Picked up 11 Apple trees today for my property. These are semi dwarf Liberty and are suppose to be very hearty for the north and disease resistant. Gotta make some fences for them and get them in the ground. Been wanting to do this for years and if I had just gone and done it instead of talking about it I'd have apples by now Anybody else besides hounddog putting in fruit trees?
Post by treerodent on Apr 20, 2007 21:02:20 GMT -5
I planted two apple trees last year. One was a Liberty and the other was a Red Delicious. They were leafed out really good, one even had a bloom on it, then we got all this cold weather and it zapped them pretty good. They look to be coming out of it though. I am kinda shopping around for some sort of plum tree right now. Like to get a couple of those in the ground this spring. JC, you making the fences to keep bucks off of them in the winter or to keep the rabbits from chewing on them?
Rodent, The fences are to keep the deer from eating all the new growth. I had started some apple trees in NH and they were doing awesome, then deer ate all the new growth and the trees never bounced back. The trees are in a tender stage when the new growth is forming and they need to be protected. After about 5 years the cages can come down. The deer will still hit the growth on the lower branches but it won't have the same effacts on the tree. To keep the rabbits from girdling the saplings just paint the first few feet of trunk with white latex paint. ;D
Post by hounddog25 on Apr 21, 2007 15:48:27 GMT -5
looking good JC.....treerodent...you need a pollinater for the red delicious.it neds to be the yellow delicious or it wont produce.orchards thatg row red's use yellow on every forth row of trees.that is how much it takes for them to produce a good crop.hope this helps.a few apple trees are sterile and wont pollinate anything.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived. ......Henry David Thoreau
Post by hounddog25 on Apr 22, 2007 22:24:23 GMT -5
just a few more thoughts........pollinators...you need them.the more varieties of trees you plant the better they produce.you can buy what is called a pollinator tree.i planted a few of these last year.you can put them between your regular apple trees and just keep them pruned up nice and tight.they only need to come out and put out pollen.so they don't take away anything form being so close to other trees.also the crabapple is a good pollinator for all apple trees.
JC you should check out the cummins nursery in your state.i have talked a good bit with this former professor .he use to run the new york experimental station.he retired and took alot of the old apple varieties with him.he is on the web and can really help you out .he has a limited supply of each variety of tree .so it is good to order early in fall for the late winter/spring time planting of trees. hope this helps you folks out some.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I have not lived. ......Henry David Thoreau