Need help with fruit tree bark

[firewalker1]

Hi,
I have planted 6 fruit trees in my yard. The cherries keep dying for some reason but that's another discussion.
I live in zone 5 near Denver. I went out into my garden today and noticed my nectarine tree that I planted 2 years ago has almost all of its bark peeling and falling off. It is still alive and putting out buds currently. I then got to looking and my pear and peach are doing something similar but not to the same extreme. I will attach pictures, should I rip the trees out and start over or is there something I can spray or do to save them? Im guessing the nectarine is a goner but hopeful that it can be saved. My only trees that are doing great are my apples, I planted the apple at the same time as the peach and nectarine, the apple was the same size and now it is 2x as big as the rest.

My cherries look like they are doing great but then come spring all the branches seem to shrivel and rot. I water them during dry spells in the winter and fertilize during the spring.

the pictures uploaded pear, peach then nectarine.

 

[Mike Allen]

Hello Firewalker1.

I have to admit. I am not a fruity type. However it is quite a common fact that some trees, especially the Prunus and pyrus varieties to shed the outer?bark. Some trees tend to split their bark and exude sticky substances, all without any harm or threat to the plant. I have this gut feeling that water is the problem. Sadly. I am not familiar with the growing conditions in your part of the world. Might I suggest, perhaps digging out a wider area around each tree. Forget artificial ferilizers. Instead, concentrate on digging in green, vegative manure, even any weeds, just dig them in. When watering. Don't just give a splash here and there, but really soak the area. Best wishes.

 

[firewalker1]

The peach definitely split its bark. The nectarine is odd because it is just peeling all off. I water them pretty regularly during the winter during dry spells.

 

[DirtMechanic]

The peach definitely split its bark. The nectarine is odd because it is just peeling all off. I water them pretty regularly during the winter during dry spells.

Gonna agree with @Mike Allen a bit on this one. While there are some fungus and virus they can get started via bad drainage. Here, because clay soil, when instructions say a plant wants good drainage I know I am about to plant it either on a hill or above ground with lots of compost and hardwood mulch over that compost. This can also go into oxygen and airspace in a soil. @Tetters and others can look at your pictures and tell much more than I. Those trees are small and can still be raised up I would think, even though the root ball will be sizeable. Is that a clay soil? How did you plant them?

 

[Tetters]

@firewalker1 welcome to our forum

Your trees are obviously not happy with their environment there. I am fortunate to be in the garden of England where all fruit seems to abound, and likes the climate and the soil conditions, but I don`t really have any idea what the conditions are there in your neck of the woods.
The one big positive thing I`d like to suggest to you, is to grow the things that do enjoy your growing conditions. You said that the apple tree is doing really well, so if I were you I would stick to growing apples. There are so many good varieties you can get.

It is a very common problem for gardeners who don`t stick to plants that like the garden they are planted in, for example, in the chalky soil here, it would be impossible to grow healthy acid loving rhododendrons, blue hydrangeas or blueberries - so why try ??
You need to know your soil and temperatures etc and check out the plants that want to grow there.

I copied the following from a site on google for you .....

The warm sun heats one side of the tree, making the bark tissue less cold hardy and resulting in inactive cells. These cells can freeze and die at night as temperatures drop, leading to discolored and sunken bark in late spring. Fruit trees affected by sun scald have damaged bark that cracks and sloughs off

Do you have a hoop house or greenhouse to use?

 

[firewalker1]

Thank you everyone for the replies! I may rip the nectarine out (after it is done flowering) and look for a new apple tree. I have a neighbor with a large cherry, another with a large nectarine and another with a plum. I’m not sure how the soil differs between all of our yards though.
I did just finish my greenhouse a few weeks ago, I ordered a miniature peach for the center of it.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Thank you everyone for the replies! I may rip the nectarine out (after it is done flowering) and look for a new apple tree. I have a neighbor with a large cherry, another with a large nectarine and another with a plum. I’m not sure how the soil differs between all of our yards though.
I did just finish my greenhouse a few weeks ago, I ordered a miniature peach for the center of it.

Seriously? That is so cool! I need more pictures so I can be properly jealous! How did you do it? What is that translucent covering?

 

[Tetters]

Well that is a big step up from a hoop house! Dig in plenty or organic matter (horse poo and the like) and you should be growing all the fruit you want

 

[firewalker1]

I used a company “build with hubs” for the connecting pieces, and an online calculator for the calculations. Then lots of time end effort cutting, digging and building. The covering is a diffused greenhouse plastic from agriculture solutions. I did mix in two truck loads of llama poo and horse poo along with a lot of peat moss, compost, and perlite.
Here’s a few more pictures

 

[Tetters]

Cor, now we are all jealous !! This is the Eden project portrayed above, which is situated in Cornwall in the west of England.

With all that lovely manure in the one you have built you will be able to grow all sorts of stuff - it will never be big enough