Young nectarine tree fruiting - remove? 5 April 2020 at 3:55PM in Greenfingered MoneySaving 3 replies 62 views

DD265

I have this: https://www.thompson-morgan.com/p/fruit-mereg-necta-me-mini-patio-tree/kb0559TM which is coming up to a year old.

It flowered in January/February, and is now growing nectarines which was totally unexpected this year. It, and my equivalent peach tree, have been living in the conservatory over winter, but the peach is a month behind the nectarine and so far showing no signs of bearing fruit. They were small before winter so I didn't want to risk wintering them outside in pots even with fleece.

My concern is that the tree is not established enough to hold the fruit - the biggest is about hazelnut (in shell) size but they're growing thick and fast - and also that it seems to be way off schedule.

I'm a novice gardener but my gut is saying I should pinch the fruit off - is that right/wrong? The alternative would be to stake more branches, I guess.

Silvertabby

Take most of them off - just leave a few dotted about to see what happens.

DiggerUK

It's a bit like debates on net curtains. At the college which organised our tree pruning weekends this question came up. The lecturers said it didn't matter what you did, so do whatever you fancy. Our experience of new trees is that it takes at least five years before you get any fruit that makes it to maturity anyway..._

DD265

Thanks both. My main concern is the ability of the branches to hold the weight, so I'll review regularly. The nectarine is a lovely shape, quite compact, whereas the peach has favoured a couple of long branches instead so I think it would struggle to support the weight more!