apple tree help

[MRBB]

OK I have about a dozen OLD apple tree's 40-50+ yr old tree's

The last 4 yrs or so, 3 tree's just stopped making apples
I have tried spraying them with fertilizer(got fruit tree fertilizer at tractor supply store)
I have added some lime about the drip zone, added some tree spike fertilizer that way
and they still don't make apples any more

I have also trimmed them back some

NOW I know a few BIG pine tree's have grown and now shade tree's more than before, but they still get a lot of sun, and they make a LOT of leaves and buds, just NO real apples??

SO< any suggestions one what to try this yr??

still dormant here, still have snow on ground in many places!

but spring is coming

and also, what suggestions would you's have to get a better yield off trees that DO make apples??
any suggestions on better way to fertilize then, or what to spray them with to get less scabby apples??


Thanks in advance!

 

[roth2000]

To get a better yield first priority should be cross pollination. Too much fertilizer will actually cause more vegetative growth rather than apple production. Branches that grow more horizontal are more likely to produce fruit than those growing vertical. Proper pruning actually helps fruit production and quality so consider that as well. As to why your tree stopped producing but still flowers all I can think is that a late spring frost killed all your fruiting buds.

 

[chickenlittle]

Do the trees flower?

When did you trim/prune and what were you taking off? Growth from pruning last year is the wood that should flower/ fruit this year and next year. Ideally you have it set up that a tree has a permanent scaffolding branch structure and each year you remove the 3year old wood coming off the scaffold. Not easy to do with a large tree but hacking part of it back every couple years will keep it rejuvenated.

I would not worry about fertilizer. Sunlight maybe.

 

[MRBB]

ok thanks
a little more info
tree's again have been here a long time, long before I got the place 30+ yrs ago, and were BIG tree's when I got them
first few yrs I never did anything with them, and they always made apples, but rather scabby skins, so, never ate many, was/is a recreational property, so never cared about quality of apples to be honest

I trimmed branches back as they grew in my way when moving or??
and that was about it on care for many yrs and they were great producer's

after some yrs I started to try and help with things, trimmed back more to slow the HIGH straight growing of tree's , but sadly I didn;t do enough, some are 30+ ft tall now, with mostly UP branches than OUT
but yet they still make a ton of apples most yrs!

the tree's that DON"T last few yrs are right next to one's that do, both UP and down hill from them, so, as for a frost effecting things, I find that odd, if tree's right next to them didn't suffer same issue and being the same tree yr after yr, makes it a low odds deal to me, that frost is JUST hitting them

yes they fully bloom and START to make apples, then its like they just STOP, tree's still growing very well, new branches come out all the time, one tree is closer to the building that I would like and I am always having to cut things back from the base of the tree(constant new growth from trunk like) to branches that over hang over building!
tree's honestly seem very healthy as far as them growing, leaves buds, flowering, just NO apples

another thing, I have is a few trees, well 2 tree's that never seem to DROP there apples, or sure hold a LOT of them, not this past yr, but summer 2015 was a boomer apple yr for me, and I had one tree that was FULL of apples in March/April, all dead apples, but just never came off, even had new leaves growing about them!
any clue on that too ??

tree's are mostly red /yellow delirious, and Macintosh , or that's my best guess

behind my place in the woods is about another dozen tree's(early 1900's was a farm then let go back to forested like land)
and they make apples every single yr with zero help LOL
and some are burried deep in with tree's shading them out , wish I could buy the land behind me, but owner won't sell, tried a few times over the yrs ?? But they must be super tree's I always thought over the yrs watching them since I was a kid

 

[4wanderingeyes]

It sounds to me like you are over fertilizing them. Too much N.

 

[MRBB]

NOW let me ask you this, over the past 5 yrs, I added about 300+ ton of gravel and fill to the property all UP hill of the tree's , some gravel is actually right around some tree's(not the one's I have issue's with either)

one tree that doesn't make apples is at the very top of the hill, 20 ft above any new fill/gravel,

is it possible the new fill/gravel is giving off something that is effecting the tree's
BUT if so, why isn;t it effecting all them, thats the odd part, its just a few tree's and same one's every yr now??

I ad fertilizer to all tree's about the same when I do too??
and I honestly don't add a lot, some yrs NON at all to be honest! and it didn;t make any difference on production on these few tree's??

 

[Neahawg]

Are the trees in a frost pocket?

 

[MRBB]

not sure what you mean by a frost pocket, the tree's that produce are on the same level ground like in elevation,as tree's that don't
well some tree's are at the top of property and some at bottom, a 60+ ft drop in elevation, and I have a tree at the top, two in the middle and one at the bottom that doesn't produce apples no more
so, that doesn't help does it LOL
and to be honest the tree's that get MORE shade seem to do better than the one's with MORE sun light, which to me is backwards like?? or I think it is??

NOW one thing I have noticed is, one tree that doesn't produce has a BIG hemlock pine tree growing super close to it, but both tree's are about the same age, so NOT new to things, but the roots on the pine tree over the yrs have seemed to come above ground some and run over the apple tree's roots, can be seen from the surface like?
but that is just ONE of the tree's NOT making apples, so, I don't think that is a cause , or NOT for the rest??

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Some gravel is limestone, it could have brought your ph too high?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Can you take a picture of the tree that doesn't produce very well? It's likely a combination of issues. Apples need as much sun as they can get to produce as much fruit as possible, so I'd cut down neighboring trees that are shading the apples. Getting rid of competition doesn't really have a downside for the apple trees. Different types of apples flower at different times, so a hard frost could kill off the blossoms on one tree but not hurt a nearby tree that is at a different stage in the bloom cycle.

I would recommend cutting down neighboring trees so the apples get full sun. Hold off on any fertilizing and see how they respond to the sun. I would trim the dead wood off the trees and also slowly trim a little each year to give the trees a good frame if possible.

It wouldn't hurt to take a soil sample from one of the trees that produces apples and another sample from one of the non-fruiting trees to see if you have something odd going on with your ph as was mentioned earlier.

 

[MRBB]

I can get some pic's, but not till after this lousy rain stops ,LOL

as for gravel being lime stone, that I thought too

the problem with trimming back tree's that are making shade, that really isn;t an option, or one I am willing to do
as the tree's are also solid blocking screens to keep possible poachers from seeing the deer and bears here, so that isn't a real do able thing for me to justify

I have never done a soil test any where near the tree's, as I never planted then tree's they were just a bonus of things to the place, and since I was kid, they always made apples on there own
old owner never did anything to then either minus some mild trimming back now and then

I do try to keep all dead branches trimmed off too
tree's to get hit HARD by local bears, and most are very clawed up, but the one with the ,most bear damage, actually produce the most apples , so, GO figure that??
maybe there doing better pruning than I am ??

 

[MRBB]

OK here is a few quick easy pic's could take from indoors more or less, rest I will need to get outside to take!
and YES I know these are NOT idea apple tree locations, but due to they were planted LONG before I got the place and they make normally a LOT of apples I cannot bring myself to cut them down and too BIG to relocate

the first tree has been in the same spot surrounded by concrete on 1/3 , a driveway pad and a side walk, and then gravel and a LITTLE top soil, it ALWAYS made apple's till the last 4 yrs, more or less or a very low harvest, its like it just stopped making apples, but tree seems to be growing fine other wise?
NOT even sure HOW I would do a soil test on this tree being surrounded by so much cement?
but the tree grows new branches like crazy I am ALWAYS having to trim back so I can walk past it! as it is between a house and a entry point!(again POOR location for a tree period, but I hate the idea of cutting it down!) so I let it be and take what I get, but IF I can help it to do better, I will try!



tree number2, is a one of my very best producer's, and its in the very middle of a gravel pad, NO top soil period around it, or even dirt for that matter, and its a heck of a tree' and again it a terrible location on property, but again I hate to kill it, cut it down

BUT it never doesn't have a TON of apples and its been surrounded by gravel now 15+ yrs??


tree number 3, is a and has normally been a great producer, but last 3 yrs hasn't made many apples at all
there was a BIG hemlock pine tree shading it for 30 + yrs, tree was almost ALWAYS in the shade and yet made apples
2 yrs ago, I knocked down the hemlock thinking it would help??, but last yr was even worse than yr before?

directions, of this tree if if you look to the LEFT side of pic, that is due east, and right side of l]pic is due west
tree NOW gets a LOT of sun, still a few tree's that do make some shade, but nothing like it lived in for so many yrs and never had a issue before??
, and again you can see it also has a LOT of gravel about it
this again was NOT a food plot designed deal, tree's just were here before me! and previous owner had them filled in and around them, and well, I also added more fill to spots to make the place more user friendly, as its ALL was on a slope, little level ground here on the site! or where building and house is!
rest of the tree's are below this tree on lower end of property some half way down behind it and to the right(as looking at pic) and some down in the woods behind things here as well!

also, when I been fertilizing tree's I been digging up gravel about 3-4 inches around the drip zone and adding a little in like rings around the tree of 10/10/10 fert and then re covering it with gravel, nothing crazy or special, and or I have a sprayer with some liquid fruit tree fertilizer I get at local tractor shop, they have for fruit tree and follow as the bottle says to so so?

last pic will be a pic of what the one tree typically drops in apples every yr, and again, I KNOW this tree is in a terrib;e location , but it MAKES apples yr after yr, and tree is in ALL gravel LOL they must be hearty tree's

 

[chickenlittle]

For some food for thought on pruning, here are some videos that show how Cummins Nursery would recommend chopping those back. I have a big tree I'm thinking of knocking way back but not quite ready to take the plunge. Might have to wait until my Mother passes...she might have a stroke if she saw I did it to her favorite tree.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1213250598756178

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1199418586806046

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1202409899840248

 

[MRBB]

thanks for the video's
I too struggle with that idea of cutting it back a LOT, and my main reason is, most all branches only grow straight up NOT a lot branching off , off the truck to have any width like, and all the branches all the way to the tippy top make apples, or should I say normally did, since apples are only for wild life, I figured the more branches the more apples it will make, and minus these couple that don't make any at all right now, that idea has been working well for a LONG time

the one in the first pic, I did cut back a lot of it, 3 yrs ago, after 2 yrs of low to now apples, hoping it would help, and I needed more room for backing trailers in and such, as it had branches grown over the drive way there all the way to the wooden fence behind it, it was rather wild growing, and tri axles couldn;'t get under the branches, so I did a BIG cut back on that one, and NO difference since then on production of apples??

I don't hunt off this property, its too small, so its honestly JUST food for wild life like, and a base camp for me for outdoors things, from snowmobiling to atv riding to fishing and shooting, its surrounded by mostly a big hunting clubs property, I don'
t belong to the club, but they let me access there property as I want, COULD even hunt there, but I don't , I think its nice they let me ride atv's and such on it and enjoy it, and let them have the game, I enjoy the access to there big gun ranges too

but like I said, if I could get these couple tree's back to making fruit again, it would be a nice perk for the critters