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Author Topic: Apple tree help please!  (Read 13645 times)

Mel

  • Guest
Re: Apple tree help please!
« Reply #15 on: November 20, 2013, 03:33:05 pm »
and the last three.

Mel

  • Guest
Re: Apple tree help please!
« Reply #16 on: November 20, 2013, 03:33:52 pm »
This is the growth on the pear trees.

HesterF

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Kent
  • HesterF
Re: Apple tree help please!
« Reply #17 on: November 20, 2013, 11:17:18 pm »
No, don't give up on them - they're all still growing. The damson looks really strong to me. I can't tell from the photos how much they've grown this year - have you recently pruned them? First thing clear the base, scatter some feed around them and mulch for a metre around with well rotted manure or compost. Secondly you do need some help with pruning. You want a shorter trunk and then a better wheel of branches coming out if you're looking for a bush formation:

http://secrets-of-self-sufficiency.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/patterns-of-pruning-to-build-a-dwarf-bush-apple-tree-dwarf-pyramid-and-cordon-from-a-one-year-ol.jpg

Most of them are too leggy at the moment. But don't touch any of the plums or stone fruit at the moment - they should be pruned in late spring. For the apples and pears, you can have a go now but do you have anybody that can help? Otherwise have a look on Youtube - I found some great videos on there. When you cut make sure you always cut to an outward facing bud so that the branch continues next year, otherwise you'll get dead wood around the place.

H

Mel

  • Guest
Re: Apple tree help please!
« Reply #18 on: November 20, 2013, 11:29:21 pm »
I cannot Thank you enough, and shall keep on with these, I shall be adding others anyhow. not sure what to do about those plums though, should I cut them down near half, that Damson I have no idea how old it is, when they fitted the new klargester, they ripped it out and threw it on the skip- I asked him to take his mini digger down and planted it there, it was some 20ft in height originally but this is how the left it. Ok, it did not fruit this year but it did bud and flower, but the flowers wilted and died.

I like to grow trees and not destroy them and is why I have so many down there.


HesterF

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Kent
  • HesterF
Re: Apple tree help please!
« Reply #19 on: November 20, 2013, 11:43:55 pm »
Leave the plums until about June. Then see where the branches are coming out lower down. Plums can be quite hard to tame anyway so they'll never look as neat as apples but basically you're trying to get the branches to come out sideways rather than letting them all head vertically. So when you make a cut, you're hoping that the bud that's coming out will go sideways for a bit before heading upwards. And then you do the same again a bit further up with a couple more branches. The general idea is that vertical growth is very vigorous but the tree puts the vigour into growing longer branches. The horizontal growth is less vigorous but better for fruiting. That's why forms such as espaliers are good because they get lots of fruit in a small area on horizontal growth (but not suitable for here - tend to be along walls or a framework and very time consuming to maintain). You don't want to cut right down to the first bud but you leave a few buds (some may fail), ideally all going in different directions so there are lots of branches on each section rather than long lengths with no side branches.

H

 

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