How to Take Care of Nectarine Trees

Nectarines (‌Prunus persica‌ var. ‌nucipersica‌) are a type of stone fruit closely related to peaches but with one significant difference: Nectarines lack fuzz on their skin.

In the home garden, these deciduous trees require plenty of care in order to produce a quality crop year after year. Nectarine trees are hardy in USDA plant hardiness zones 5 to 9.

Are Nectarines Self-Pollinating?

Nectarine trees are self-pollinating, or self-fertile. That means they can set fruit with their own pollen and do not need to be cross-pollinated by a different cultivar. In other words, you only need one nectarine fruit tree to harvest a crop.

However, planting multiple nectarine tree cultivars has an advantage. Because different cultivars produce fruit at different times, you can extend the growing season. Cross-pollination may also increase yields.

Nectarine Tree Planting

Before planting a nectarine tree in your garden, you'll want to select the appropriate site. Like most fruit trees, nectarine trees perform best in full sun.

Nectarine trees grow best in well-draining soil with a pH of 6.5. If you need to adjust the soil pH, do so at least a year before planting, but do not add fertilizer to the planting hole or fertilize the tree right after planting it. You should, however, water a newly planted tree thoroughly.

Plant nectarine trees at the same depth that they grew in their nursery containers.

Forest and Kim Starr, CC 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nectarine Tree Care

Nectarine trees require plenty of maintenance if you want to harvest homegrown fruit. Let’s go over what the care of these trees entails.

Fertilizing

Nectarines benefit from fertilizer, especially nitrogen and potassium.

Nectarine trees do not produce fruit during the first two years of planting, so young trees require less fertilizing. Apply a balanced fertilizer in March during the trees' first and second years. Feed your young nectarine trees again in May and July with calcium nitrate. Avoid fertilizing nectarine trees too late in the summer, as this can make the trees more susceptible to cold temperatures.

Mature trees should be fertilized based on nutrient needs in March and May and after harvesting fruit.

Pruning

Nectarine trees should be pruned into what is known as an open-center system, which allows the maximum amount of sunlight to penetrate the tree. Peach trees also need to be pruned to remove diseased branches.

Thinning Fruit

Nectarine trees often produce an excessive amount of fruit, which can diminish the quality of the crops and also weigh down branches to the point that they break. Therefore, to harvest full-size nectarines and preserve the branches, you'll want to thin the fruit.

You should thin nectarines about four weeks after the flowers have bloomed to allow 6 inches of space between individual fruits.

Disease and Pest Control

Nectarine trees are susceptible to a number of diseases, including fungal diseases like peach leaf curl and brown rot. These can affect fruit production. Therefore, spraying fungicides is almost always necessary, typically with the goal of preventing diseases before they begin.

There are also several insect pests that target nectarine trees, including peach borers and the plum curculio, which means that insecticides are also needed.

One way to control both disease-causing pathogens and insect pests that attack nectarine trees is by removing fallen leaves and fruits around the tree in the fall, as many fungi and insect eggs and larvae can overwinter and continue to be a problem the following growing season.