Common Fruit Tree Problems

Fruit trees are a garden investment that reward for years to come. Most fruit trees happily do their thing--flowering, setting fruit, thinning and ripening--with little input. Abandoned orchards bear witness to this. But fruit trees are susceptible to a host of pest and disease issues. Click through our gallery to diagnose your fruit tree problems and learn some tips for solving these common issues.

The winter moth is a non-native pest that attacks many different plants, including cherry, apple and crabapple trees. The adult moths mate during warm evenings in late fall and winter and lay eggs in tree bark crevices. The larva, an inchworm-like caterpillar, hatches in early spring and can quickly defoliate a tree. When you spot the caterpillars, spray Bt (Bacillus thuringinesis). When caterpillars eat this naturally occurring bacteria, they stop feeding and die. Use Bt early in the season and Spinosad, a natural pesticide option, after trees flower.

Peach scab is a fungus disease that attacks peaches, nectarines and apricots. The fungus affects twigs, leaves and fruit, where it’s most noticeable. Proper pruning that allows good air flow into the tree helps manage the disease. The second key to control is fungicide sprays, which need to be applied from the time petals fall until about a month before harvest. Spray trees every 10 to 14 days.

Fruit trees are notorious for producing suckers, stems that originate from the root system and are said to suck the life out of the tree because they don’t bear fruit. If your fruit tree is grafted, suckers grow from the rootstock, which is a different tree variety than the part that yields the fruit. To remove suckers, dig down to find the origin, and cut it cleanly. Clip a sucker at soil level, and next year two or more stems will appear at that same location.