Thank you all so much for your helpful information! I will address nutrition and pest control. I work at Ace Hardware and Neem Oil is available in the Nursery as well as we'll be getting in a line of Hendrikus Organic products very soon.
In regards to wind stress I would definitely believe it! We've had some horrific gusts from the south topping 60 to 70 mph at times and the poor fruit trees have all been hit hard. In addition, there was an infestation of Codling Moth in all of my apple trees last summer.
Most likely because in my naivety of wanting to purge all the bad stuff and go all organic I didn't have the proper pest control and nutrition for the season. Ironically the Peaches and Cherry's were better than ever.
We acquired the property in May of 2016 and the previous owner had lawn growing right up to the trunks <I installed tree rings at the drip line to mow around and to give me a place to add nutrients to the soil> he used all heavy pesticide based products <read Roundup!> and the trees were heavily overgrown with bad branches, watersprouts etc. They are almost all older growth in just awful soil. Heavy Clay.
I tried to prune properly, even going to a class and did my best. I will obviously need an arborist or someone to help give me some sage advice in doing things properly.
I have Malus Akane, Honeycrisp, Nijisseiki Oriental, Fuji, El Star, Frost Peach, Glacier Cherry, Bing Cherry and Pie Cherry trees on this property.
Looks like it will take me a couple years of understanding just how to care for my trees properly. Best regards, Shelly
