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Fruit & Orchards

New apple trees

lovegardening84

11 years ago

My lovely mother purchased me four apple trees! Two Fuji, one Jonathan, and red delicious. I am a simple vegetable gardener and have not had experience with fruit trees. I have researched online but would greatly appreciate any advice or direction!

I live in zone 5 on five acres. The trees are dwarf variety and about eight feet tall right now.

Should I plant them together for x pollination? Any special considerations?

Do I need to stake them for the winter? Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

User
11 years ago
If they're truly dwarf trees, you should put in permanent stakes. Do you happen to know what the rootstock is?
lovegardening84
Original Author
11 years ago
I do not know what the rootstock is....r trees commonly labeled dwarf and end up not being so?
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There was freeze damage to some of the bulbs in same area of yard. Other apple, which is hardy for zone 4 is happy, no damage. This apple is hardy for zone 5. Unfortunately, in our area last 'spring' frost date is 14'th June. That happens in mountains. I just checked the tree. It is firmly anchored, I cannot move it when I pull on it, but I found the gophers tunnels around the basked made from chicken wire. I made that basket before putting the tree inside the ground, to protect the roots. There are no detectable tunnels inside the basket (I did not dig, but used a metal pole and stick it around to test the amount of the resistance of the ground. What do you think? Do I need to dig the roots out to see is there a damage? And can I save it? All leaves are in the same condition. There is maybe 3-4 leaves that do not show signs of the drying (The ones that are still tiny, and barely opened.)
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What you have is a whip - a very young tree with not yet any lateral branches developed. The suggestion you received is pretty standard for newly planted whips and is worth following as it encourages the development of a strong branch system. And that's were the fruit will grow. What you want to do is make a heading cut where you want the branching to begin and just above one of the buds. You do not need to take it down as far as they said - that is normally the practice for semi-dwarf or larger growing trees. And you don't want this tree to start to set any fruit until it develops a proper habit with some branches and a basic structure. So remove any flowers for at the least the first few years. And you should continue pruning in subsequent years but not in this same manner. This is pretty much a one time shot. You might want to research apple pruning or maybe a local nursery or your extension service has classes you can attend. Apples need routine, preferably annual, pruning to stimulate and encourage the development of fruiting spurs or those little nubby protuberances that the fruit grows on. 6-8' is really short for a dwarf apple. I'm thinking this is a mini dwarf, which only get around 6' tall - dwarfs typically get about 8-10'. Do you have another apple for cross pollination?
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If there are any leaves left, perhaps you can locate the culprit by close observation at all times of the day and evening. What size is the tree? Since most people don't plant just one apple, can we assume that there are others already on the property? If so, are they being affected? Lastly, pictures can help. Sometimes, we can tell what type of critter is causing the damage by what that damage looks like.
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dmtaylor
11 years ago
I agree with ltilton, staking is a good idea, and if you can find out what the rootstock is, it will help in knowing how to manage the trees. If they are on semi-dwarf rootstocks, then they will need to be planted at least 12-14 feet apart. If they are on dwarf rootstocks then at 8 feet high they are already almost full grown and can be planted at least 9-10 feet apart.

Red Delicious is also a parent to Fuji so they might not pollinate each other very well (incest), and Jonathan will have to be the main pollinator. So, in my opinion all four trees should be planted so that the Jonathan is within about 50 feet of all the other trees as the prime source of pollen for the other three trees.

Be aware that Fuji is more of a warm climate variety and might not perform very well for you in Zone 5. That's not to say it won't work, but don't be too surprised if the apples never fully ripen before winter sets in.

Another special thing about Fuji is that it is a tip-bearing tree. Most apples produce fruit on short spurs throughout all the branches. However, tip-bearers require special care in that they produce a large proportion of their fruit on the tips of last year's growth. So, you'll want to prune your Fuji trees less harshly than normal, because if you cut off the tip of every branch you could lose up to 90% of next year's fruit! Nevertheless...

Next March, you should prune all the trees to remove roughly 1/3 of all the wood, including cutting about 2 feet off the top of each tree. This will help your trees to adjust to their new surroundings. There are a few good sources on the internet (as well as in books) as to how to prune trees. Some of the best sources I have found include:

http://eap.mcgill.ca/CPTFP_7.htm
http://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/422/422-021/422-021.html

Best of luck to you.
bob_z6
11 years ago
If they are already 8 feet tall, I'm guessing that they are potted, not bare root (it would be early for BR anyway, I think). Given that many of the suggestions to removing wood are to balance the top with the bottom (which has just lost root system due to BR transplanting), I would think that wouldn't be needed. Further, it could delay fruiting. From what I've read, you get earlier fruiting by not heading back branches. I would instead just plant and stake the trees. I would normally say bend the branches more horizontal, but I'm not sure it would matter at this time of year- any fruit buds which were going to form this year are already there...

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