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Fruit & Orchards

transplanting young apple tree

16 years ago

My neighbor decided to uproot her young (6-7 year old) apple tree since it is not developing or bearing fruit although it is green (it is more than 5 ft. tall). Should I take it? If so, should i replant it in a pot with enriched soil or straight into the ground?

In the past i transplanted an almond tree which wasn't doing well in my garden and it is now thriving in my daughter's garden.

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Comments (3)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
16 years ago
If the tree is really 6-7yrs old and hasn't fruited yet, I'd pass on it. An apple that old that hasn't fruited probably never will. But if you just want a tree, then take it. Any tree will be easier to grow in the ground than in a pot. It would be much easier to transplant in the dormant season.
buffalocreek
16 years ago
I have 5 semidwarf apple trees that didn't even start blooming til a couple years ago. And I planted them about 15 years ago. I think I shocked them with a heavy fertilizing a few years back. I think it was a deficiency in the (very sandy) soil -- minerals maybe -- I also gave each of them a dose of calcium. This year, one tree is loaded with apples and three others have moderate apple numbers. If you get the tree for nothing, I'd give it a whirl and feed it right.
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It is almost surely a transplant issue and also may have something to do with the state of the tree when you bought it. BB's are hard to store once dug up and are best planted shortly after digging before they begin to leaf out. The tree may have been weakened well before your purchase just by a single drying out of the ball. The BB soil is probably of a different texture than yours and watering can be tricky if this is the case- you have to be sure that the ball is thoroughly watered as well as the soil the roots need to grow into. That soil outside the ball often needs to be broken up a ways to insure easy penetration of new roots. BB'd trees are always a risk because you don't know how much root you're buying- if the roots are very spread out at time of digging the tree may not be worth much. Best trees usually come from nurseries with soil that has high clay content so roots are condensed.
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i cant believe someone would actually mail a fully leafed out tree ... this time of year .... why not order them.. for delivery at the appropriate planting time.. ???? someone with 20 years experience.. i would give them a 25% chance of a tree in a box living thru summer... less experience.. less odds of success ... you just cant box up a tree increasing temps easily over 100 degrees.. and think that those leaves will be viable.. and then asking a leafless tree to recover in the heat of summer ... or are we talking about ordering from a high end nursery???? and what is their guarantee ???? please tell me this isnt arbor day ken
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If tree is to be removed by hand, you will probably have a hard time handling a root ball much bigger than 2' diameter. Assuming this is size you have, pre-dig the new hole. Then dig up this tree and relocate into new hole. You will have to cut all the roots are you won't be able to move the tree. I've never used disinfectant on roots, maybe someone else can advise on that. Water when you transplant. After that as it is late fall or winter, I would water only once a month if it is dry while the tree is dormant. Water weekly once growth begins if it does not rain. I've done 2 or 3 smaller ones (1')and they transplant fairly easily.
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jellyman
16 years ago
Naftali:

I would take the tree, but don't try to transplant it until the winter when it is fully dormant. An actively growing tree will die if transplanted in summer conditions. Don't try to grow an apple tree in a pot. In ground is much better.

I don't know what your soil is like there in Jerusalem, but I think you should mulch the tree heavily after you plant it, both to gradually feed the tree and hold in some moisture. Even so, in your location, you will have to water in summer. I disagree with heavily fertilizing an apple tree, especially with a chemical fertilizer, which can produce bushy, succulent growth, but not much fruiting. Annual renewal of a wide circle of mulch is much better.

Once you get the tree installed and growing, you can consider techniques such as spreading the branches with limb spreaders or weights, and judicious summer pruning to promote the development of fruiting wood. The tree probably has the potential to produce. It just needs some of the right kind of care and attention.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

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