Thank you bossy!! Haven't been doing any of the above and our big doggy passed away last year, but he was mostly indoors anyway and the wildlife did not mind him when he was out. Next year, we'll try the owl and the strips and if those don't work at least there'll be hope for bigger trees with lots of fruit.

The only fruit I've grown are figs, Satsuma citrus, and oriental persimmons, but just from reading garden articles I know that as well as the critters mentioned above there are also insects and diseases that affect stone fruit trees such as peaches and plums. Maybe some of these links will be of help:

HERE is a nut and fruit tree spray schedule. Scroll about half way down to get past the pecan spraying to the peach and plum recommendations.

HERE are some of the common fruit tree problems with photos.

HERE are some questions and answers about growing fruit in Texas.

Also there is a Garden Web Fruit & Orchard Forum.

Maybe some other Texas Forum members will chime in with some suggestions.

All I really know is that the possums and mockingbirds in my neighborhood ate well when my figs and persimmons ripened. I've had the best luck with the Satsuma citrus harvest. No spraying required and no insect or critter problems.

We wish you well!

Thanks so much for the advice and the links, Roselee. It seems to be a greedy critter issue because there are only a few small fruits on the ground and the rest have disappeared. The mockingbirds and other birds also love the blackberries, but there are plenty of those so it's not a problem.

Usually the critters will get the fruit about 3 or 4 days before they are ripe. With the plum it might need another variety of plum blooming at the same time for pollination. They will put on small fruit but abort before the reach the size of a marble.

Some of my peaches did not get enough chill hours the last couple of years and bloomed well but did not put on any fruit. Worms can also cause the fruit to fall off. If you know the varieties you could post and tell where you are in Texas and see if they are adapted to your area.

Apricots make pretty trees but can be difficult to make a crop. Late frost usually get the blossoms or fruit.

Saying all that, the squirrels and birds have been very bad this year. I have trapped 16 squirrels this year and have only put out traps part time. The past couple of years I would trap 4 or 5 and then the peaches and blueberries would be left alone.

Depiction of fruit behavior sounds like lack of adequate pollination.

The trees put on lots of fruit, so I don't think it's a pollination problem. The fruit was there and then, a few days later, all gone expect for a few scattered on the ground. But if critters only eat what's almost ripe, that can't be it either because the fruit still had weeks to go before ripening.

How big was the fruit when it falls off? With plums nearly all the blooms make the fruit, but after about a week the ones that are not fertilized falls off. I have not noticed this with peaches but I do not really watched them, If the fruit makes it to the size of a marble, it should be pollinated.

Not getting enough chill hours will cause all the fruit to abort due to the pollen not being being viable. I have had little to no plums make it due to the chill hours the past 2 years, except for very low chill varieties (Gulf Beauty and Gulf Rose).

If you could, tell us the variety and your location and I can tell you if the are adapted to your area. Big Box stores are bad about selling varieties that are not adapted to the local area.

The plums were pretty large before they disappeared, about marble size. The apricots were about that size as well. The peaches were still quite small. I can't tell you the variety because I have no idea where the tags are but they were bought from Lowe's. Before we bought them I did check the Aggie Horticulture Database to make sure they were suitable varieties for this area, Bandera County. It is in the Hill Country, so it gets pretty cold in the winter from time to time. The past few winters have not been very cold, but we've had some freezes. We are not too far from Gillespie County and the peach harvest there is thinner than last year.

If they were marble size they were probably pollinated. You might look up plum curculio, it is usually the worm that infects the plums early and can cause them to abort. They cut a slit in the plum (to let the larvae inside the fruit) and a dot where the egg is laid. It is pretty easy to identify once you have seen it. Sometimes they will cut a slit without laying an egg. If you see this early on the peach, pull it off and spray the rest with an insecticide to kill the beetle.

The last 2 years have been tough to grow peaches. You may already know but the fruit trees require a certain amount of hours between 32 and 45 degrees called chill hours. Anything above or below does not help. Seems like it is either real cold or warm the last 2 years. It can talk plums a few years to start producing. The peaches should start the second year it all goes well. I had a peach tree that was loaded last year, bloomed well this year but I didn't get a single fruit to set on the tree. My higher chill peach trees were loaded 3 years ago, put on a handful last year, and not any this year.

Yes, it seems to be hit or miss. We've had drought, flooding, early freezes, late freezes, too hot, too cold, hail, and everything in-between. Too inconsistent, so no more additional fruit trees. The herbs, however, are doing great. :)

Well, I stand corrected about the squirrels. They went after all the peaches on one tree this morning, most smaller than a golf ball. I found one that they chewed on, then left on the ground. The other dozen or 2 they took off somewhere.

Another thing that can make plums drop is a hard wind. Peaches don't seem to be as bad, but you can lose all the plums if the wind is bad enough.

I know it sounds bad, with all the problems that fruit growing can cause. But in that year that everything goes right, the fruit is better than anything you can buy at store or even farmers market.

UPDATE: despite garlic clips, holographic ribbon and hanging soap bars, somebody ate my two little apples.....grrrrr

Bossy, welcome to the fruitless club. :)