OK, I need some MAJOR help with my fruit trees

[Mucha]

I have five minarette fruit trees in a row, inherited from previous owners and I have had to tend to them kicking and screaming as gardening is not my forte. I have been here for five years now, so I suppose you could say they have not been tended in the best way since then.

The biggest one is a peach tree, then there is a plum (small) a massive damson that has gone mad and two apple trees. I did not prune them at all last year and really regretting it. The damson really needs pruning and not sure if I should do it now. I have just treated it for aphids, of which there were loads. I also put up a moth catcher and have caught about 15 in a week. The two apples have never fruited, and the leaves are looking shriveled and slightly grey. The fruit on the plum and damson is not looking at its best - there are a lot of mummified ones and ones falling off before their time.

But the big problem is the peach tree. About a foot from the ground there is a ring where it mushrooms out with sap all around it. The sap was like gelatine at first, but I have scraped it away and washed it and there is only a tiny bit of hard amber stuff coming out now. It has also affected two branches where they meet the trunk. The wood near the base looks very very unhealthy indeed. There are also only a few peaches this year. There was only one last year, which looked like it hat brown rot or something. The previous year had an abundance of them.

I am scared it is canker and I am going to have it removed. Help!

It does sound like bacterial canker on the peach. My apricot tree got it bad a couple of years ago and I had to lop off a lot of diseased wood and spray with (I think) bordeaux mixture. If the canker is at the base of the trunk, it may be curtains for the tree. (Have you ruled out peach leaf curl? As far as I know, though, that doesn't actually kill the wood).

The fruit are pinging off my apricot tree too - I think it's stress caused by the alternating rain and hot weather. If you prune the damson now you may lose what viable fruit you've got. Get rid of the mummified ones now as they're dead weight.

Sorry. Not much further forward. Could you get a tree surgeon or gardener to come and diagnose what's going on?

The leaf curl is happening too, but I think that is separate from the trunk. Aphids cause that, and I am treating that too! I have just called a fruit tree place and they said it is fine to cut back the damsons and plums now. Have to wait until December for my apples though! They did not want to say anything about the peach over the phone until I have sent some piccies. Don't think it looks good for this poor tree!

Oh dear! Hope at least some of the trees can be saved. It is just so fantastic to be able to eat home-grown fruit (she says on the basis of about six apricots a year!).