Apple Trees

[Abby]

I'm thinking about putting apple trees on my new property. Does anyone have experience with apple trees and have advice or info to impart? Perhaps good distributors or sources of info?

Thanks!

[kwillia (Premo)]

My mom planted 3 apple trees in her yard at her previous house years back. Fruit trees are a lot of work. You have to keep them pruned. You have to keep them de-bugged. You will have lots and lots of bees. You will have lots and lots of rotting fruit on the ground which usually means you will be visited by skunks and coons and such as well.

[Abby]

The work doesn't scare me. I lived with cherry and peach trees before, and they were miserable, but mostly because I don't use or eat either fruit. I intend to use the apples, and bees are okay. I'm more interested in how much space they need, fertilizing, and the kinds that do well locally. Also local sources of saplings and how much a bushel goes for if they don't yield enough for my purposes.
Common diseases and remedies are also helpful, problems, etc.

Thanks for your response!

[Pandora (Premo)]

Originally Posted by kwillia

My mom planted 3 apple trees in her yard at her previous house years back. Fruit trees are a lot of work. You have to keep them pruned. You have to keep them de-bugged. You will have lots and lots of bees. You will have lots and lots of rotting fruit on the ground which usually means you will be visited by skunks and coons and such as well.

Unless you have a dog that will sit under the tree and eat the dropping fruit, but I found out if they eat too much, they get diarrhea. It usually doesn’t kick in until several hours later.

[Lilypad]

I've got 2 mature Granny Smith apple trees-come n get em!
I have invested more $$ in sprays then their worth. I babied those trees; even talked to em..I'm DUN.
Lots of apples but w/brown bottoms and speckled skin-now Japanese beetles having a field day.
No mo fussin wid em-I'm just gonna let nature do her thang and leave em for the bee's, bugs and deer!

[Abby]

Here's a page with some ideas for getting rid of Japanese Beetles.
http://www.ghorganics.com/JapaneseBeetle.html

Notice the last recipe on the page, "Bug Juice Spray".

I got a kick out of it.




__________________

[Lilypad]

Here's a page with some ideas for getting rid of Japanese Beetles.

Thanx Abby-been there dun it-gonna let nature have its way with the trees, between the woodpecker holes and now the beetles-in a couple of yrs. the wood will be good for the grill!

[jazz lady (Premo)]

The best apple trees IMO are from Stark Brothers. Most nurseries around here carry their trees but I like to mail order them for the greater variety. My favorite apple is Gala and their Royal Gala (which has been improved and replaced by the variety GrandGala) is a great producer. Their Golden Delicious, which they recommend you also plant for pollination for the Gala, is also a winner.

I don't find fruit trees that much work. Prune them once a year, spray with dormant oil spray in late winter/early spring, thin the flowers so you get bigger fruit, and spray with a general purpose spray like Rotenone/Pyrethrin every couple of weeks and a fungicide if needed every once in awhile.

[Lilypad]

Originally Posted by jazz lady

I don't find fruit trees that much work. Prune them once a year, spray with dormant oil spray in late winter/early spring, thin the flowers so you get bigger fruit, and spray with a general purpose spray like Rotenone/Pyrethrin every couple of weeks and a fungicide if needed every once in awhile.

My fruit trees came w/the house. They were neglected for 25+ yrs., I put 4 yrs. into them-to no avail. Pruning, non-poisonous spraying, tending, even had 4 hives on the property to help w/the pollination-lots of apples but very few edibles.
I just enjoy my magnolias and hollies instead, and forget about the fruit bearing trees.

[jazz lady (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Lilypad

My fruit trees came w/the house. They were neglected for 25+ yrs., I put 4 yrs. into them-to no avail. Pruning, non-poisonous spraying, tending, even had 4 hives on the property to help w/the pollination-lots of apples but very few edibles.
I just enjoy my magnolias and hollies instead, and forget about the fruit bearing trees.

Trees that have been neglected for that long are almost impossible to get back into shape. They have to be pruned and tended to every year else the fruit-bearing wood gets unmanageable.