Everything seems to be fine, and the tree has grown to envy, but there is no way to wait for the fruits.
Thick jam, fragrant jam, juicy fresh berries – to be sure, the plum is simply wonderful. The tree is seemingly unpretentious. But sometimes there are difficulties with leaving: the plum blooms, but does not bear fruit. We will tell you how to solve them in order to get a rich harvest.
The first step is to determine which tree you have planted, as the plum needs pollination. The best option is self-pollinated varieties. If your plum is not one of those, then it needs at least one neighbor with the same flowering period so that the insects help pollination. At the very least, vaccinate a single tree.
Another reason for non-ripening of fruits is physiological carrion. Sometimes even the resulting fruits crumble, failing to gain ripeness. This is because the tree has a weak root system. It is also affected by poor soil and lack / excess of moisture.
It is in your power to remedy this situation. First of all, you need top dressing. Fertilizer for stone fruit crops should be applied 2-3 times a year. If you decide to transplant a tree, do it in the spring. Immediately into the pit for planting, you need to add 15 kg of rotted manure, 0,5 kg of superphosphate, 1,5 kg of ash. Do not deepen the roots when planting. There should be another 10-15 cm between the ground and the root collar.
Sometimes the tree is sick and unable to produce many ripe fruits. The most common diseases are clasterosporia and fruit rot. To prevent contamination, spray with Planthenol (3 ml per 10 l of water) before and after flowering. Bordeaux liquid is also used: in the spring – 1%, in the fall – 3%.
Prune in time. The 2 year old plum is already ready for this sanitary procedure. If you do not remove the extra branches, they will begin to draw forces from the tree, which could go to the formation of fruits. Do not forget to also remove the root growth. Leaving only the necessary shoots on the tree can activate the development of the buds.
Sudden spring frosts can damage the pistil, even if the tree is in full bloom. If the pistil has turned from green to black-brown, you can not wait for the fruits, the flowers will crumble and will not yield a harvest. But even if it has not reached flowering, a strong cold snap in spring damages the buds, since the plum is a tree with a short dormant period. At the first rise in air temperature, the kidneys wake up, and the frost that struck will not even let them open.
Plum fruits, even unripened ones, are very fond of insect pests – moth caterpillars, sawfly larvae and thickfoot and others. Damaged fruits fall off and rot. To avoid or at least reduce the likelihood of a pest attack, dig and loosen the soil in the near-trunk circle. Experienced gardeners recommend hanging traps on the branches – jars of kvass, beer or fermented compote. 3-4 times per season will need to be treated with insecticides (“Inta-Ts-M”, “Kinmiks”, “30 Plus”, “Fufanon-Nova”).
Before planting a plum, find out the acidity of the soil, because this tree takes root well only in neutral soil. What are the signs to determine the acidity of the soil? Look if there is a whitish layer on the surface, whether moss, sorrel, wild rosemary, heather, buttercups grow on the site – this is evidence of high acidity. To neutralize acidic soil, add wood ash (200–400 g per 1 sq. M.) Or hydrated lime (300–500 g per 1 sq. M.) When planting.
Plum loves light. Do not plant the tree where it will be shaded by a house, fence, or taller trees. A plum in the shade may not even start blooming, let alone fruiting. Choose the sunniest place. But at the same time, make sure you have enough watering.