Hello,
I have a 12 year old apple tree. It is well pruned, but year after year I get no fruit buds. (well 5 to 10) Should I be adding some kind of fertilizer. Any idea to make my apple tree produces buds ?? thanks
ken
Does it leaf out? Does it flower? What do you mean by "fruit buds"? When do you prune the tree? How skillfully pruned is "well pruned"? You may be pruning away bearing wood.
There are a lot of leaves. I have pruned it so that all branches are almost horizontal. I pruned it this year and only pruned the shoots, Actually last year too, and removing the branches that goes straight up. I have another small apple tree and it does flower and gives fruit. I mean by fruit buds, the little 1 inch buds that the flower grow out of, there are barely none on that tree.
kYou have left out some important information. What variety of apple is this? What rootstock is it on. If it is on standard rootstock, it will be slower to produce fruit than a dwarf tree. It if is a tip bearer (fruit on the end of the branch), excessive pruning can cut off the next seasons fruit bearing branch tips. Is the tree getting enough sunlight? When you answer these questions, I might be able to help you.
Sherw> Hello,
Yes it is getting a lot of sunlight. It is a mixed variety. There are
5 types of apples on it (hybrid). it is not a dwarf tree, but it it not huge either.it is about 17 feet of circumference. I f you want I can put a link with a picture of it later today. thanks ken
That's not a hybrid, per se. As I understand it, that's a lot of grafting onto what is essentially a single rootstock.
I've read about those trees but have not tried to grow one. I have always wondered if they could really reliably produce anything and (and this may be part of your problem) for how long they could produce it.
Ken,
By dwarf, I was refering to the rootstock which determines the final size of the tree. If it is not on dwarf rootstock, that could delay the time to see fruit emerging. I am not a big fan of these multiple fruit trees. I had one of multiple asian pears, and it only bore fruit one season before dying. I assume that all five varieties have the same problem. I would try foregoing the pruning for one year, and see if that makes a difference. The other thing I would look at is climate. What zone are you in, or where do you live? Depending on the varieties of apples, they may not be suited for your climate (not enough chill hours is the usual culprit).
Sherwin D.
Where are you? Does the tree get the necessary hours of chilling in the winter?
I am live in montreal (well close to it anyway). There are many orchads nearby so growing apple trees is not a problem. I do have another apple tree about 4 years old and it has many flowers on it.
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