Q: I planted this fruit cocktail tree six years ago. It was supposed to have four fruits on it, and so far I have gotten only plums and peaches. The plums are great, but the peaches are small and fall off before they are ripe and the fruit inside is really thin and bitter. I water every two days and fertilize once a month. Is there any hope of getting good peaches on this tree? I have thrown away 100 bad peaches already!
A: I hear from quite a few people who have purchased 4-in-1 fruit trees (also known as “fruit cocktail” trees). These consist of a rootstock with multiple varieties of fruit grafted onto it. Sometimes it’s a combination of stone fruit varieties (apricot, peach, plum); different varieties of apples or pears; or even different varieties of citrus fruit.
At first glance, this seems like an ideal solution for those who want to grow different varieties of fruit, but don’t have a lot of space. Some may think that one multiple-grafted tree is easier to care for than several single-variety trees.
Unfortunately, these trees are challenging to maintain. Usually, one fruit variety is much more vigorous than the others and will outgrow the other branches. This results in unbalanced growth and sometimes causes the other branches to either die back completely or simply underproduce. This is due to the vigorous branch hogging all the nutrients that would otherwise go to the other, wimpier varieties.
A multiple-grafted fruit tree requires frequent pruning to maintain balance. When I say frequent I mean several times throughout the summer in addition to the normal dormant-season pruning. Even with frequent pruning, your tree may still suffer from a branch imbalance.
Your photograph shows a tree that appears to have never been pruned. There are many, tightly-spaced branches near the bottom of the tree, and some appear to arise from the rootstock. The poor-quality peaches may be from either the rootstock or from a grafted branch. Since you say that the fruit is bitter, I am inclined to think that they are from the rootstock.
If the fruit was small but tasted good, it may be from the grafted branch. For any fruit-bearing tree, it’s important to thin the fruit so that there is at least a six-inch space between the fruits. This prevents branch breakage and ensures that the remaining fruit fully develop.
My recommendation to you is to remove this tree and plant one or several single-variety trees. Fruit trees should only be fertilized once in the early spring and once after all its fruit has been harvested. Overfertilization can weaken a tree by inducing excessive leaf growth.
Deep, infrequent watering is preferable to frequent, shallow watering. A slow drip from a garden hose placed three or four feet from the trunk will encourage root growth, and this can be done for an hour once or twice per week.Have gardening questions? Email gardening@scng.com.
Looking for more gardening tips? Here’s how to contact the Master Gardener program in your area.
Los Angeles County
mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/
Orange County
ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/
Riverside County
anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/
San Bernardino County
mgsanbern@ucanredu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/
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