No Apples

[Peeps]

Got up to my land for another spray of my trees and I checked all my trees. I have about 40 fruit trees up there. I found 1 lone apple and a few crab apples. We had a weird spring this year where it got warm super early and then got hit with cold down to the mid teens after the trees had already woken up followed by more warm weather followed by hard freezes. A commercial orchard in the area posted that they are expecting less than 5% of their normal apple crop this year. My oldest trees were planted in 2015 so my orchard is young. I guess it will be a year for growth as my trees can put all their energy into that instead of fruit.

 

[g squared 23]

Yeah I would look at it as an opportunity for your trees to explode and pump out a dumptruck of fruit next year. This fruit tree thing ain’t for the impatient, it’s definitely a long game.


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[4wanderingeyes]

It isn’t looking good for apples for me either. 2-3 trees with apples.

 

[Da U.P. 'eh]

I'm across the river from you in Menominee C0. MI, I looked last week and found exactly 0 apples. Bad year!

 

[H20fwler]

Same exact thing happened here last year. Best way to look at it is a good growth year for new wood on young trees.

 

[Native Hunter]

My home apple trees are loaded with fruit this year, but 11 miles away at my farm it looks like a terrible failure. Just a couple of degrees can make a big difference at the critical times in early spring. The good news at the farm is that it looks like I'm headed for a massive persimmon crop and pears are pretty good too.

 

[Telemark]

Same thing happened to us last year. Several orchards didn't even bother harvesting because it would have cost more than it earned.

 

[rocksnstumps]

I had a bit more luck this yr and will likely have decent crops of apples but no plums and hardly any pears which both bloom earlier then apples.

My question for the group is about what to do next year for those who lost fruit this year. Likely to be a super bumper crop and might start a tree into a biannual cycle with really heavy one yr and take a rest every other year. I have a crab apple that now does this. It was decent crop every year but after a freeze out one year it kinda turned into a biannual bearing type situation. Maybe a coincidence since was a young tree at the time it happened and now has been around for over 15 yrs.

Just wondering if advice for those with super loaded trees next year (ok being an optimist) that they might want to plan to thin some and maybe keep tree on yearly cycle with normal weather. Thoughts?

 

[Barndog56]

No plums or pears at all here, and less than a half dozen apples on 4 of the 8 trees that bloomed. My trees were pumping out new growth, but now we've been so hot and dry that has come to a halt.

 

[sandbur]

I had a bit more luck this yr and will likely have decent crops of apples but no plums and hardly any pears which both bloom earlier then apples.

My question for the group is about what to do next year for those who lost fruit this year. Likely to be a super bumper crop and might start a tree into a biannual cycle with really heavy one yr and take a rest every other year. I have a crab apple that now does this. It was decent crop every year but after a freeze out one year it kinda turned into a biannual bearing type situation. Maybe a coincidence since was a young tree at the time it happened and now has been around for over 15 yrs.

Just wondering if advice for those with super loaded trees next year (ok being an optimist) that they might want to plan to thin some and maybe keep tree on yearly cycle with normal weather. Thoughts?

Plant more trees so some are on the other cycle?

Plant some on a north and a south slope?

Or just fish more on the off years!


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[Chainsaw]

Plant more trees so some are on the other cycle?

Plant some on a north and a south slope?

Or just fish more on the off years!


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Absolutely Sandbur difference in sun orientation could cause just enough difference in bloom time. Also tree diversity can also help to avoid a zero year. When there is an off year in this area our apples have really shined. Though most of them take the same hit as everyone elses, due to luck and the huge number of trees here some trees bloom just a little earlier than others and some bloom a little later than others; thus a few trees at least have always seemed to hit it right and produce apples on years other trees do not. If that were to happen in this area and none of our apples produced, scanning the neighborhood for a tree that did produce would be a good option. And then of course begging for a few scions for the kids would be in order.

 

[cavey]

Elevation too.... go high or go home kind of a deal.... I have on one side of the road almost all lower elevation valley floor apples and on the other side a hill top property. If you have mixed elevation on your property make an effort if possible to get some up higher ... makes a diff in these weird frost years.

 

[Telemark]

I had a bit more luck this yr and will likely have decent crops of apples but no plums and hardly any pears which both bloom earlier then apples.

My question for the group is about what to do next year for those who lost fruit this year. Likely to be a super bumper crop and might start a tree into a biannual cycle with really heavy one yr and take a rest every other year. I have a crab apple that now does this. It was decent crop every year but after a freeze out one year it kinda turned into a biannual bearing type situation. Maybe a coincidence since was a young tree at the time it happened and now has been around for over 15 yrs.

Just wondering if advice for those with super loaded trees next year (ok being an optimist) that they might want to plan to thin some and maybe keep tree on yearly cycle with normal weather. Thoughts?

Depends on the tree. Some of mine are unbelievably loaded with fruit. Others never got a single flower. Applies to all my fruit trees(pear, Apple, cherry, plum) . Been a weird couple years.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Loaded here in Western, Mass. Had a ton of blossoms this spring and it looks like fruit set was perfect.

 

[Charles Clear]

Same here in Western Pa. 80's for a few weeks followed by 27 degrees low. I only have a few apples.

 

[Peeps]

With this being a tree growth year for me should I give my trees another dose of fertilizer? I gave them 10-10-10 back in late April.

 

[H20fwler]

With this being a tree growth year for me should I give my trees another dose of fertilizer? I gave them 10-10-10 back in late April.

It's getting pretty late in the year to fertilize, especially with as spotty as the rain has been.

 

[bornagain62511]

Peeps, where are you located? I'm in in the driftless area of southwest Wisconsin, and same thing here. Hardly any apples on hundreds of prime age fruit producing trees. Even the LIberty and Williams Pride which are usually loaded every year are almost without any apples.

 

[Peeps]

Peeps, where are you located? I'm in in the driftless area of southwest Wisconsin, and same thing here. Hardly any apples on hundreds of prime age fruit producing trees. Even the LIberty and Williams Pride which are usually loaded every year are almost without any apples.

My land is up in Marinette County

 

[Peeps]

My land is up in Marinette County

I do hunt in sw wi. Beautiful are!! I found 2 more apples today