Question 1

Why does my fruit tree crop heavily one year and not the next?

Accepted Answer

It is **biennial bearing** — a self-reinforcing cycle in which a heavy crop in one year prevents flower bud formation for the next, producing alternating years of glut and almost nothing.

**The mechanism.** Flower buds for **next** year's crop are formed during **this** summer, while the current crop is developing. A very heavy crop consumes the tree's resources and — more specifically — developing seeds produce hormones that **suppress flower bud initiation**.

So the tree that crops heavily forms few flower buds, producing almost nothing the following year. With no crop to support, it forms abundant flower buds that summer, producing another heavy crop the year after. **Once established, the cycle is self-sustaining.**

**What starts it.** Frequently a single event: a late frost destroying the blossom in one year means no crop, so the tree forms abundant buds and crops enormously the next — and the cycle begins. Drought, disease or an exceptional season can do the same.

**Some varieties are strongly predisposed to it**, and this is a known characteristic of particular apple and pear cultivars rather than a fault in your tree.

**How to break the cycle:**

**Thin the fruit in the heavy year**, and do it **early** — while fruitlets are small, ideally within a few weeks of the natural **June drop**. Removing a substantial proportion feels wasteful and is the effective intervention, because it reduces the hormonal suppression at the time bud initiation is happening.

The remaining fruit is also **larger and better quality**, so the total crop weight suffers far less than the reduction suggests.

**Thin to one fruit per cluster**, spaced along the branch.

**Prune appropriately**, and avoid the temptation to prune hard in the light year, which stimulates growth rather than flowering.

**Feed and water consistently**, since stress worsens it.

**Protect blossom from frost** where practicable, since a lost crop can restart the cycle.

**Patience** — correcting an established cycle can take a few seasons.

**Thinning has other benefits** regardless: it reduces branch breakage, improves fruit size and colour, and reduces disease by improving air movement.

Question 2

Why is my fruit tree not producing fruit?

Accepted Answer

Most commonly pollination, and the usual culprit is a factor most people do not know applies. Pollination groups. Many fruit trees — particularly apples, pears, plums and cherries — are not

Question 3

Why do some seeds need a cold period before they germinate?

Accepted Answer

Because they have a built-in dormancy mechanism that prevents germination until the seed has experienced winter — an adaptation that stops seedlings emerging at the wrong time of year and being

Question 4

Why do leaves change colour in autumn?

Accepted Answer

Because the tree withdraws its most valuable resources before discarding the leaves — and the colours reveal what was there all along, plus something newly made. The green is chlorophyll, the pigment

Question 5

What is bolting and how do I stop it?

Accepted Answer

Bolting is when a plant switches abruptly from producing leaves to producing a flower stem and seed. In a crop grown for its leaves or roots it ruins the harvest — leaves turn bitter and tough, and

Question 6

What is the difference between annual, biennial and perennial plants?

Accepted Answer

The words describe how long a plant takes to complete its life cycle, which in practice tells you how often you will be replanting. An annual germinates, grows, flowers, sets seed and dies within a

Question 7

What is dormancy, and why do plants die back?

Accepted Answer

Dormancy is an active, regulated shutdown rather than a passive response to cold — plants prepare for it in advance, and understanding that explains a great deal of seasonal gardening advice. How a

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