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As with most fruit, apple trees produce best when grown in full sun, which means six or more hours of direct summer sunlight daily. Apple trees need well-drained soil, but should be able to retain some moisture. Light- to medium-texured soils are best.
How do you take care of an apple tree?
Apple Tree Care By properly controlling insects and disease, fertilizing and regularly pruning the trees you can enjoy the beauty and fruit of this tree on your landscape for years. During the early spring and summer fungicide applications are essential to prevent disease and produce healthy, high quality fruit.
Do apple trees need maintenance?
CARING FOR YOUR APPLE TREES. Give established trees a good mulch once a year, thin fruit if the tree produces too much, feed them twice a year, prune them correctly and maintain basic hygiene. Those are the basic tasks to ensure you have healthy apple trees which produce lots of fruit each year.
When should apple trees be pruned?
When to prune apple trees Standard apple trees are mainly pruned in winter, between November and early March when the plant is dormant. Winter pruning stimulates root growth. Trained apple trees should be pruned in summer, with just a tidy up during winter if required. Mid- to late-August is ideal.
Are apple trees high maintenance?
A.: I am trying to think of a gentle way to put this, but there is none: Fruit trees are high-maintenance. Apples, cherries and peaches (like most fruit trees) are susceptible to a wide variety of insect and disease pests and seldom is it possible to eradicate them.
How can I make my apple tree grow better?
You will need to prune your apple tree—to train it to a central leader the first year and for maintenance every year after that—to stimulate fruit production and to keep the tree open and balanced. Without regular pruning, an apple tree produces lots of vegetative growth that then turns into fruiting wood.
What do apple trees need to survive?
As with most fruit, apple trees produce best when grown in full sun, which means six or more hours of direct summer sunlight daily. Apple trees need well-drained soil, but should be able to retain some moisture. Light- to medium-texured soils are best.
How do I get my apple tree to produce fruit?
Apples and pears must be cross pollinated. Therefore, you must plant two different varieties if you want to produce fruit. There are also varieties that produce sterile pollen and need to be planted with at least two other varieties.
How do you feed an apple tree?
As long as fruit trees are small, it is better to use an organic fertiliser combined with compost or mulch. A low analysis, slow release organic fertiliser scratched into the soil’s surface around the tree, watered in well and then covered with compost and mulch feeds the soil, which in turn feeds the tree.
How often should you water apple trees?
Apple tree water requirements depend on rainfall. In general, for an established tree, you won’t need to water it unless you are not getting much rain or there is a particularly dry spell or even drought. About an inch (2.5 cm.) or so of rainfall every week to ten days is adequate for most apple trees.
How much can you cut back an apple tree?
You should not remove more than 25% of the tree per year or it will try to repair the damage by producing too much new growth. All the cuts you will be making at this stage will be thinning cuts. First remove any dead wood, it will be obvious from its appearance and lack of buds or new growth.
Should I tie up apple tree branches?
Bending and tying branches are good ways to balance shoot growth and fruiting, especially in apple and pear trees. Both types of growth are needed: the fruit for us to eat, and the leafy shoots to nurture the fruit. Young apple and pear trees commonly put too much energy into shoots.
How long does an apple tree live?
For instance, standard apple and pear trees can easily live for over 50 years, whereas dwarf and semi-dwarf trees may only live for 15-25 years. Dwarf and semi-dwarf trees tend to reach bearing age sooner, which can benefit the home gardener, but they will also reach the end of their productive life sooner.
Do apple trees make a mess?
Apple trees are really pretty when they bloom, but can be quite messy if you don’t harvest the fruit. The fruit that stays on the tree may be ornamental, but eventually will become a nuisance. There are products available that will cause an apple tree to abort its fruit, yet keep its showy flowers.
Do you need 2 apple trees to produce fruit?
Answer: Pollination and fertilization are necessary for fruit development. Plant at least two different apple tree varieties within 50 feet of one another for good fruit set. Some apple varieties, such as Golden Delicious, will produce a crop without cross-pollination from a second variety.
What do you spray on apple trees?
Horticultural oil is a well known insecticide for application during a tree’s dormant period to prevent unintended harm to beneficial insects such as bees and ladybugs. The University of California recommends spraying apple trees with dormant oil in the winter to control San Jose scale, and aphid and mite eggs.
How do I make my fruit trees healthy?
Mulch & fertilize – carefully. Like pruning, mulching and feeding your fruit trees will keep them healthy and productive. Mulch your trees after planting and every spring and fall thereafter, taking care to leave room right around the base of the trunk. (Mulch piled high around the base of the tree can lead to rot).
Do apple trees grow fast?
Apple trees are hearty and resilient, making them a favorite for home orchards. Slow trees grow 12 inches or less per year in height; medium, 13-24 inches per year; and fast trees, 25 inches or more per year. The majority of apple trees grow at a medium rate.
