Thinning Fruit

Some fruits need to be thinned or not much of it will be very good. Technically, the way it works is that the tree is all about the seeds. The fruit is wrapping the seeds to protect them. If fruit is not thinned, the tree puts so much energy into wrapping all those seeds. Thinning puts more energy to wrapping less fruit, so we get bigger fruit. PLUS we usually no not need SO much fruit.

1. Apples - My Anna apples grow in clusters on espalier. I remove all but 1-2.
2. Peaches - I removed almost half the fruit on the tree! At least it seems like it. Mid to late April is a good time because it is early enough to successfully redirect tree energy, but the fruit is big enough to see which are already weak. Leave one peach every 6-8 inches.
3. Apricots - These should be thinned, too. My trees are too big to consider. I have not found this to negatively affect the fruit quality.
4. Pears, persimmon, quince, plums, citrus, jujube, fig - I find these have not needed fruit thinning.