New apple tree problem

[Tobias]

Hello there folks!
I finally got myself a garden for the first time and have been hard at it trying to get lots done, some things going well others not so much!
Most pressing perhaps is my Fiesta apple tree, I noticed the other day the leaves are going brown at the veins, curling and going crispy. It is a half standard, planted bare root around January, I also planted a pear next to it at that time which is in much better shape. The soil is fairy heavy clay, planted with mycoryza in a border that used to be lawn. Any idea what's causing this? I have been watering it but not sure if enough so so I left the hosepipe on it for a while last night to make sure it got a deep soaking, this is a dry spring isn't it!?
Any advice much appreciated - save the trees!
thanks
Tobias

[nickdub]

Bad news is the apple looks to me to be on its way out. Not sure what caused the problem, I'd say mostly likely as it's been hot and dry the chances are that it needed more water as you have guessed already, and that the best way of seeing if it will come back to life is to do exactly what you have done ie soak the ground.

A couple of points to add. I wrote a short guide to planting fruit trees and shrubs on here about 2 years ago as thread which may be useful for new gardeners. And also that this sort of thing does happen to all of us sometimes - I bought two bare root cherries over a year ago - grew them on in large pots last year, so I could keep an eye on them, and they both flourished. I planted both out in my garden this winter last ( I was feeling quite ill at the time but succeeding in getting them in the ground OK (I thought at least) - checked them the other day one is growing on beautifully and the other is more or less dead - no idea why yet, I just left it as I have more gardening work which needs doing now than energy to do it.

Happy gardening, Nick :-)

[Tobias]

Thanks for your encouragement Nick! I'll check out the guide when I get the replacement tree then! I was hoping there would be an easy fix but seems sometimes you're just doomed in this game!

As a side point, is there a way to bring plants out of dormancy? I planted a rose and mirabelle bareroot towards the end of the season and they are showing no signs of growth. I scratched the bark of the mirabelle and its green underneath so alive for now I guess! Saying that, maybe they knew the hot weather was a trick, been hailing and snowing today!

Hope you had a fruitful weekend!

[ameno]

They may well have been on cold storage at the supplier end in order to keep them dormant for longer, and so may still take a while to come out of dormancy. They should wake up on their own sooner or later, though.
That said, there's always the possibility they won't. One of the two apricots I bought this winter is still completely leafless. If you scratch the bark, it's still green underneath, so in theory it's still alive, but all of the buds are dead (brown and dry inside), so unless it grow some new buds, I don't think it's going to come around.

[Tobias]

Hmmm, yeah, so better to buy bare root in the autumn rather than the spring then?
In the case of encouraging it, do you think pruning would help or not?

[ameno]

Hmmm, yeah, so better to buy bare root in the autumn rather than the spring then?
In the case of encouraging it, do you think pruning would help or not?

Don't think it would make any difference one way or the other.
And it's best to buy bare root any time before about mid-March. After that, it's getting a bit late in the season. The trees will usually still be fine, though, and suppliers often have sales to sell off remaining trees before it's too late to dig them up, so if you see one going cheap, by all means buy it.

[Mark_Riga]

If you happen to have a big polythene bag you could put over it, it might help it survive by keeping the the atmosphere moist and the wind off. I had a plum, form home bargains for

[Mark_Riga]

Posted above comment and only part appeared. dited it and same happened.