apple trees

[westcoast]

I have an area I planted 7-8 years ago with a wide range of trees 0.25ha. 5 types willow, rowan,alder,birch etc .Being on the west coast near the sea its a harsh environment lacking shelter. They are now a reasonable size(upto 10ft) and providing shelter and I would like to plant fruit trees apples and some plum (April is planting time here) I was thinking about a couple of dozen the type on limiting rootstocks. Looked at a company online Adams Apples who do 6 cider apple trees for £60 and 10 mixed apples for £100 plums for £15 each. Thinking 2 X 6 cider plus 1 X 10 mixed and 3 plums.

Anyone have any dealings with them? I intend to have it low maint (get them established and pretty much leave them to it) as in harvest them for cider and sauce and could if need be when things get tighter tend them more to increase yield.

I have no experience of apple/plums trees any thoughts and advice gratefully appreciated. Alternative ideas and suppliers welcome too!

[UndercoverElephant]

Hi westcoast.

You do have to prune fruit trees, especially apples. If you just leave them to do what they want then they get "out of control" with crossed branches all over the place, and too many branches, the lower ones of which will not get enough light to set fruit properly. It's not difficult, but you do have to reserve some time in the winter to do it. You have to take out any crossing branches and when the centre gets too dense you take out one of the main trunks going up the middle to create a sort of "goblet" effect.

I bought a house last year which had one very old, and large, cooking apple tree in the garden. It also had several damsons, some of which appear to be suckers (sprouted from the rootstock, and no good for producing fruit). None of them had been pruned for years. It was quite a mess, and they have now had a major haircut.

You do also need to keep an eye out for certain pests and diseases, or you might lose your whole crop to something unpleasant.

[kenneal - lagger]

You should prune apples in the summer before the fruit is ripe. If you prune them in the winter they produce more green than fruit.

[UndercoverElephant]

https://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Pr ... spx?pid=90

Apple and pear trees should be pruned every winter to ensure a good crop of fruit the following season. Trees that are not pruned become less productive and congested with old branches. Pruning is not difficult and the aim is to create an open goblet shape with a framework of about five main branches.

http://voices.yahoo.com/when-prune-appl ... tml?cat=32

The best times to prune apple trees is in the late winter months and into the early spring months. This is due to the fact that the tree is dormant and isn't going to be producing any fruit for a while. You're not going to want to prune mid season because you will stunt the growth of the tree as well as the growth of the apple on the branches you cut.

[emordnilap]

Hi westcoast

Is there an organisation anything like this in Scotland? Ours is handily only 20 miles from us and a tremendous resource. Their focus is on heritage organic apples, research and promotion, amongst other foods. They currently have around 140 Irish apple varieties growing.

There are various pdfs and articles on the site which may help you: see here for instance.

[Tarrel]

Very useful thread. We're also looking at planting more fruit trees.

[kenneal - lagger]

https://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Pr ... spx?pid=90

Apple and pear trees should be pruned every winter to ensure a good crop of fruit the following season. Trees that are not pruned become less productive and congested with old branches. Pruning is not difficult and the aim is to create an open goblet shape with a framework of about five main branches.

http://voices.yahoo.com/when-prune-appl ... tml?cat=32

The best times to prune apple trees is in the late winter months and into the early spring months. This is due to the fact that the tree is dormant and isn't going to be producing any fruit for a while. You're not going to want to prune mid season because you will stunt the growth of the tree as well as the growth of the apple on the branches you cut.

I was going by what Monty Don said on the BBC. You do, if fact, want to stunt the growth of the tree because you want that effort to go into the apples rather than greenery.

[biffvernon]

If I know anything about trees on the west coast of Scotland, they get stunted quite well enough without summer pruning.

I'd only prune in winter.

Aldi are, allegedly, selling stupidly excellent value apple trees this week.

[RenewableCandy]

I was taught that if you prune in winter, more branches will grow from the one you've cut off. You do this 'til the tree's about the raight shape (like a wine-goblet, as someone said earlier). Once the tree's the right shape, pruning in the summer is for stopping te branches from growing much longer, because you want the effort to go into making fruit.

[RenewableCandy]

Oh and Aldi are doing fruit trees for £3.50 each at the mo., and they don't look bad either.

[westcoast]

Any idea what variety Aldi have? They are nowhere near where I am but I could get a family member to get a pile and heel them in for a few weeks. if suitable I could get more trees and this would offset the enevitable losses we get here.

Thanks for the links emordnilap I shall have a look this weekend.

Planning some manure, pin ground cover sheet 1m X 1m square on top and plant through should work OK

[RenewableCandy]

I remember seeing a Braeburn but more than that I can't say. There were also pears and plums and the like.

[Pepperman]

are you sure about April being the planting season for fruit trees? Bare rooted trees which you will order online should really be planted in winter when the trees are dormant - April's getting a bit late I think.

The general rule is prune stone fruits in summer, apples and pears in winter.

[Pepperman]

Also I personally wouldn't plant cider apples. Any apple will make cider and you can also use non-cider apples for other purposes. Just go for a good mix of sweet and tart apples and you'll produce some very credible tasting cider.

[UndercoverElephant]

I'm planning on using our bramleys to make cider next year. Apparently they are quite difficult to use because they are so hard, but there is nothing wrong with the cider you get at the end of the process.