Asked January 16, 2024, 11:07 AM EST
I have a plum tree that has grown up in my backyard as a root sprout from a now-removed parent tree on the other side of my fence. It's about 8-10 years old and occupies a space in the center of the yard between the fences, without any meaningful interference from any other trees or plants.
It flowers every spring and seems to have healthy leaves, and certainly it grows every year, so it seems generally healthy. But it always drops 90% of its fruit (or more) once they reach about the size of a dime, and most of the ones that hang on drop just as they start to ripen.
I've never sprayed anything on the tree, or bothered to fertilize it. I know that most of the fruit that survive the initial purge have plum curculio scars, and I've even seen the little buggers from time to time. But could they be causing the vast majority of the fruit to drop?
The tree has always weeped this huge amount of resin, way more than should be normal. I prune it once in February and usually just to try to keep enough space beneath it to still mow the grass. I certainly never run into it with a mower or anything that would explain the massive amounts of resin. Is this a response to the bugs? Is it something else? Is it related to the lack of fruit?
I've attached a few pictures I took last year including one of a dead branch tip, which also happens most years around May-June. First the branch tip gets swollen like a fat lip, then it just dies off as pictured. Maybe a dozen or so branch tips do this each year; maybe more as the tree has gotten bigger, but it's a relatively small percentage of the branch tips that do this.
It's just one tree, and it's not like I need to fix it and get fruit and all, but it would be nice. If there's a disease I can treat for, or if it's just the weevils and I can treat for them, that would be great. If it's just a weird tree, well, at least it's pretty. Thanks!
Wake County North Carolina
