santa rosa plums production poor?

[jr]

THIS IS THE 2ND STAIGHT SEASON MY SANTA ROSA HAS DROPPED MOST OF ITS FRUIT B4 ITS EVEN "PEA SIZE"?THE TREE IS ABOUT 5YRS OLD.PLEASE HELP W/ANY SUGESTIONS MY FAMILY MISSES THE PLUMS.

[pruninggal]

Hmm... I'm pretty sure that Santa Rosa plums are self-fertile but my gut says if you are loosing fruit prematurely it may be a pollination problem.. Are there any signs (holes in leaf etc) that it's not a bug or animal eating the new buds or young fruit? If the fruit has not been able to withstand the ripening season full term you may want to plant another variety with the Santa Rosa... or ask at your local extension service to see if they have any ideas.

That's really frustrating!
pruninggal

[Newt]

I agree with Pruninggal about the pollination. Take a look at this site for more info.

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/champai...rs/000122.html

Newt

[patsuzy]

I just registered with this board to ask about exactly the same problem!

We live in the Northwest corner of California and have a Santa Rosa plum that appears very healthy (judging by the leaves and overall tree appearance). The tree flowers profusely, usually in late February, but we don't get many plums.

I have been guessing the lack fruit is because there aren't many bugs around in February to do the pollenating and was hoping somebody would have some ideas about how to "fix" the problem (maybe dump some ice around the roots to make it stay dormant longer ?).

[Newt]

Hi Patsuzy,
I'm assuming you read the link that stated:

Some fruit tree varieties are self-fruitful. They will set fruits when pollinated by pollen from their own flowers or by pollen from another tree of the same variety. Self-fruitful trees can be planted alone and include most peach, nectarine and sour cherry varieties.

Other fruit tree varieties have varying degrees of self-unfruitfulness. A self-unfruitful tree will not set a normal crop of fruit when pollinated by its own pollen or by the pollen of another tree of the same variety. Self-unfruitful trees include most apple, pear, sweet cherry and Japanese and American plums.

There was other helpful info as well. I've never heard of the ice idea and can't see how it would work if the air temps are high enough to melt the ice.

Newt

[patsuzy]

Everything I have read says Santa Rosas are self-fertile.

One place I visited did mention that the tree flowers in March or April, so I'm guessing my initial thought (that it is flowering too early) was right.

Thanks for the suggestions (BTW the crack about the ice was a joke)

[Newt]

I thought you were serious about the ice. I didn't look closely at the wink. It did seem like an interesting idea though!

Hope you get some fruit from your tree! I just love plums.

Newt