Apple Tree Planted - What Now?

[SwampCat]

I have planted a number of fruit trees in the past - with not a whole lot of success. This time I want to put forth more effort. I planted four dolgo crabs today. They are about three feet tall. I am going to cage them. What do I do about pruning the trees right now?

 

[H20fwler]

First year I wouldn't prune at all, let it grow and make good deep roots let those branches feed the roots. Prune the low ones off next spring.

Screen the trunks as high as you can to.

 

[g squared 23]

Looks very good for a dolgo. I have 3 and they are not at all precocious, so that is a great start. Cage is mandatory, I like 5’ high with 12.5’+ circumference.


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[Merle Hawggard]

Looks great Swamp! Keep it watered good this summer, assuming it actually drys up this year.

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[Chainsaw]

That looks like a nice spot you planted in. Good luck with them. I don’t have much pruning experience and every area is different of course but here we couldn’t leave uncaged Apple trees out even for a night.

 

[SwampCat]

That looks like a nice spot you planted in. Good luck with them. I don’t have much pruning experience and every area is different of course but here we couldn’t leave uncaged Apple trees out even for a night.

deer arent bad to browse the apple trees - they will rub them

 

[Chainsaw]

deer arent bad to browse the apple trees - they will rub them

That is a nice luxury. Your picture shows many more times the browse available than this area has.

 

[CrazyEd]

pruning your fruit trees at time of planting is the best thing you can do for them.

Ben Hooper advised me of that back on the old QDMA forum. There is a thread in the sticky thread of this forum as well. It can be found here.

 

[SwampCat]

I am going to cage them - dont want to take any chances. They have a two acre wheat, durana, and arrowleaf clover foodplot just right of that tree

 

[Turkey Creek]

If the top of the main leader is past the point where you want your 1st set of permanent scaffold branches I would give it a heading cut there.

 

[SwampCat]

If the top of the main leader is past the point where you want your 1st set of permanent scaffold branches I would give it a heading cut there.

I would say the top of the main leader is about right where I would want the first scaffold branches to be - there or slightly higher

 

[SwampCat]

If I want my first main set of scaffold branches right at the top of the current central leader - do I head it there, now - or let it grow this year?

 

[Turkey Creek]

Nip off the terminal bud. That will cause the next few buds below the cut to become branches, one will begin to establish itself as the central leader again. Keep the others trained as lateral branches.

 

[KwebChestnut]

I have planted a number of fruit trees in the past - with not a whole lot of success. This time I want to put forth more effort. I planted four dolgo crabs today. They are about three feet tall. I am going to cage them. What do I do about pruning the trees right now?

View attachment 27983

First thing you need to do is put a fence around that tree that's the number one where it's going to die also you need to put a tree trunk guard animals eat them like crazy

 

[SwampCat]

First thing you need to do is put a fence around that tree that's the number one where it's going to die also you need to put a tree trunk guard animals eat them like crazy

I put a fence around them today. Deer dont bother my trees much - they browse them a little in late summer, but they will rub the heck out of them in the fall. .Dont have much in the way of rabbits, mice, or rats.

 

[BobinCt]

Like others have said, put a trunk guard on them. U put too much time, money and effort into planting them not to do it. They WILL find your tree even if you think they won’t. Better to be safe than sorry. I’d never plant one without putting one on. I use window screen and staple it fairly tight. Learn from the experts on here: CrazyEd and Turkey Creek are two of them with many others on here too.

 

[KwebChestnut]

If I want my first main set of scaffold branches right at the top of the current central leader - do I head it there, now - or let it grow this year?

I know a lot of people say to head the tree I've had mixed results doing that several times that either stunted the tree or killed it it has worked a few other times for me but definitely not 100%

 

[Turkey Creek]

I know a lot of people say to head the tree I've had mixed results doing that several times that either stunted the tree or killed it it has worked a few other times for me but definitely not 100%

Not trying to be confrontational, but we have headed thousands of trees and never had it be the direct cause of killing or stunting a tree. 100s of thousands of nursery stock trees are treated that way every year and if it wasnt a successful method I dont believe any of us would still be doing it. I say that only in terms of maybe we can collectively as a group on here help you with your tree survival rate.

 

[KwebChestnut]

Not trying to be confrontational, but we have headed thousands of trees and never had it be the direct cause of killing or stunting a tree. 100s of thousands of nursery stock trees are treated that way every year and if it wasnt a successful method I dont believe any of us would still be doing it. I say that only in terms of maybe we can collectively as a group on here help you with your tree survival rate.

I'm only dealing with hundreds of trees not thousands like you so maybe you have the method perfected I just know that anytime I take off more than 25% of a tree it has hurt the tree. I could show you where I did that. They are stunted. And several had died the following year. Of Course there's many things that can kill a tree so I can't say with certain every rootstock and variety differ from my experience. And not one method works on everything

 

[cavey]

I would take 5 sticks of scion off of that tree. One especially off the top and some off the laterals. Next year I would take all those lower branches off. I think they are to low for laterals anyways. Wrap 18" to 24" window screen around it (after painting the south side with a watered down latex paint - ideal thing to do -- I always say Im going to do that but the window screen helps cut the direct sun pretty good) and stake the tree and put a big ole cage around it. Kill the grass out to a foot beyond your cage.
Then kick back and watch it grow - start to develop a strong trunk and a good central leader. Pruning it will help promote/ensure good growth and production of those lateral scaffolding branches on that vigorously growing central leader. Biggest regret with my first trees was not being aggressive with early pruning. You can/could top that tree back a foot each year for the first handful of years - painful but its better than watching it shoot up thinking its cool to have a fast growing tree - only to look back in a few years and wonder why there are no or not enough scaffold branches in the right places.

Best thing you did is plant it/those ! You will wish you did more ten years from now but your ahead of the game already! Good luck and dont be afraid to do some nipping.