Flavor Supreme Pluot Fruit Production Can Be Irregular

Q. I have a 3 in 1 pluot tree (Flavor Queen, Dapple Dandy and Flavor Supreme) that I purchased 5 years ago from the Master Gardener University Orchard. The canopy is about 6' in diameter now. It has yielded fruit for 4 years. I had only 1 or 2 years of good fruit from the Flavor Supreme. I'm about ready to remove it if it doesn’t get better.

Flavor Supreme pluot does quite well in the Las Vegas valley if it can get through some freezing temperatures. I have found flavor supreme to be sensitive to freezing temperatures when they are in flower or have small fruit.This makes them produce irregularly because of freezing temperatures in late February and early March.

 A. Flavor Supreme pluot produces fruit erratically from year to year because of how sensitive it is to late spring freezing weather. Dapple Dandy and Flavor Queen pluots sail through light freezes and produce fruit more consistently year to year. But when it does produce, Flavor Supreme is one of the best tasting fruits in the garden.

Flavor Supreme pluot in flower at the University orchard in North Las Vegas on March 8.They can flower any time between mid February to the beginning of March.

            Make sure the tree is getting enough water. All fruit needs plenty of water when fruit is increasing in size. If you short the tree on water when the fruit is getting bigger, the fruit will be small. If water is in short supply, the fruit may dry up and fall from the tree.

Flavor supreme pluot needing some pruning to open up the canopy for better fruit production. Look at the ground. There's too much shade. Removing a few limbs entirely, here and there will open this canopy up for better production and better quality fruit.

            Make sure the tree is getting enough water each time it is irrigated. Avoid watering daily. Add drip emitters to increase the amount of water applied. Make sure drip emitters are not plugged.

            Five-gallon trees getting enough water should be at least five to six feet tall by their second year in the ground. If they aren’t, increase the amount of water they are receiving, apply wood chip mulch under the tree canopy and fertilize at least every year in January or early February.