot of squirrel issues, but once I went to my massive trap approach they have mostly been in check. The birds I donāt know if I can do much about, but they donāt in the end do nearly as much damage as the other animals. I did finally get the wasps under control this year, three traps was not doing the trick but a dozen did the trick
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Wouldnāt the looks from the street be about the same, regardless of if it was electrified? My concern would be the overhead I would experience, in terms to mowing/edging/weeding around and inside it, as well as worrying about running electrical cables around the yard.
Unlike you, most of my trees are in the backyard, while the front yard is just a small strip and just a few trees. So, the looks arenāt of primary concern, as only a few neighbors can see. And theyāve been pretty supportive so far, trying to help me get the large gophers and cheering the other day when they saw I caught a squirrel.
I think this is something I need to do more of. Iāve done a bit of trapping early on, but I hate doing it and I really only get started when I see losses and get mad about it. Closing the barn door after the horse has escaped. Itās also harder to get them in the traps when there is such nice fruit on the treesā¦
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In every documentary I have watched multiple times, saying Swiper - no swiping always prevents any theft.
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Seriously, Iām sorry to hear that Scott, the pictures of what you have accomplished have always impressed me. Would your neighbours tolerate a noisy dog during fruit ripening season? I have an old Saint mastiff that loves to bark at the moon, but is also quite happy when let into the mud room for the night. The only fruit eater I sometimes struggle with are the birds, Koda takes care of anything larger.
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I wrote the wrong one. I am pulling Goldcot. Lost tagsā¦ Had to go back to the map and double check which was which.
Plum trees are more manageable
Less bird problems.
Smaller trees.
Some have great flavor.
Cherries are a headache.
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The birds have only gotten worse for me. They peck everything that has color. They mostly leave alone pears. I have to net anything i want to eat.
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Reviving this thread because I have more to add.
Last fall, I removed:
- PF 24C It was in decline since borersā attack 3 years ago. Replaced it with September Free nectarine.
- Satsuma plum - in a quite shady spot and flower buds got zapped by late freeze too many times. No replacement.
- Easternglo nectarine. Tree was in very poor health from bark split. Taste too tart to my liking. Replaced it with a Tomcot apricot
(thanks @jcguarneri )
This spring
- Two Williamās Pride apples. Bad locations, too crowded. No replacement. Glad now I can walk through that orchard area without having to duck or being whacked by some branches.
- Shiro plum. Graft growth was very uneven. Most Asian plums taste similar and uninteresting here (too much rain, lot of black knot). Replaced it with a Reine de Reinette apple on B9.
- Castleton Euro plum. Very leaning and off balanced. Some black knot.
All these trees were multi-grafted trees. Lost over 100 varieties from those trees combined. Some regrets but more relieved than regrets.
How are you doing with your trees? Any removal?
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I removed the July Elberta peach tree. It was right next to my other unknown variety yet had more bugs and rot. I gave it 5 years to impress me, but she only let me down. I replaced it with Drippin Honey Pear. I can go to the orchard 5 minutes from my house and pick peaches and nectarines. They arenāt organic like mine, but super easy and I love going there with my family. There is no where to pick pears around me and I have found pears to need less spray and less pruning. Also they have been able to āwork throughā some problems like plum curculio and Iāve never really seen much rot. I now have two peaches and 5 pears with 12 varieties I believe.
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Last fall: removed Flavor King Pluot due to canker, all peaches/nects on Citation due to runting out, and all European plums due to poor growth. Also moved some jujubes - turns out they didnāt like high heat, drought and clay soil during 1st yr.
Whatās left? 
Ha! I had a bunch of potted trees in reserve. Peaches/nects much happier on Halford or Lovell. Pluots thriving but not fruiting much yet. Planted a bunch of pears this spring. Hoping some of my potted persimmons survived the freeze. We received a bunch of plums/pluots/persimmons before the freeze, some are not leafing out. Surprisingly did not lose any apricots this winter.
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Jim,
Agree with you that pears are a lot easier than stone fruit. Unfortunately we have only one farm selling peaches near me. The varieties are limited and they are not cheap.
I like plums and peaches a lot but I am leaning toward easy to grow fruit. I put in two jujube trees at a spot where I took Castleton plum out.
@7catcmom I hope jujubes will do well for you. Quite a few members here from TX grow them and they seem to grow well there.
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Do you have any other nectarines or plums/pluots that produce well? Do your trees produce small fruitlets that drop early? Do you spray?
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I know you are probably too busy, but if I were you I would use Clemson bags; they offer excellent protection from birds and late insects. At least do it for the the best varieties that you care most about. You can also bag something like twenty fruits on every tree, so that you guarantee some reasonable crop to enjoy. They allowed me to keep fruits hanging until they drop on their own, which for things like Flavor King and Dapple Dandy makes a lot of difference, taste-wise; and cannot be done without such protection.
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