🌼 From Petals to Peaches: What’s Next?

Late April is the quiet
turning point of the year.

Blossoms are dropping. Tiny fruits are forming.
What you do in the next six weeks decides
whether summer brings a harvest or disappointment.

Here's the calendar, task by task.

The 7-Task Calendar

Petal Fall → Harvest Day

4-6 weeks after petal fall

Thin the fruit

Remove every third fruit so survivors get bigger and sweeter. Aim for 6 inches between fruits on stone fruits; one per cluster on apples. Branches that hold too much will snap in June.

Weekly, May through June

Scout for pests and disease

Check new growth for aphids, trunks for scale, undersides of leaves for spider mites. Puckered red leaves mean peach leaf curl; blackened wilting tips mean fire blight. Catch it in week one, not week four.

2-3 weeks after bloom

Switch to a fruit-sizing feed

Drop the high-nitrogen spring food. Too much now makes leaves, not fruit. Shift to a balanced NPK with extra potassium. Feed again at pit hardening (when you can feel the seed inside stone fruit).

All through fruit development

Deep weekly soaks, not daily sips

Stone fruits want a long slow soak once a week, increasing as fruit swells. Inconsistent water is what causes split skins, premature drop, and cat-facing. Citrus prefers even moisture year-round. Never let the root ball dry to bone.

Refresh now, before heat arrives

Renew mulch to 2-3 inches

Wood chips, shredded bark, or compost around the drip line, but pull it 4 inches back from the trunk to prevent rot. Good mulch regulates soil temperature and cuts your watering load in half during heat waves.

June, before limbs fill out

Prop heavy branches

Lumber stakes, Y-shaped crotches, or soft ties under any limb carrying 10+ fruits. A branch that splits costs you this year's fruit and sets back next year's crop. Thin again mid-season if a limb still looks overloaded.

July onward

Count days from bloom

Babcock Peach: roughly 90 days from full bloom. Anna Apple: ~80 days. Meyer Lemon: harvest when skin turns yellow-orange and fruit feels slightly soft. Blueberries: wait 3-5 days after they turn blue for peak sweetness. They don't ripen off the bush.

Low-Chill Fruit Trees
for California

Varieties bred for mild winters and long harvests.

Spring is for Plant Lovers

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★★★★★

“My Babcock peach is loaded with fruit this year. Following the thinning schedule made a huge difference.”

Jordan T. — Pasadena

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