Part grown predicting final size?

[Randommoose]

Hello,

I have two bush apple trees in my front garden, planted January 2019. Grown organically, I have given them seaweed fertiliser once I think but that is it other than woodchip around the base (which is normally 1m but the grass has encroached this autumn/winter!). This front garden seems to have low fertility, the grass doesn't grow much either. I am planning to remove the lawn and replace with plants and a path but I need to predict how big the apple trees will get to know what space to allow for them and to know where they will cast shade. Is it possible to predict their final size now they are 5-6 years old?

First tree in the centre is Red Falstaff on MM106, 6 years old. This has been considerably less vigorous than a previous MM106 Red Falstaff I owned. Healthy, fruits well and gets thinned every year but apples sometimes smaller than I would expect. Red Falstaff flavour though so it is the right tree, just less vigorous than expected. Top of tallest twigs is about 1.6m. Though it has a lean it is stable in that position.

Second tree is Cevaal on M26, 5 years old. This is chunky and compact with lots of spurs. Healthy, fruits well and gets thinned every year, large apples. Top of tallest twigs is also about 1.6m.


Both trees are the same sort of height and the M26 Cevaal is chunkier and fruiting more than the MM106 Red Falstaff which is not what I expected.

Now they are 5 and 6 years old is it likely this similarity in height likely to continue or does MM106 grow more than M26 later on?

Now they are both 1.6m at 5 years (M26) and 6 years (MM106) what is their final height and spread likely to be?

Does anyone have any insight or experience that might be helpful?

[ameno]

They really haven't grown much in 5 and 6 years. Your soil really must be poor.
If you continue with your regime of barely feeding them then you could probably easily keep them under 2 metres with help from pruning (spread will probably be about 70-80% of that, based on their current shape).
If you fed them more, they would probably get bigger than that, especially the one on MM106.

[Randommoose]

Thank you Ameno, I knew the MM106 was small compared to the same variety in my previous garden but don't really know what to expect with M26. Thankfully they are both very healthy and fruit well so it is no problem if they stay small. That is really useful to get your numbers of about 2m high and a bit less spread, thank you.

This is a front garden that I suspect has been lawn for the 60 years since the house was built so probably no improvement since then. The soil is about 6 inches of loam on top of the clay subsoil so there isn't all that much top soil for fertility either. The grass doesn't grow much and I am planning to put in plants that do well with low fertility.

[ameno]

Those estimates are based on the assumption of yearly pruning, mind you. the M26 is likely to top out at not much more than that regardless of pruning, but the MM106 will get bigger than that eventually if not pruned (although at the current rate, it''ll likely take quite a few years).

[Randommoose]

Those estimates are based on the assumption of yearly pruning, mind you. the M26 is likely to top out at not much more than that regardless of pruning, but the MM106 will get bigger than that eventually if not pruned (although at the current rate, it''ll likely take quite a few years).

I do annual winter prune anyway for shaping and reducing any congested spurs. The M26 tends to need more to be pruned off as it is more vigorous and gets congested quickly as it develops so many spurs close together. The MM106 doesn't tend to need any or only very little. I summer prune the cordons I have in the back garden but these front garden trees have never needed it.