[Gemma]

Hello all,
I have today been given some fruit tress (1 pear, 1 apple cox i believe and 1 nectarine),  The pear has some leaves on but not many,  the Apple has a few tiny shoots but nothing else and the nectarine is just bear not a green shoot in sight.  I'm wondering if it is worth trying to get them going again or if perhaps there boat has sailed and they are dead and gone.
Any idea or tips?
Gemma

[aelf]

Hi Gemma
Sounds like the nectarine is a gonner - scrape a tiny bit of bark away from near the base, if it's green underneath, then there is still life in it and there may be a chance. I assume they are in pots or bags? Soak them in buckets of water for a couple of days first then plant them in holes with good compost around them (at least 6 feet apart).

If they take, they will be a bit sickly this year but should be ok next year.
'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'

Good luck

[Gemma]

Thanks for your reply,  They are in bags at the moment havent done anything with them till i figured out if it was worth it lol.  Ill take a look at the nectarine bark 1st thing and stick the other 2 in buckets.  Is it worth giving them any feed of sorts or just a good drink and a good pile of compost?
Not worried about fruits as such id be happy to give them a home for a yr or 2 and then hopefully be able to eat something.

[barney rubble]

I'd stick with them for at least a year Gemma. Trees can go into hibernation when they feel threatened by moves or adverse conditions.

Any idea how they were kept before you got them - are they from a friend, potted, out of the ground, from a garden centre etc?

If there are leaves and shoots then there is always hope. They could be slow starters because of the conditions they have been kept in, and nned some TLC to get them back on track

Other advice has already been given in other threads, but try bending a smaller branch of the necterine and if its pliable, it may still be Ok. If it snaps and breaks and there is dry wood beneath, you may have a problem. You could also try scraping a small amount of the bark off branches too to see if its green beneath - again there hope.

Good luck and let us know how you get on. Others on here can probably offer more adivce too.

[aelf]

I wouldn't be in a rush to feed them yet, let them bed in first, feed them in the spring.

Aelf

[Gemma]

Hi Barney
The trees where picked up from a garden centre about a week or so ago.  Friend got a couple of each and kindly gave me the ones that looked like they where goners and kept the others lol.  They are in little black bags and havent been taken out of them since they where brought from garden centre.  
Ill give them some water and some nice compost and hope for the best lol.  Id just love for my trees to take off when she had given up all hope for them
Thanks again
Gemma

[barney rubble]

It doesn't surprise me to hear that they came from a garden centre - I posted elsewhere that I was amazed to see them selling what could only be described as twigs (B & Q), and wondered if they had all been kept in the chillers to retard their growth. Guess nectarines will always be  the difficult one in our climate, but sounds like you might have a good dose of hope for the other two. Like you and aelf say, good soaking, good compost and get them in asap and another good soaking once they are in there.

If its any encouragement to you - I bought a new bramley from them that was just a "twig", but looked promising, and its so far flowered a treat and appears to have been pollinated too as the fruits are swelling. Just don't give up on them yet, deep down in the trunk there might still be life yet

[aelf]

we bought 15 of those £10 B&Q fruit trees for work last year, 11 of them took but they are as Barney described, just twigs. It will be a few years before they are a decent size. Guess you get what you pay for!. Mind you Gemma, yours were free - my favorite price!

Good luck!!

[Gemma]

Seems these trees where from B&Q reduced so they must of known they where on there way out.  Have had a good look over the nectarine tree today.  The ends of each branch/twig are compleatly dead but further into them (ie nearer the trunk) they are still green and bendy. SO do i trim the dead wood or just leave well alone and keep the watered ?

[aelf]

I would just soak and plant, then see what happens. If the nectarine takes, the dead bits will wither off and, if needed, can be pruned next year.

[vegikev]

hi . at work when we plant new trees we soak the roots in water with seaweed extract before we plant. works a treat

[sunshineband]

hi . at work when we plant new trees we soak the roots in water with seaweed extract before we plant. works a treat

What do you do for a living Vegikev? Hope you don't mind me asking 

[vegikev]

i work on a fruit farm. apples, pears, plums, cherrys, apricots, b/currents and a few others on a smaller scale

[sunshineband]

Sounds a yummy kind of job -- d'you get first pick 

[vegikev]

mostly but i do prefer my own stuff as its alot closer to being organic. the other upside is i can get most materials ie posts, seaweed feed etc from work