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Fruit Trees - Apple & Pear

katiedidcottage

14 years ago

I have 2 of the "fruit cocktail" trees that I bought at a home repair type chain store a couple of months ago, one is an apple that has 5 different types of apple grafted on and the other is a pear with 3 different types of pear grafted on. They are both doing okay but not great with only a little bit of new growth that has started in the last couple of weeks though they've been planted for a couple of months. I'd just like some opinions if they are doing okay with this amount of growth at this time. I'd just like to seem them full of leaves and the branches are kind of sparse right now. I put a tree stake near their branch line about a month ago and attribute the new growth to those. Any other ideas?

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Comments (8)

brandon7 TN_zone7
14 years ago
You are really expecting a lot out of your trees! Give them time to get established. I would expect minimal growth for the first year. Be sure to keep a close watch out for their watering needs (ask if you're not sure how) for at least the first year.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
rejoice they are alive.. they are growing roots.. you really wont see much above..

this year for sure.. and about the same next year ...

3 to 5 years for the first fruit ... IF YOU ARE LUCKY

better go make some other cocktails.. lol

ken
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katiedidcottage
Original Author
14 years ago
Hey thanks for the advice. I've been watering them about 3 times a week when it doesn't rain. So far this year, thank goodness we've had enough water in the form of rain for the most part. Please tell me how much should I water them if the rain should quit coming down?
katrina1
14 years ago
fruit trees do not like wet feet. Mine do better if I deep water them at the rate of a one inch rain, and then let the first 2 inches of top soil dry before I water them again at the rate of another one inch rain.

One of the first indications that there is too much water can be seen with some of the leaves showing signs of getting lymp or wilting

One of the first indications that there is not enough water at the appropriate times can be seen with some of the leaves first turning yellow before turning brown. If the water deprevation gets bad enough the branch could even begin having trouble pushing off the dead leaves.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
I've been watering them about 3 times a week when it doesn't rain

============

you water.. WHEN THEY NEED WATER ...

insert finger to second knuckle.. and do NOT water until the soil is hot or dry ....

ALL TREES... need to nearly dry in between waterings.. except for recent transplants.. but we still let them NEARLY dry ...

a PROPER ring of mulch is EXTREMELY beneficial ....

i would not be surprised if you should NOT need to water but once every other week.. until the heat of summer starts ... but i dont know when that is in z7 TN

do NOT kill them with too much love ....aka water in this example

good luck

ken
brandon7 TN_zone7
14 years ago
The only thing I'd change about Ken's post is to say that I wouldn't let the soil get "hot or dry" down to the second knuckle. That would be drought conditions around here with our soil. Let the top of your soil (maybe the top 1") get dry in between waterings, but two knuckles deep should stay moist. If your soil is like it is here (up the road a bit in Knoxville), you will probably need to water about once a week if it doesn't rain. But check your soil as Ken suggests until you get a feel for how much water is needed.
katiedidcottage
Original Author
14 years ago
Our soil is CHIRT! It is very dry, dusty and about 60% small and large rocks. It seems to dry out very quickly, but I will hold off on watering and this weekend, will put a bag of mulch on each since the one I already put there seems to have shrunk.

THANKS!
brandon7 TN_zone7
14 years ago
If your soil is 60% chert, you'll probably have to water more often than I do (maybe three times a week for this first year), but using the finger test (or in your case, a masonry chisel and hammer test) will let you know when to water. A good layer of mulch will definitely help.

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