Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
campv8baz

plum tree problems in Arizona

campv 8b AZ
15 years ago

Been in N. Arizona 3 years, moved from California and have never had so many problems with plum trees. The Satsuma has brown scaring on the skin of the fruit, some holes in the leaves, taste ok, but looks bad. Used volt oil last year but it didn't seem to help. There were some very small black bugs on it in the spring sprayed for those. Help! The other plum is a Santa Rosa and the leaves are yellow with lots of holes. The tree is not growing very much and has 4 plums on it. They are both on a drip along with other fruit trees that are fine. Can you please help me

Comments (5)

  • dagenester
    15 years ago

    Hello. I've noticed that many varieties of fruit tree (not just plum) will take several years before they behave. :) Work with a non-chem solution for the bugs (praying mantis work GREAT!) and be patient with them. Too, the yellowing leaves many times means overwatering. Slack on the water for a while (wait until the ground is dry, generally 3 days if not totally saturated), and then water. Then dry, etc...

    --Gene.

  • campv 8b AZ
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Gene:
    Do you know why the skin on the fruit of the satsuma is bown and ruff in spots with a molted look? Over the years I have had about 4 of these trees and have never had this problem. Also do you know why the leaves have holes in them? Is it because of those little black bugs? They were on the trees at bloom. Spraying helped get ride of them but maybe they damaged the fruit! Hope you can help, Thanks

  • aztreelvr
    15 years ago

    Campv,

    Why not take a sample to the Yavapai County Cooperative Extension office in Cottonwood? This is part of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

    2657 Village Dr.
    Cottonwood, AZ
    928-646-9113

    Or you can call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 ext. 14 or E-mail them at mgardener@verdeonline.com. Another great resource is the Backyard Gardener column that's written by Jeff Schalau, Director of the Yavapai County Extension Office. These are on-line and searchable at the link below.

    I hope this helps.

    Here is a link that might be useful: U of A Yavapai County Cooperative Extension

  • babyboomer1001
    12 years ago

    My Santa Rosa plum is in its second year, south of Phoenix, AZ. It is a large and lovely tree except the leaves appear with numerous tiny holes in them. Does anybody know what causes the holes and how to get rid of the pest that is causing it? Googling plum pests got me nowhere. Could the cause be the reason why most of the plums blew off in a strong wind last year - its first year with us? I'm hoping the plums get larger this year as last, they were very tiny last and only 4 or 5 remainded after the bad wind.

  • campv 8b AZ
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Babyboomer:Use a different area on this garding site. You want answers from all over the US in your climate zone and there are a lot of very smart people out there. Don't use just AZ. The help will be few and far between. I have since found out what caused the scaring on the fruit though it took 2 years. Master Garding Line was of no use. Thrips, they attack any kind of white blooms and scar the fruit. They also ruin white roses. The small little hole in the leaves could be shot hole or apids. If the new growth (leaves) are curly or bumpy some what wilted look its probely apids. You can spray with melathon and it won't hurt the fruit or you, just follow the directions. Neither will cause the fruit to fall in a high wind. Last week we got 40ml winds here in Camp Verde and I lost about 25-35 green plums off the tree but it needed it as the the tree is loaded, nature has its way. Hope this helps -remmember use Fruit/Orchards on this garding site and you will get answers. I got 22 of them on a watering problem for an apple.

Sponsored
Grow Landscapes
Average rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars8 Reviews
Planning Your Outdoor Space in Loundon County?