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My 'Egromont Russet', on M26, planted as a bare-root maiden in 2008, is growing rather lop-sidedly, nearly all the laterals being on one side of the main stem. This is probably because it is somewhat shaded on the side without laterals, by bushes growing to about 5 metres across the end of the garden backing on to mine. Since they're not in my garden, I can't do much about them (if they overhung my garden, I could at least remove the overhanging branches, but they don't, only the path between the garden-ends). Is there anything I can do to encourage laterals to grow on the other side? I have read of rosarians encouraging a particular bud to grow by nicking the bark just above it, diverting sap to it. Would that work on apple trees?
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Can you take a full-tree picture of the Egremont Russet from all four sides?
Nicking, notching, or radical unconventional pruning might work, but there's a chance that the shading will prevent adequate photosynthesis of branches on that side, so the branches may slowly wither and die without sufficient light.
Alternatively, moving the tree as soon as the leaves fall might be a better long-term option.
You could also consider grafting some scions of a shade-tolerant or very vigorous variety on the troublesome side of the tree. Varieties popular in cooler regions may cope better in shade, while triploids will usually grow vigorously anywhere.. -
Thanks for the advice. I don't think moving it is realistic, because I've no space to move it to (though I suppose I could turn it round!). The shaded side is not so deeply shaded that nothing would grow there, so I've tried nicking the bark above three buds facing in the right direction. We shall see. Even if I can't cure it, it's only an aesthetic problem, as long as it bears fruit.Comment
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