Planting apple trees

[kenmac]

as soon as it drys up here. I have a few plumb and peach trees to plant.
they sold me some soil conditioner to mix with the soil when covering back up.

about $35.00 per tree. I guess the trees are about 4.5- 5ft tall

 

[plowhog]

Just a quick update. In January I planted 5 bare root apple trees, one peach, and one cherry tree. My old orchard is withering away, and I want to keep some continuity of fruit for us and the wildlife.

This month I trimmed the old ancient apple trees. Then trimmed more, and more, more, more, more. It took about 5 days of trimming to do about 15 trees and if I had time I could spend a few more days. But I need to move onto other projects.

My ancient apple trees range from "not bad" to "on their last legs." I could not prune even close to how it is recommended, as they are so badly neglected from so many years of non-pruning that things are just haywire. The shape of these trees is far from the shape in the pictures that are provided as example of how to trim. Some trees *only* had branches growing straight up or straight down-- making it a challenge to prune. But, I did all the best things I could do, and believe I promoted the best longevity I can get out of them.

The family bought the property in the 1960's. The apple orchard was in an mature back then-- more than 50 years ago. I think I will contact the Felix Gillette people as they may be interested in these trees that have survived for so many years-- and continue to do so.

I also pruned the walnut trees today. They were also mature back in the 1960's. I was surprised how many 3" dead branches I cut out of the trees but the walnut trees are more vigorous and healthy, in general, than the apples.

Thanks again for all the advice. I used the gopher cages on the new plantings-- before this thread I had never heard of that.

 

[Oaktree]

I don't expect fruit for at least 3 years.

Don't know where you live, but it was 8-10 years before we got anything on our apple trees. Even now (~12 years on) they're not exactly loaded. The wild trees on our property are generally quite prolific, if not always edible.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
It depends on your root stock among other things. A "standard", non dwarfing tree takes a long time to fruit. If you plant ladderless trees, the kind which needs a trellis for support you can expect to start picking in two years and get full production not long afterwards.

 

[RalphVa]

Check with your extension office re varieties that do well there. I had several from a previous owner's planting in NJ. Depends on whether you want a cooking or eating apple. Had both kinds there. I didn't know beans about pruning them then but seemed to do a decent job, mainly cut out dead and dying and crossing branches. DO NOT fertilize the trees with tree spikes.

You plant bare root trees with a skinny shovel. Just shove it into the dirt and rotate it to the side, poke the tree in, making sure not deeper than its grafting joint, rotate shovel back and stomp the dirt. Preferably water with one of those watering things that stay there and dribble the water in near the tree.

Ralph

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
That will work, but I prefer to dig a bigger hole and fill it with amended soil to give the tree a head start. I won't even use my BH because I want straight, even sides so that the roots grow out, not up. When I worked in the orchard decades ago the holes were dug with a 24" auger on the post hole digger; every time he hit a rock we'd dig by hand while he went back to the shop and welded it up. That place was recently bought by the "Farmland Trust"; the next time I went past there were cows grazing, and the trees I helped plant 35 years ago are gone.

 

[Jstpssng]

Just a quick update. In January I planted 5 bare root apple trees, one peach, and one cherry tree. My old orchard is withering away, and I want to keep some continuity of fruit for us and the wildlife.

This month I trimmed the old ancient apple trees. Then trimmed more, and more, more, more, more. It took about 5 days of trimming to do about 15 trees and if I had time I could spend a few more days. But I need to move onto other projects.

My ancient apple trees range from "not bad" to "on their last legs." I could not prune even close to how it is recommended, as they are so badly neglected from so many years of non-pruning that things are just haywire. The shape of these trees is far from the shape in the pictures that are provided as example of how to trim. Some trees *only* had branches growing straight up or straight down-- making it a challenge to prune. But, I did all the best things I could do, and believe I promoted the best longevity I can get out of them.

The family bought the property in the 1960's. The apple orchard was in an mature back then-- more than 50 years ago. I think I will contact the Felix Gillette people as they may be interested in these trees that have survived for so many years-- and continue to do so.

I also pruned the walnut trees today. They were also mature back in the 1960's. I was surprised how many 3" dead branches I cut out of the trees but the walnut trees are more vigorous and healthy, in general, than the apples.

Thanks again for all the advice. I used the gopher cages on the new plantings-- before this thread I had never heard of that.

Bringing back old trees can't be done overnight. I worked for a farmer who was still selling apples, but had let the trees get so bad that I don't know how he got down the rows to spray. It took about 7years for me to get the trees back to where I wanted them; first I had to build wood growing out from the center of the tree, before I could start cutting them back in. I also cut everything which I couldn't reach from my 13' ladder; his sprayer won't reach any higher than that so there's no sense growing apples.
One thing I've since invested in is a power pole saw; mine goes onto a Stihl multi tool but there are other brands out there for a lot less money. I've even heard that the electric ones work well, and have a longer reach than what I have. Just be careful not to pinch the bar.

 

[Diggin It]

^^^^
That will work, but I prefer to dig a bigger hole and fill it with amended soil to give the tree a head start. I won't even use my BH because I want straight, even sides so that the roots grow out, not up.

That's a thing? I have a BH, but no PHD and I wasn't about to go back to a shovel for 15+ trees. Got mine from a Big Box store on clearance last fall. People told me that wasn't the best way to do it, but it's all I had at the time.

They all look like they'll leaf out in the next week of so. One thing that bugs me is that of the two Pear trees I got to cross pollinate each other, one is in bloom and the other isn't. Maybe I should have got a Partridge too?

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^^
It probably doesn't make a difference but when I was landscaping the owner was always drilling us not to put a 20 dollar tree into a 3 dollar hole.
The place where you got your trees from should be able to tell you which pears will cross pollintate; often they will tell you right in the catalog.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Labor costs are why older trees are taken out of production. The tree itself will produce fruit for a century, if it is pruned and cared for. My parents bought a farm in 1961 that had mature standard apple trees about 12" dbh. Pruning was my hobby for years, so I maintained the trees for years, shaping them, choosing a water sprout to make a main branch 10 years later, etc. They were still producing heavily when we sold the farm in 2015. At a guess the trees were about 80 years old, but still productive and nice to look it.

The thing is, it took me about three days work to prune each tree. If you were paying somebody to do the work, you would quickly go broke. When I was a teenager, I got winter work pruning a peach orchard. I could prune them flat footed in about 10-20 minutes, averaging about 5 trees an hour. At the most, pickers only needed a short ladder. That's the sort of productivity a commercial grower needs.