No Fruit Growing – 15 Unfortunate Reasons

Introduction - No Fruit Growing

There can be many reasons why there’s no fruit growing on your fruit trees or shrubs. Worse, sometimes there can be multiple causes at work at the same time. Often the problem is not immediately fixable and goes beyond simply walking up to the tree and inspecting it.

But you have to start somewhere, which is why we list some causes and possible solutions to the problem below.

Why is there no fruit growing?

What is wrong	Cause	Probable solution
What is wrong Zoning and variety	Cause Tree Cold Hardiness not matching zoning	Probable solution Choose varieties appropriate for your cold hardiness zoning (match genus – i.e. apple – and cross-pollinator if needed)
What is wrong	Cause No tree of the same genus (i.e. Malus) nearby	Probable solution Plant another tree of the same genus (match with appropriate cross-pollinator)
What is wrong	Cause The other variety/cultivar in yard is sterile	Probable solution Plant appropriate cross-pollinator
What is wrong Exposure	Cause Lack of sun light	Probable solution All fruit trees and shrubs need full sun (>6 hours of sun)
What is wrong Weather	Cause Cold, cool, rainy weather conditions during flowering	Probable solution Nothing you can do, but wait for better weather conditions next year
What is wrong	Cause Frost damage: flowers of fruit trees are very sensitive to late spring frosts	Probable solution Protect trees with fleece or heating or by moving air
What is wrong	Cause Extreme low winter temperatures	Probable solution Nothing you can do, but wait for better weather conditions next year
What is wrong	Cause Inconstitent winter temperatures	Probable solution Nothing you can do, but wait for better weather conditions next year
What is wrong	Cause Tree Cold Hardiness not matching zoning	Probable solution Choose varieties appropriate for your cold hardiness zoning (match genus – i.e. apple – and cross-pollinator if needed)
What is wrong Timing	Cause Trees/shrubs that need pollinators are not blooming at the same time or time range	Probable solution Choose the appropriate varieties
What is wrong Spacing	Cause Trees are out of range for pollinators	Probable solution Apple – semi-dwarf: <50 feet Apple – dwarf: <20 feet Blueberry: <6 feet Cherry, Sweet: <6 feet Pear : < 100 feet Plum: <100 feet
What is wrong Maturity	Cause Trees are to young for regular production	Probable solution In general trees com in production after: Apple: 2-5 years Blueberry: 2-3 years Cherry, Sweet: 4-7 years Cherry, Sour: 3-5 years Pear: 4-6 years Plum: 3-6 years
What is wrong	Cause Old, unproductive trees that do not flower	Probable solution Trees can be rejuvenated by pruning/removing old, unproductive growth and allowing new growth to replace it.
What is wrong Improper tree vigor	Cause Trees expend all their energy in growing wood and do not produce flower buds	Probable solution Regular (yearly) moderate pruning to encourage fruit growth by getting more open canopy for better air-flow and allowing light Avoid over-pruning Avoid over-fertilization
What is wrong Pollinating insects	Cause Lack in number of pollinating insects, such as bees	Probable solution Attract pollinating insects by adding flowering plants close to the fruit trees or shrubs. Most flowering plants are almost guaranteed to attract bees, especially marigolds, pansies, spurge, trollius, and arabis are as the blooming times coincide with fruit trees
What is wrong Pests and diseases	Cause Leaf drop, yellowing leaves, curled leaves, insect infestation.	Probable solution Take preventing measures and check your tree often for signs of stress and act accordingly if your tree is under attack

We hope this guide is helpful to you. Let us know if you have any questions or additions.

Introduction - No Fruit Growing

Why is there no fruit growing?

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