my leafy plum tree

[Saraheliz]

Hi

I have an Opal plum tree and had it about 3-4 years now. I think it was about 1 or 2 years old when I bought it and the first year it produced loads of plums. I have now since learned I should have not let it work so hard and thinned the plums down. Last year I think I had 4 flowers and 4 plums this year I have one flower so maybe one plum.
Is there anyway to get it to produce plums rather than leaves? they are so tasty.
I put a mulch of rotted manure one the ground in spring and sulphate of potash but other than that I don't do anything except a light prune in summer.
I have neatral-alkaline soil and a bit sandy soil.

many thanks!!

from
Sarah

[FB.]

To make fruit trees produce extra fruit buds for the following season, you have to treat 'em rough.

My approach for a stubborn tree would include some or all of:

1.
Reduce watering

2.
Reduce feeding - especially cut back on nitrogen

3.
Increase competition for the tree roots - plant something (grass?) underneath

4.
Hard prune a lot of the new (green) growth in summer

[Saraheliz]

ok FB

many thanks, it hurts not to look after it well but I will give it a shot. My other plum greengage has loads of flowers, so hopefully that will continue but it is much younger.

many thanks!

from
Sarah

[realfood]

I quite agree with FB. It is a common mistake to overfeed fruit trees. If they are planted on an allotment, the ground is already likely to be high in nitrogen. You can sometimes "shock" a plum tree into fruit production by root pruning.
From my website. Root pruning. If the Plum tree is still not fruiting well after say 2 or 3 years, it could be that the ground is too fertile, if you have been overgenerous with manure or fertilizer. Root pruning can be effective in shocking the tree into thinking that its end is nigh, and rush to reproduce with flowers and fruit. Just take a spade and shove it into the ground as for as it will go, in a complete circle about 1 m from the trunk. This cuts off a lot of the surface feeding roots and leaves the tap roots for moisture and anchoring intact

[FB.]

Yes, root pruning is another way to shock them. It's not something that I've needed to do, but it is a form of hard pruning that serves to increase fruit bud production for the following season.

Taking "stress" to it's ultimate conclusion; many fruit trees that are about to die from disease often put on a stunning display of blossom and fruit in the season or two before they die. It's one last effort to reproduce before they die.
If a fruit tree is too pampered, it'll just keep growing and not fruiting because there is no stress. Putting it under mild stress (or competition) persuades it to reproduce.

[realfood]

I had to try root pruning for my first plum tree planted in an allotment. It worked and the tree has produced copiously ever since.

[smallblueplanet]

Just been to look at my dual fruit plum tree that is about 4-5 years old, there doesn't seem to be a lot of blossom buds, a few on the 'gage side'. Might try this method, a daft question first...I take it its not fatal to the tree?

Oh, and I did spot an ant on one of the buds what's the best way to deal with them?