Apple tree dilemma

[Alan P]

Hi everyone,
New member wanting some expert advise for our garden project.
We have moved into an old cottage and have begun work on the garden. There is an established apple tree which crops reasonably well. One side of the tree was up against a large leylandi hedge which we have now removed. As a result of the hedge the apple tree has grown only on one side , the hedge side being completely bare.
Although the tree is not really where we want it we would like to save it and get it to a more correct shape. Can we cut right back to close to the main trunk? The idea being that new growth would enable the tree to achieve a better shape rather than lopsided as it is now......Would such hard pruning kill the tree or would it achieve what we want in time?
Also we have a smallish area to convert into a mini orchard, probably with small trees.....(dwarfing rootstock?) We would like one bramley.....one eater....and a plum. Suggestions for varieties please.
Thanks in advance
Alan

[ameno]

I would advise against such hard pruning. The tree will probably survive (although it does depend somewhat on size and vigour), but the regrowth will not crop for at least 2 years, and depending on vigour, it may take longer than that (the more vigorous it is, the longer it will take to crop again).
Instead, I would simply carry on pruning the healthy side of the tree as normal (reduce all new growth by 2/3 to 3/4 every winter), whilst leaving any new growth from the bald side unpruned for at least a couple of years. It may take a few years, but this should even the tree up eventually, and will not risk killing the tree or sacrifice your apple crop in the mean time.
It may also be worth trying to "encourage" some of the branches growing on the edge of the good side to bend over more towards the bald side. You can use ropes to pull the branches more into position, then tie to stakes, stout pegs, or even a fence or other trees to hold them in place. Just don't tie them too tight to the branches, as you will cut off circulation (tied them behind a side branch to prevent them just slipping off), and check every winter to see if they need loosening a bit more. After 2 years the branches ought to be fixed in their new positions, and the ropes can be removed.

As for new varieties, Victoria is always good for a plum, especially if you are only growing one, as it is a good eater and cooker.
For eating apples, my favourite is Christmas Pippin. It's a Cox-type apple (in my opinion actually better tasting than standard Cox's Orange Pippin), but doesn't suffer from the same problems with plague the Orange Pippin (which is disease prone, low vigour, low cropping, and only so-so keeping). It's quite a late season ripener.
If you want something a little earlier, Sunset is a good one. Another Cox-type, it ripens in late September and is heavy cropping and disease resistant.

[Alan P]

Great, thanks for that, very helpful. I will certainly try what you have suggested.

[DannyK]

Are the apples any good? My neighbour's overhanging apples are awful, which is annoying as they are so prolific.

[Alan P]

Are the apples any good? My neighbour's overhanging apples are awful, which is annoying as they are so prolific.

They are pretty good, no idea on variety but they were perfectly edible last year. We havent been here long, first year was very dry and hot and the tree dropped most of its crop, the birds pecked the rest to bits, presumably after the moisture. Last summer we had a reasonable crop, this year it is laden.

[DannyK]

.....the birds pecked the rest to bits, presumably after the moisture. Last summer we had a reasonable crop, this year it is laden.

My wife made up some covers from old net curtains. This kept the squirrels off our gages. You could save a few apples like this.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
I have a Golden Delicious tree and it did have a wealth of crop this year, however I seem to have been the victim of some parasite / Worm / whatever it is it caused quite a lot of damage stunting the growth of quite a lot (Pictures below). I have 1/4 green bin full of small affected apples what a waste....

Some apples that are maturing are not so bad and I imagine I could cut any really bad bits out but what I really want to know is what cause this and how can I prevent them from coming back in next years crop ?

Also I realise Golden Delicious are meant to well urm! Golden/Green in colour but mine seem to be taking on a red hew, could this be from the really hot weather we experienced or are they a totally different type of apple altogether ?



Geoff.

[Vince G]

Hi everyone,
New member wanting some expert advise for our garden project.
We have moved into an old cottage and have begun work on the garden. There is an established apple tree which crops reasonably well. One side of the tree was up against a large leylandi hedge which we have now removed. As a result of the hedge the apple tree has grown only on one side , the hedge side being completely bare.
Although the tree is not really where we want it we would like to save it and get it to a more correct shape. Can we cut right back to close to the main trunk? The idea being that new growth would enable the tree to achieve a better shape rather than lopsided as it is now......Would such hard pruning kill the tree or would it achieve what we want in time?
Also we have a smallish area to convert into a mini orchard, probably with small trees.....(dwarfing rootstock?) We would like one bramley.....one eater....and a plum. Suggestions for varieties please.
Thanks in advance
Alan

If I were in your position I'd probably consider a pear as well if you can possibly fit it in. Katy are a nice eating apple, and are a good juicer too if you find yourself with a glut. It's one of the varieties on my family tree. Plum-wise, I'd go for a greengage, far nicer than any plum for eating fresh and make lovely jam

[ameno]

Hi All,
I have a Golden Delicious tree and it did have a wealth of crop this year, however I seem to have been the victim of some parasite / Worm / whatever it is it caused quite a lot of damage stunting the growth of quite a lot (Pictures below). I have 1/4 green bin full of small affected apples what a waste....

Some apples that are maturing are not so bad and I imagine I could cut any really bad bits out but what I really want to know is what cause this and how can I prevent them from coming back in next years crop ?

Also I realise Golden Delicious are meant to well urm! Golden/Green in colour but mine seem to be taking on a red hew, could this be from the really hot weather we experienced or are they a totally different type of apple altogether ?



Geoff.

That doesn't look like worm damage.
It looks like a combination of bitter pit (a physiological disorder caused directly by lack of calcium, but more usually indirectly by lack of water) and rings of russeting, which are usually cause by minuscule surface damage (often by shield bugs) which prompts the fruit to grow russet patches.
What do they look like inside?

[peanut]

Hi All,
I have a Golden Delicious tree and it did have a wealth of crop this year, however I seem to have been the victim of some parasite / Worm / whatever it is it caused quite a lot of damage stunting the growth of quite a lot (Pictures below). I have 1/4 green bin full of small affected apples what a waste....

Some apples that are maturing are not so bad and I imagine I could cut any really bad bits out but what I really want to know is what cause this and how can I prevent them from coming back in next years crop ?

Also I realise Golden Delicious are meant to well urm! Golden/Green in colour but mine seem to be taking on a red hew, could this be from the really hot weather we experienced or are they a totally different type of apple altogether ?



Geoff.

I get that on my braeburns, in most cases, unless the fruit is deeply cracked, it is only skin deep damage and the flesh is perfectly fine. I eat it all anyway. I also had that lovely pink hue on my golden delicious sometimes, I just considered they had been kissed by the sun and often they would taste even sweeter, or maybe I just imagined that. Home grown golden delicious are a world apart from imported shop bought aren't they!

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
Amemo:- A lack of water I don't know how water them quite often and add to that all the rain through the past 4/5 months but I wonder could it be the hardness of the water ? The possible lack of calcium maybe I should start to dig in a load of it over the winter the earth was literally built up with farm manure about 20 years ago with me adding old compost and fresh manure over the years.

Peanut:- I did wonder about just cutting the eye's out along with the bad bits to use them in cooking, I actually ate one with the Granddaughter and although a little crisp quite tasty I thought but the Wife reckoned it are a little tart ( I cracked a funny at that and had to duck )

On the whole though I would say 60% have the eye's on them, 70% have fallen but ever so small, I would say those that are on the tree look quite good. BTH the tree will have a radical cut when the apples are picked, branches shredded then mulched with old compost and bags of manure so looks like a busy time ahead....

Anyway people many thanks for the input.. any further advice can be forward to the advice web site at www.iamacrpgardener.com......

Geoff.

[ameno]

Hi All,
Amemo:- A lack of water I don't know how water them quite often and add to that all the rain through the past 4/5 months but I wonder could it be the hardness of the water ? The possible lack of calcium maybe I should start to dig in a load of it over the winter the earth was literally built up with farm manure about 20 years ago with me adding old compost and fresh manure over the years.

Peanut:- I did wonder about just cutting the eye's out along with the bad bits to use them in cooking, I actually ate one with the Granddaughter and although a little crisp quite tasty I thought but the Wife reckoned it are a little tart ( I cracked a funny at that and had to duck )

If you live in a hard water area then your soil is also likely to be neutral or even alkaline, in which case lack of calcium in the soil itself should not be an issue. If you are somehow on acid soil despite having hard water, however (which is possible if the water comes some way to reach you), then it could be lack of calcium in the soil.
The usual recommendation if you don't have acid soil and the tree is getting enough water, yet you still get bitter pit, is a calcium foliar spray a couple of times as the fruit is swelling.
It's also worth bearing in mind that the tree being overburdened with fruit can cause water stress to the tree even when the soil has sufficient water in it, due to the roots simply not being able to keep up with demand.

As for the acid fruit, for better or worse that's normal for Golden Delicious in this country. They really need a warmer climate than ours to develop their full flavour and sweetness.

[ChingfordHarry]

I'm a bit late to the party, but here's my two ha'porth.

Just my opinion, but I wouldn't get a Bramley - although they are a very good cooking apple, I doubt there's a greengrocer or supermarket in the country that doesn't sell them. I would go for something you don't commonly see - round here I'd be tempted by Reverend Wilkes, Grenadier or Newton Wonder - all great apples that I've never seen for sale. Bramleys tend to be very vigorous growers as well (what I call a thug) - I actually have one on my allotment that's about 20 years old and it's at least twice the size of a James Grieve (the same age and on the same rootstock) a few feet away.

This is coming up to "Apple Day" season - if you haven't bought your cooker yet, I'd go along to one or a few and talk to people and maybe try some more unusual or traditional local varieties.

How well a dwarfing rootstock grows depends on your soil; on my heavy clay, MM106 is almost dwarfing but it isn't sold as that. M9, a more standard dwarf really struggles to keep anything alive here, and nothing thrives on it - but it's what many commercial orchards use, presumably because they have taken care to make sure the soil has been properly prepared. It's worth talking to someone local who has experience of similar conditions to what you have.

[ChingfordHarry]

Oh - if you take a sample of your apples with some leaves to an Apple Day event, there's a chance that there will be an expert there who would be able to identify it.

[1batfastard]

Hi All,
ameno:- Right then judging by what you said I should really test the soil to get a better idea of what may be the cause of the stress ? I have noticed the apples higher up are larger and appear to be more developed than the lower hanging fruits, so that's another job for the wife on her next trip out then....

ChingfordHarry:- I always loved Bramley cookers as they make the best Pies and Crumble, I also chose the Golden Delicious for the same reason more or les as what you don't eat direct from the tree you can always add to the Brimley's to bulk out the fruit content of whatever you are baking.

I tell you both what I have just noticed is that the Apple leaf moths have been busy, my Bramley's leaves are festooned with there mining activities.

Apparently this will not affect the cropping which I expect to be good next year after having been pruned within an inch of it's life last season. I will be doing exactly the same to the golden Delicious when all the apples have been picked within the next week or so.

Geoff.