Ray: The time to be concerned is when the little black dots turn out to be something that injures the leaves. If not, why worry? I guess they could be something like aphid eggs, but if you have hosed them off you may have already solved the problem. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

silentlou...i'll get out there today and take some pics for you, and post them tonight. The trees on the east side are farther away (maybe 20 feet), but the trees on my south side are probaly 12 feet from where my plantings of all kinds start.I have deer and bear, coons,possums, skunk, fox...you name it, i've got them running through my orchard..it's a freeway! I get the majority of my damage from moles, though..haven't seen too much damage from other animals. I know what you mean about the hickory nuts dropping...mowing in the fall sounds like ping pong balls under your deck! My ground is littered with little holes where the squirrels bury them... My hickories didn't give me anything to speak of this year..they have one huge bearing year,(last year for me), then they rest for a year or two..so this was going to be light year for them anyway, then along came the hail storms and knocked a ton of them down early. I love my woodpeckers..I have the smaller (6" or so) kind in my hickories, and I have a big (14") woodpecker that comes to a dead tree I have on another fenceline..he's been going to that tree for 2 years, so I leave it there for him..it drives my neighbor nuts, he wants the tree for firewood, but I won't give it to him!! Are you Upstate N.Y.? I am between Albany and Syracuse. One other question..how old are your Hickories? I was told by an old timer that years ago, the government(don't know if fed. or state) had a program either during the depression or just after to give people fruit and timber trees if they would plant them, to help people have a future source of food and/or timber. Most of my neighbors have huge stands of pine trees..I guess the people that lives here wanted nuts! Donna

i have planted about 750 trees.. and conifers on my 5 acres ... on glacial sand ... [lots of minis and dwarfs] AND NEVER FERT'D A SINGLE ONE ... PLEASE STOP FERTG THIS TREE .. very frankly .. your tree looks GREAT ... i never presume mother nature allows a perfect specimen ... and i would not waste time .. money.. nor exposure on treating for this rather minor blemish .. there is no way that little damage is in any way .. effecting those leaves ability to process sunshine and feed the tree [which is another reason it doesnt need fert] bottom line.. its a tree .. treat it as such.. it is not a child.. that needs feeding.. pampering.. etc .. and BTW ... if you fert the lawn.. this tree will get whatever it needs from that ... no need to double or triple up ... enjoy your tree.. dont fixate on it ... ken ps: my theory is.. the pix are sideways.. because you turned your gizmo to portrait pix ... to take pix of the tall tree ...

Apple trees need an annual, obligate winter rest (predictive dormancy) in order to maintain long term viability. You cannot expect the plant to live for more than a season or possibly two w/o that winter chill. Decreasing day length (actually, it's the increasing length of the dark period) causes the tree to 'set' buds for next year's growth and moves it toward the dormant state. Increasingly cold temperatures seal the deal, forcing deep dormancy. The tree needs chilling to 'release' it from its dormant state with the amount of chill required varying by plant variety with some cultivars needing as little as 300 chill units or as much as 1200. Roughly, a 'chill unit' is 'earned' by the tree being exposed to temperatures between 32 - 40*F for an hour. Temperatures below 32* do not count toward accumulation of chill units, and the tree being exposed to temperatures above 42-44"F can detract from the number of already accumulated chill units (voids some of them is a good way to think of it), thus adding to the amount of chilling time ultimately required. Trees which have had their chill requirements met pass into a state of quiescence, during which they are fully capable of growing, but growth is suppressed by cold temperatures. When temperatures rise above about 45* for a number of consecutive days, it will force onset of what the tree 'thinks' is spring growth. The tree must be protected from frost after onset of spring growth (leaves are opening). Decreasing day length (actually, it's the length of the dark period) causes the tree to 'set' buds for next year's growth and moves it toward the dormant state. Increasingly cold temperatures seal the deal, forcing deep dormancy. If kept indoors, your plant might survive until next spring or summer, but it WILL at some point go dormant. Very seldom can plants deprived of dormancy be pulled back from the brink but should that occur, the only thing which will bring it out of dormancy is an appropriate cold rest (dormancy). The affected leaves could be culturally related (as in too much water) or the first phase of leaf abscission in preparation for dormancy. This first phase is called resorption, during which the plant collects mobile nutrients and other biocompounds from the leaf prior to a layer (abscission layer) forming where the leaf attaches to the branch. Once started, formation of the abscission layer is irreversible. It's best to plan to acclimate the plant to cold now, but do not thrust it out into temps below freezing. Put it in a shady spot for several days when nights won't be below freezing if possible. After that, allow it to get knocked back by frost in temps around freezing. You can over-winter it by burying the plant with it's pot in a garden or bed. It's important, because the entire root system is within the confines of the pot, that you throw some snow on it regularly, perhaps weekly. If you cannot do this, remove the tree from the pot, plant it in a garden, bed, or against the N wall of a heated building. Alternately, the tree can be over-wintered in an unheated garage or shed as long as you see to its need for water. Al