Thruxton,

Apparently you posted to the wrong forum. Your post actually turned up in the propagation forum!

Anyway, when you repost (probably to the Trees Forum), provide as much info as you can (what kind of drainage do you have, any sign of insect damage, any sign of disease, relevant weather info, etc) for best response.

Our almonds do exactly same thing every year. We have 2 different cultivars and they both die back after flowering. First, I thought it might be because of low air circulation around them (they are in quite crowded area with potentillas, berberis, forsythia and dogwood) but since then I started to take notice of other almonds in our neighborhood and they all seem to die back. Now I'm confused whether it's their physiological attribute or it has something to do with our zone (zone 5)