Expert: nick mccann - 8/29/2008

Question
QUESTION: Im haveing the same pro with my peaches, we bought this house and there is peaches already planted and i've used no pesticides and taken care of the, the 1st yr nothing and now i have peaches but they taste bitter, and the white not normal peach, that im used to but taste awful, what can i do and i also have a small tree that i thought was a orange but they don't get bigger than a nickel size, is it possible this lady before us planted these for looks on a acre property??

ANSWER: Hi Nikkola, are they in containers? the orange tree getting nickel size fruit is a pollination problem, what type of oranges are they? certain citrus need certain others for cross pollination. The Peaches baffle me, I never heard of white peaches?? Can you give me more info on that also and I will try to decipher the problem here. Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We moved into this house and they where already here, so im just as confused, the oranges r in the ground planted next to eachother and the peaches r soft but a slite peach color?

Answer
The Citrus are not getting pollinated properly, that is the problem there, but without knowing the variety, I can't advise to the proper pollinator; the Peach sounds like it just needs attention to give proper fruit, they need to be sprayed for fungal problems and insect problems and fertilized, then they will give quality fruit, right now you are getting poor quality, because of the neglect. Nick