Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
I see a number of guys on here wonder how long they have to wait for fruit on their apple & crab apple trees. That can vary from one variety to another, the rootstock your trees are grafted to, and your local climate & growing conditions. (Our camp pulls the first few apples to put more energy into growing bigger trees. Done for a few years to maximize growth. Those of us with bears need BIG, WOODY trees to avoid total destruction.)
I can only speak of a couple rootstocks our camp trees are on. All our trees are spread between 4 rootstocks. Our B-118 trees produced first, after about 4 years. MM-111 is next at about 6 years. Antonovka and P-18 (both full-sized apple trees) take 9 or 10 years - or longer - for first fruit. From what I've read, these time frames are pretty "normal." Fruit CAN appear sooner than the average waiting periods. Some our SLN, Antonovka-rooted crabs put on fruit in year 3!!!
These time frames are for our camp location (zone 5 & 6 border) - YMMV. Rain, fertility, local climates can vary your outcomes.
Guys with other rootstocks can add their findings to this thread, if they choose. We all help each other here!!!
I can only speak of a couple rootstocks our camp trees are on. All our trees are spread between 4 rootstocks. Our B-118 trees produced first, after about 4 years. MM-111 is next at about 6 years. Antonovka and P-18 (both full-sized apple trees) take 9 or 10 years - or longer - for first fruit. From what I've read, these time frames are pretty "normal." Fruit CAN appear sooner than the average waiting periods. Some our SLN, Antonovka-rooted crabs put on fruit in year 3!!!
These time frames are for our camp location (zone 5 & 6 border) - YMMV. Rain, fertility, local climates can vary your outcomes.
Guys with other rootstocks can add their findings to this thread, if they choose. We all help each other here!!!