Poorly apple tree

[Normans Mum]

Hi all
I have an apple tree which is probably about 6 or 7 years old. It was on my plot when I took it on. I've been on this plot for two years now. Last year it was a case of removing some dead branches of it a and making sure it was fed and watered. It had lovely spring foilage and lots of blossom and I was looking forward to some nice apples this year. Wrong. Nearly all of them were small and misshapen, and the skins were mottled, no pitting on them. Why did this happen ? Its a tip fruiter and I need to know, if I prune it this winter will it help with next year's crop ? Also what can I do to improve the quality of my apples.

[muckdiva]

Had a great year for apples last year but they are all looking bad (poor crop, small and scabby) this year....think it was too dry for them early on?

[nickdub]

One possibility is that the ground dried out at that time of year when the flowers had set and the tree was trying to swell the fruit.

Anyway bung on some FYM in Spring if you can as a mulch - that should help whatever the problem is. I would recommend less pruning, as its likely to do more harm than good, if the tree isn't growing too well.

[Normans Mum]

Thanks nickdub I'll try that. I don't really want to prune it to be honest as it wasn't looked after particularly well by the previous tenant, so I'll just give it some extra tlc feed it and water it well next year.

[nickdub]

Thanks nickdub I'll try that. I don't really want to prune it to be honest as it wasn't looked after particularly well by the previous tenant, so I'll just give it some extra tlc feed it and water it well next year.

You're very welcome - good luck with your tree, they're pretty tough, so a bit of TLC should be just the thing. Happy gardening