Apple tree maintenance (flower, landscape, grow, Fruit Trees)

[KarenBo]

Hi,

Bought a house in December and discovered an apple and a pear tree. The pear tree was abundant with fruit but the apple tree only had a few apples that looked a bit pock marked. The apple tree gets shaded a bit by a much larger tree (sweet gum? its got those "itchy balls"). The apple tree is pretty tall too so most of the fruit was too high to pick.

I'm wondering if I should have someone come and prune the tree - and if there is any other maintenance that I should have done to help it bear more fruit for next year. AND is it too late to have it done now (for next year)? Should I wait until spring?

Thanks!

[needing more]

We have both kinds of trees in our yard when we bought our house too. I know some but not a lot.. I heard it takes 15 yrs for a pear tree to produce fruit. Only about 3 yrs for an apple to produce. Our apple tree produced ok our first 3 yrs here but not great. Then one fall it had nothing on it. So this summer around june we chopped the top of it off. So it wasnt any more then 20 ft tall and all the small branches or downward hanging ones and we have apples coming out our ears this fall. We also use those fruit stakes (food) in the spring and fall around the trees. You can get them at lowes or any place you can get fertilizer. Our pear is about 30-40 ft tall and only gets little bit of fruit.. I heard they are sugar pears and red delicious apples. Fall is always the best time to prune trees. We live in SW Michigan. Good luck with yours and I'll keep checking back so I can get help on mine too

[North Beach Person]

Also look around for other apple trees nearby for pollination.

How To Prune An Apple Tree


YouTube - Fruitwise guide to pruning apple trees-part 1


YouTube - Fruitwise guide to pruning apple trees part 2

[mdvaden]

It's not too late to prune now, and probably the end of October to next March are ideal. Not sure if you get some hot days in summer like we do in Oregon, but the worst time to remove apple tree top-growth would be like June 1st to August, because sunburn tissue is more likely than not.

Google:

sunburn and sunscald to trees

Just like that, and you should find a good page about the problem. If it's been neglected, it may have to be corrected in stages over a few years. You may want to hire someone, but apple trees can be spendy to have down the right way by someone else. Maybe you would like to do it yourself.

[KarenBo]

Thanks all! I'm still working my way through the info to see if its possible to prune it myself or if I should hire a pro.

[lt_bean]

Hi Karen. I am a now Horticulture student, landscaper/professional gardener, and have worked with my mother's apple trees over the years. Most fruit trees bear in cycles: one year heavy, the next year scant, so a scant year is normal. Pruning will help though.

Also, the best time to prune is in the winter, but I have never done that LOL. Really, if you at least do just a little at a time that should be fine. You want to try to avoid pruning when it is flowering or fruiting, but it won't be that big of a deal. In Autumn after leaf fall through spring before bud is ideal.

-First, just prune off the dead and diseased stuff. That's probably the most important part. If a branch, even a tiny one, is dead and rots, if not pruned off so the tree can heal over that spot, it will literally rot all the way down into the core of the tree, eventually.
-Then another time, the little branches called the water shoots that shoot straight up from the bigger branches. They basically use up the tree's energy so it has less to flower & fruit.
-also, the little sucker shoots at the base the tree, or "root suckers"
-Then, yet another time you can do more shaping and thinning. Proper aeration is important, but more so is pruning branches that cross & touch others. That can also cause disease. Also, ones that grow towards the trunk

It sounds overwhelming when you think of it as one HUGE project, but it is actually better for the tree if you split it up. That gives it time to recover.

Here's also a good website DEP: Rejuvenating Apple Trees Fact Sheet.

Anyway, if you have questions just ask. It's not terribly complicated once you get out there and figure it out. Don't let it intimidate you. If you want tips on pruning techniques please don't hesitate to ask.