sad apple tree

[rainbowbrite]

am in need of some advice. brought a apple tree in a tub a few months back, was really healthy looking and then flowered. since it flowered it has been looking really bad and now it looks like it is gunna give up at any minute. i never took it out the tub it came in and apart from watering and feeding i haven't done anything to it.

please can someone help because i have no clue about apple trees and i don't know what to do

[quark1]

The same thing has happened to me.

I've 3 in tubs and they're in their 3rd year with me.

It looks like they've been hit by an early 'autumn' with all the leaves turning brown, what little fruits were set are also weeny and shrivelled - really ropey - just hope they recover. There was no previous evidence of disease.

[rainbowbrite]

that is exactly what mine is like, very few leaves and the ones i have look like they're gunna give up. what do we do?

[quark1]

I think we need to hope that this is just a natural event that can happen every now and then and they will recover and/or that someone here can offer some advice.

Even the first year I had them when we had scorching temps they looked more lively.

Fear it could be RIP for quark's fruit trees?

[Duronal]

i had a similar problem when i inherited an apple tree, i simply took the tree out of the pot that it was in and transferred it to a 40cm shub pot filled with multipurpose, and a little conditioner, horse manure that type of thing.
I remember hearing that apple trees have very shallow feeding roots so try sprinkling a little feed around the top of the pot and water it really well.

Anything in a pot will dry out much quicker than anything that is not so try to keep the soil moist, i always say that if you can move the soil on top (or it starts to cap) then there isn't enough water in there. Alternatively to ease how often you are watering get a big saucer for the base.

Normally a tub of multipurpose will have enough good nutrients to feed a big plant for 8 -10 weeks so feed feed feed. If your apples have died then i'd cut your losses and do everything to save the tree, re-plant, feed, water and hope for next years apples.

[rainbowbrite]

sounds like you know a thing or two, will it be ok to transfer when it's poorly sick? i have a big pot i was waiting to use so i'll do that this weekend.

i have been watering it like mad since i've had it and been adding some plant food, do you think i'll need something more hardcore. also do you think normal brought compost will cut it?

sorry to bombard but you sound like you know what you're talking about!!!!

[Tam]

When you say you have been "watering it like mad" do you mean that the poor thing has been in a swamp since you've had it ? The easiest solution would be to put it in the soil and then you would have no watering problems, but if it must be kept in a container, by all means put it in a larger one. I would suggest that a John Innes compost No3 would be best for a potted fruit tree. Remember to prune it annually (in August for fruiting and winter for growth) and, of course, the way you prune depends on whether it is a tip-bearer or produces the fruit on spurs.

[rainbowbrite]

it possibly has been living in a swamp. i'm off to get john innes compost and re-pot the tree and hopefully it will perk up a bit.

how will i know how to prune it if it's never given me fruit?

[Tam]

When you bought the apple tree, what name was given ?

[rainbowbrite]

it was in german and now i've thrown the tag away. i never thought it would be so hard to look after a tree!!