Apple Questions

[yoteslayer]

I have a couple apple tree questions for you all. I am very inexperienced, so all help is appreciated!

1) At what age of the tree would you start putting clothespins on the limbs to get them to grow out instead of vertical? Mine are in their 2nd year, after being planted spring 2017. They are all about 5 ft tall.

2) What age of apple trees do most of you experience your first apples? Does it depend on the apple species assuming all care of the trees is consistent for every species?

3) Does pinching off the blossoms help that much in the first couple years??

4) Are there any easy guidelines for insecticides/ fungicides care for younger trees for the beginner backyard apple tree grower?

I know the basics of not spraying during bloom and so forth, it just seems like I cannot find a spraying or treatment guide of what to use and when or how often to use it.


Thanks all!

 

[sandbur]

The year of first apples varies with the rootstock and the scion that was used.

You could use clothes pins on limbs that will be your first scaffold. It depends on how high you want those first limbs to be.

Others are more experienced than me. Listen to them first.


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[Prof.Kent]

1) At what age of the tree would you start putting clothespins on the limbs to get them to grow out instead of vertical? Mine are in their 2nd year, after being planted spring 2017. They are all about 5 ft tall.
Bending limbs down is to produce better crotch angles at the trunk so in later years the limbs are stronger and do not break as easily under a heavy load of fruit. Do it when the limbs are young and bendable. Some apple trees have naturally good angles, like Liberty.

2) What age of apple trees do most of you experience your first apples? Does it depend on the apple species assuming all care of the trees is consistent for every species?
On M7 rootstock, about 5 years for me. For MM111 about 8 years. Longer growing seasons and more dwarfing rootstocks will produce apples quicker. It also depends on the variety a lot. Oh, and don't prune off the fruit spurs!

3) Allowing a young tree to produce early will usually stunt the tree's maximum growth. I may also stress the tree before it is well established roots.

4) I used Bonide Fruit Tree Spray. It is one of those insecticide/fungicide mixes. It worked OK until I had a few years of heavy insect pressure, then I had to use a stronger insecticide (Imidan). Follow all directions!

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Training limbs to have better crotch angles will also "trick" the apple tree to push more growth to the central leader. If limbs are growing mostly upward, as opposed to outward at about 45 degrees, they compete with the leader and it slows upward growth of the leader - and the tree overall. As Prof. Kent said above - good crotch angles are stronger so they can hold big fruit loads later.

 

[Peeps]

For spraying I like to use Captan and Imadan. Also dormant spray in the early spring. This was my first year sticking to a spray schedule and it made a noticeable difference with the trees. I’d also suggest fertilizing and trying to water the youngest trees.