Mel's garden features a lemon tree that is thriving on neglect (they're the best kind!), three peach trees, and a plum tree that's looking a little average this year - although it is massive. 

Mel's Plum tree..

Mel's tree has hardly any fruit on it - usually it's laden. Blame it on the rain. It was a very wet spring when the tree was in blossom which can mean lower bee numbers and poor fruit set. Better luck next year....
Another reason for plum trees not fruiting is if your tree isn't self fertile and there wasn't another compatible pollinator around. Self-fertile plums not only make great pollinators but they flower for a long time and produce lots of pollen.

What Lemons like...

Mel has a happy lemon tree in her garden but if yours isn't, here are some tips...

• They like sunshine, hot summers, to be away from cold winds, and they need to have good drainage.
• They need regular watering, plus use mulch –if your lemons have been dry on the inside, or dropped prematurely this could be why.
• They're greedy and the roots are quite shallow – feed every 6 weeks from Sept to March , and remove any weeds or grass from underneath so they're not competing for nutrients.
• If your lemon tree leaves are yellow, it probably needs feeding with citrus food, or it may need magnesium - Epsom salts will do the trick.
Summer fruit trees.
• As the weather gets dryer, make sure your fruit trees get a regular deep watering. Trees that are water stressed will drop fruit. Use mulch to conserve water.
• Keep your trees at a manageable size by giving them a light prune now - you may lose a few fruit, but at least you can reach the ones that are left! Remove half the new growth now, and do it again in Feb. Do it on a dry day, and use pruning paste on branches bigger than your finger.
• Thin the fruit on your apple and pear trees - leave 2-3 per cluster. That way they won't rub together and will size up well.
• If brown rot on stonefruit has been a problem for you in the past, you may want to spray with fungicide about a month before harvest, and again 2 weeks later.