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Midwest Gardening Fruit & Orchards Trees

Self-pollinating apple tree?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

We want to buy an apple tree, but we do not have enough room for two trees. I do have some kind of white flowering crabapple, but it's almost completely done blooming here. I'm afraid I won't be able to find an apple tree with a bloomtime that early. Or that the overlapping bloom time may be too short to produce many fruit. What's my best bet to get the most fruit every year? Thanks

Comments (5)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years ago
Let me just say that 'self-fertile' apples are really not! Oh, you may get it to produce a few fruits but not a regular heavy crop like you would get with cross pollination.

If you can only manage a single tree, get one with multiple grafts......several different types of apples grafted on a single tree. But you could probably squeeze in a columnar apple tree. These have been bred to grow almost as a single stem, with just very short horizontal branches and seldom are wider than 18-24". They are ideal for very small gardens or tight spaces and are invaluable if you need cross pollination.

Which you may not need at all :-) Do any of your neighbors have apple trees? Bees and other pollinators travel significant distances to find pollen and nectar and it is not uncommon for fruit trees in a neighboring yard pollinating a tree in yours. In a previous urban garden I grew just a single apple tree - a Gravenstein, my most favorite apple and with no commercial availability. This was long before columnar apples became available but my tree was reliably cross pollinated every year by neighborhood trees.
mybrownthumbz6 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
John D Zn6a PIT Pa
3 years ago
You need an apple that blooms early to match up with your early blooming crab apple which will pollinate your new tree. I looked at Stark for info and they linked to Adams County Nursery

in South Central PA.

The way I read that chart there are 3 early trees listed which won't pollinate anything, but the other apples in the early category will pollinate most of the trees except the late blooming varieties.

Stark also linked to Orange Pippin which is usually a good source of apple info, but I couldn't make sense of what they present. There's also a university in the midwest that presents a few choices.
mybrownthumbz6 thanked John D Zn6a PIT Pa
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
are you aware of any neighbors have apple trees ... or an orchard nearby???

i dabbled in fruit way back when ... frankly .. to get a good clean crop ... you need a spray protocol of about 3 to 5 spraying per year .. from the first in dormancy.. thru the whole season ... fruit like you see in the store.. rarely is grown in the yard .. without such ...

bottom line.. having an orchard a few miles away.. where i could go buy a fistful of apples ... when i needed such .. and didnt have to expose me or the kids to all the sprays ... was more cost and risk efficient.....

on other words.. it was an OUR HOUSE dream.. that in reality.. was a bit of a PIA when it all boiled down ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm-q0ELuk1A

all that said ... you have to try it.. so you can be the next person to try to dissuade the next ... lol ... just pick your favorite.. and wing it ... whats to lose beyond the cost of the tree ...

dont forget the two cats in the yard ....

ken
mybrownthumbz6 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years ago
Let me just add that it is entirely possible to grow fruit organically or without any annual spray regime. A lot depends on location but I have never had to spray an apple tree in my life!!
mybrownthumbz6
Original Author
3 years ago
I had considered the Gravenstein because it's an early bloomer! I do not believe there are any apple trees near, but there are a lot of flowering crab trees in the neighborhood including mine and two flanking us to the north and south in neighboring yards. My soon to be 6 year old has wanted an apple tree since she was 3, so I was really excited about this as a birthday gift. She wants a Granny Smith which is listed as self-pollinating, but I know they don't produce as much fruit by itself. And it's bloom time wouldn't correspond to any of the crabapples nearby. I might take a chance on the Gravenstein after chatting with the local nursery to see when it flowers around here. I am somewhat concerned because they list it as a midseason bloomer on their website. Thank you for the input. More is welcome!

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