Episode 6: Fungus Gnats, Apple Trees & Pawpaw Problems

Arlene in Zone 6 

A: There's nothing wrong; in general, dwarf fruit trees take 2-4 years before they start producing fruit, and standard trees take 4-6 years. 

One thing you might want to consider is holding off on the fertilizer. Excess nutrients, especially nitrogen, cause vigorous growth at the risk of delaying fruit production. This doesn't pertain to you yet—but frost or freeze events at bloom time can kill the flower buds, which will result in no fruit. 

Also, poor pollination is another problem with fruit set. 

Learn More: Tips on Growing Apple Trees  

L. in Zone 6 

A: Jade plants are succulents, and they require much less water than your typical foliage plants. So, back off even more on the watering. There are several products on the market that contain an organism that controls fungus larvae. We offer Knock-Out Gnats™, which has this organism. It's environmentally friendly and safe for humans and pets.  

You may want to reapply your fugus control several times, since you have such a bad infestation, and also treat all your houseplants, even if you think there are no fungus gnats in those plants. 

Michael in Zone 8 

A: Like with many apples, you need two different varieties for proper pollination. So with pawpaw, you could have two different seedlings or two different name varieties or a mix of two. But you need two distinct varieties to get good pollination. The only thing you don't want to do is go out and dig up two plants from the same colony in the woods—they'll basically be identical and will not cross-pollinate.  

One thing I used to do when I only had one plant, is I'd cut branches from a different colony that were flowering and put them next to my pawpaw tree. Then I did get some pollination that way.  

They will do well in the South, with a range from southern Louisiana to northern Florida and all the way up into southern Michigan. 

Learn More: How to Grow and Enjoy Pawpaw Trees