9 year old apple tree,has produced only 2 apples,,why?
Question:my apple tree in my backyard has only had 2 blooms ,producing 2 apples in 9 yrs. it is starting to grow just straight up. what is wrong? why only 2 apples?
Answers:
It is probably one of two things.
1) Root stock growing: If the tree was grafted onto root stock, it might be growing from below the graft point. Root stock is usually used to keep a tree "dwarfed". It makes trees the right size for back yards. It's also a strong grower. It does not, however, produce good apples. The grafted top is the producer. But sometimes that dies back, or the root stock starts sprouting. So look for a kind of gnarled point low on the trunk to see if your active growth is coming from top or root stock.
2) Pollination: Do you have just one tree? Apples are not self-fruitful. That is, they need another apple tree, of another variety, within close proximity. A crabapple is a great pollinator for apples. If you have only one tree, you clip blooming crabapple branches and put them in a pail of water under your tree when your tree is blooming and that will work. The other factor in pollination is bees or other pollinators. You need them, unless you intend to go from flower to flower with a teeny paintbrush. :-D In a little outfit with wings. hehe!
If you ever get a chance to go to an apple orchard do it. The trees there are the uglyest specimens, but they prune them for production.
To answer your question, along with senseable pruning, it needs food, water and sunlight.
Apple trees need another tree to pollinate them. What else you growing?
Some apple trees are self-sterile, meaning they can only be pollinated by apples of a different variety. A small flowering crabapple will do for most purposes.ask your local grower.
(by the way, here's a quick and dirty proof it's a pollination problem. A well pollinated apple tree will give you about 1 apple for every 3 blossoms...if your tree is full of flowers but not fruit, it's pollination...unless a neighbor's picking your apple blossoms, that is!)
If you were anywhere near where I live, the late freeze zapped most of any potential blooms. I had a pear tree that managed to squeeze out two blooms this year after the freeze.
Get a book at the library on pruning. Make sure the tree gets lots of sun. Water when it hasn't rained in a couple weeks. Put a hose over the rootball, set to a mere trickle. and let it go for 45 minutes. This will ensure that the water will penetrate the rootball, and not just run over the ground and flow away.
Some fruit tree fertilizer wouldn't hurt, either.
Also - a nine year old tree is just old enough to start bearing. Some bear a little younger if they have ideal circumstances. But a 9 year old that is just beginning to flower is not out of the ordinary.
go to ur nursery or ochard and ask them
I agree completely with LabGrrl above... exactly what I was going to say :)
LaWeezel...said it the best.
It only needs two apples..one for Adam and one For eve..Right? sorry couldn't contain myself on this one!
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