apple tree's

[066blaster]

This picture is a mistake, I can't get it out because I am ignorant. Do you have issues with rabbits

Here are my 2.5 year old trees. These are on #9 & #111 rootstock. These are Linda Macs.
Pretty impressive since these were 1/2 - 5/8ths stock.

The new trees.

 

[c5rulz]

Rabbits haven't been an issue but I keep the drain tile around the trees "just in case".

 

[066blaster]

A flash back to last winter 2 foot of snow on the ground and some 4-5 foot drifts. Rabbits were able to get above the guards on the trees and girdle some of them. I actually had to clear the snow. I got a wire fence up now.

 

[c5rulz]

Great pics Shawn. It was good talking to you the other night. Thanks for all the info.

 

[066blaster]

Great pics Shawn. It was good talking to you the other night. Thanks for all the info.

Nice talking to you as well.

 

[066blaster]

Great pics Shawn. It was good talking to you the other night. Thanks for all the info.

You can see in the close up of that tree I have the tree attached directly to the wire. I no longer do that. I added the conduit later. I now attach the tree to the conduit, and attach the wires to the conduit.

 

[066blaster]

Also a thought on the drain tile. I have some up 24 inches on the trees. I use it because it is the cheapest and easiest way of protecting them. My concern is it could harbor insects, moles or mice, fungus. I always spray down in them the best I can. A 5 inch diameter loop of chicken wire or really small welded wire would be the preferred method. Cut a 12 inch length of 24 inch tall, wrap around the tree connect the ends with 2 or 3 zip ties. Then you can see what's going on,and apply spray to the area. I had done this to most of my tree's only problem is I only went 12 inches high.

 

[066blaster]

On this tree the damage was all the way around the main stem. I cut it of below the damage in march. It was 6.5 foot tall at the end of this season. It also has grown some nice lateral branches. I don't know if it will bear fruit next season but by the following I think it will be just as big as the rest.

 

[c5rulz]

On this tree the damage was all the way around the main stem. I cut it of below the damage in march. It was 6.5 foot tall at the end of this season. It also has grown some nice lateral branches. I don't know if it will bear fruit next season but by the following I think it will be just as big as the rest.View attachment 379355

It's pretty amazing when you have a good root/rootstock in the ground, how that severe of a heading cut can recover. I had one tree of my young ones that was a single whip with no feathers. It ended up being one of the largest trees in the first season.

 

[066blaster]

I checked my trees today and noticed a tree had rabbit damage, despite the fence I put up. I think there is some areas they might be able to wiggle under without any snow on the ground. I had been keeping a live trap outside the fence and have caught 3 rabbits, but didn't reset It after I released the last one. I will be keeping that trap baited to catch anything that comes around....

I also decided to put guards around the new trees. I am using 1 .5 inch sump pump drain hose. It's cheaper and easier than the large drain tile, only requires a utility knife. And doesn't scrape the bark when you put it on.

 

[066blaster]

The trees will outgrow the hose after 5 or 6 years but will just open it up a little and should still protect them. When we get some snow I should be able to tell where they are getting in and will take care of that.

 

[c5rulz]

Hi Shaun,

Glad to say bunnies are one problem I don't have.

 

[066blaster]

Hi Shaun,

Glad to say bunnies are one problem I don't have.

Your lucky, they are my biggest problem.

 

[066blaster]

You probably noticed there is no conduit by these tree's. What I did with this row of trees was just pound conduit by the trees that were leaning an attached them. In spring I will put in the rest of the conduit and build the trellis for them. I got busy with other things. You don't really need a trellis till year 2. I'm good at making excuses

 

[Wildland_Firefighter]

I planted some red delicious apple seeds but I know I need to get some clippings from an apple tree that's producing apples. Where can I get some?

Also what insecticide and fungicide you use?

 

[066blaster]

I planted some red delicious apple seeds but I know I need to get some clippings from an apple tree that's producing apples. Where can I get some?

Also what insecticide and fungicide you use?

The seeds won't produce a red delicious. They will be a cross of whatever other variety pollinated it. It would be best to buy a tree. I wouldn't bother trying to root a cutting either. If you do either it may take 6 or more years to get a apple. You need an appropriate rootstock .

 

[066blaster]

I checked my trees today and noticed a tree had rabbit damage, despite the fence I put up. I think there is some areas they might be able to wiggle under without any snow on the ground. I had been keeping a live trap outside the fence and have caught 3 rabbits, but didn't reset It after I released the last one. I will be keeping that trap baited to catch anything that comes around....

I also decided to put guards around the new trees. I am using 1 .5 inch sump pump drain hose. It's cheaper and easier than the large drain tile, only requires a utility knife. And doesn't scrape the bark when you put it on.View attachment 388894View attachment 388895 View attachment 388897

Another benefit to these smaller guards is the suckers will grow outside of them and can be removed easily. It's been a pain with the larger tile or the chicken wire or hardware cloth. The suckers grow through the wire or you have to lift the large tile because they grow inside it. These guards are 18-24 inches high, I just custom cut them to go up to the lowest branch on each tree.
You can buy the white guards specifically made for trees but they are about $1 a piece. It was about .35 to do it like this. Bud 9 rootstock produces a lot of suckers each year. Some near the trunk some a foot away. If you had the time and desire to do so. They can be pulled out and planted, and grafted the following year.

 

[066blaster]

First year honey crisp tree. 4 nice apples. Only about 5 percent of first year trees set fruit and you should probably pick them off and let the tree put all its energy into making wood( growing the tree) because once you start cropping these dwarf tree's ( year 2 and 3) vegetative growth really slows down, especially honeycrisp. I'm gonna try growing pears with this tall spindle system, asian and European. The only problem is there isn't a good dwarf rootstock that's winter hardy, so I'm going to try a semi dwarf and keep it pruned good. I think I can get a premium price at the farmers markets for pears. I actually like eating pears more than apples. Maybe I'm just sick of apples since most of the apples I eat are just testing for ripeness, and are not sweet.

 

[c5rulz]

Looks good Shawn,

Great branch angles.

Any pears I have dealt with want to grow straight up and they get unmanageable real fast.

 

[066blaster]

Looks good Shawn,

Great branch angles.

Any pears I have dealt with want to grow straight up and they get unmanageable real fast.

They have done some trials with bartlett, bosc, ect. On tall spindle and they produced really well. They said the fruit size was a little smaller but figured with better thinning it would increase. I have never heard of it done with asian pears but I'm gonna try. I bought a bunch of big mother trees ,7 foot well branched , several varieties. They were like $50 a piece. And I bought a bunch of rootstocks. I'm gonna make my own trees. The rootstocks are only $1.85 a piece and I can also manipulate the branches when they are small. I might start making my own apple trees as well. Bud 9 rootstock can be bought for $1.85 as well.