3 year old apple trees not producing any more

[TG]

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05) I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...

TIA

[sherwindu]

A few facts are missing. Did the trees produce any blossoms? If yes, then it could be a pollination issue. If not, the trees may be in a biennial cycle, where they will produce fruit every other year. Control against this is proper thinning, so that the trees do not overproduce in any given year.

Sherw> I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and

[Jangchub]

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at

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[TG]

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am > the first year they produced on what was stored when you planted them. actually,

[Jangchub]

You should easily find varieties to suit your conditions, but no fruit tree will bloom or fruit unless it is in full sun. Full sun means all day long, morning till evening, at least 8-10 hours.

The >Thanks for the answers all.

>

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at

up: the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website. I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

[sherwindu]

Maybe you should tell that to several apple trees in my backyard getting a half day of sun.

Sherw> You will most likely never get apples. They require full sunshine.

[sherwindu]

TG,

Here are a few measures you can take to try and correct this problem.

Try some light Winter pruning. It sometimes stimulates the trees to produce blossoms.

Check the chemical makeup of the soil around the trees. It could be something like a Nitrogen deficiency, or something else.

Try pruning some of the trees shading the apple trees to see if light is a factor. As I have mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I have apple and other fruit trees that do ok in partial sun. It depends somewhat on which variety you have.

Sherw> Thanks for the answers all.

>

[sherwindu]

Where are you getting your information from? Yes, they will do better in full sun, but it is not a requirement as I know from my own experiences.

Sherwin D.

[sherwindu]

If you read his postings carefully, he says he almost never gets any blossoms. If you are refering to something killing the flower buds, that is something else.

Sherwin D.

[Jangchub]

[TG]

Thanks

The trees seem very healthy, lots of leaves and new growth, just no blossoms. I was thinking about pruning this fall/early winter, do you know any good online resources on pruning?

I am thinking about relocating them to a sunnier location, but they have been in about 4 years now and are pretty established. Where they are they do get 5-6 hours of sunlight in the months of may/june/jul and a tad less on each side of those.

A soil test is a good idea, I did put > TG,

[sherwindu]

Say about 4 hours. Most of my apple trees are semi-dwarfs on the west side of my house and only get the afternoon sun. A few are on my south boundary north of a line of my neighbors tall pines and buckthorn. Even less light gets there.

Sherw> How long is half a day?

[sherwindu]

There are numerous sites on the web about pruning. Just plug in 'fruit tree pruning' into google.

I would only move one at this time as an experiment to see if sunlight is really a factor here. Of course, moving it introduces a new variable of possibly different soil, etc.

As I answered before, that normally is plenty of sunlight.

Just noticed this remark. You are in a very cold climate where most apple varieties will not thrive, or may even die. If your variety is not very cold hearty, that could also be the problem here. Strange that you were able to get blossoms the first year, but you may have had a mild winter that year.

Sherwin D.

>

[Jangchub]

Eventually your trees will stop producing because of the low light situation.

In the case of the original poster, apple trees don't actually start producing fruit for up to seven or more years old. The first few are from stress related last ditch effort to produce seeds. Nature is interesting.

[sherwindu]

You are talking about Standard size trees. Dwarfs and semi-dwarfs produce several years earlier. I have had trees produce a few apples one year after I grafted them. I skipped letting them grow, but I get several more on successive seasons.

This last ditch effort is just that. A tree is dying. In his case, the trees have been healthy for a few years after planting, although the blossom production is still a problem.

I'm curious if you are getting these ideas from your own experiences, or are interpreting what you were told or read about.

Sherwin D.

[TG]

From when do you start counting the seven years? From when they are transplanted? Or sprouted from a cutting or seed?

The trees were in 5 gallon pots and about 6' tall when I planted them.

[simy1]

This is, of course, the whole story. It is too cold there for apple trees, and they don't fruit.

[Jangchub]

From the day it is planted in the ground.