Help with Apple Trees
Whitetail Deer
I planted (10) 3 year old grafted trees this spring. They seem to be doing well. They are about 5' tall and are starting to sprout branches off the main trunk. I was told that I could get fruit from them this fall but I should pick off any flowers that I see to prevent fruits this year which will allow the trees to use all their energy towards growing their root system. I have no problem doing this, do you guys agree?
My main problem is while checking on them yesterday, 3 of the 10 had beetles eating the leaves. The other 7 had no issues. They seem to be Japanese beetles but I am no beetle expert. How can I prevent the beetles from continuing to eat the leaves and eventually kill the trees?
Is there any type of fertilizer or "food" that I can/should apply to the trees or ground near them which will help them grow quicker and stronger?
For what it is worth, my soil PH is 5.6, would it help to apply lime to the general area where the trees are planted to bring the PH up?
This is my first attempt at planting fruit trees so any help or advice that you guys could give me would be greatly appreciated.
no expert but have the following advice:
put affected leaves with beetles in a sealed plastic bag and take to nursery for id and control recs. your local ag agent/farm advisor may be able to help also.
definitely no fruit for the first few seasons, both to help trees get established, channel growth, and because branches are likely too weak to support fruit. If you don't know when/how to prune get help on this also (start with Dr. Google)
do you have access to composted horse manure? applied as top dressing will help get organic content into soil.
I always spread 10-10-10 around my fruit and nut trees. You can pick the flowers/young apples off this year, for the reason you mentioned.
Just post the picture of the beetles here and someone will be able to positively id it. Chances are very good that it is a Japanese beetle. Sevin spray has always done a good job at killing them for me.
Pick flowers put growth into trunk etc. Limbs will struggle supporting weight of fruit anyway.
Old rule of thumb. A bird should be able to fly through the middle of the tree. Don't be afraid to prune. Prune early spring late fall. No limbs allowed that are, crossing or growing straight up. Watch you tube pruning videos or read a good book on fruit tree pruning. Or both.
10-10-10 as stated.
I have a gallon milk jug with four holes hanging on each tree. (My mom taught me this) Mix in jug is: 1 cup molasses 1 cup water 1 package of dry yeast. This attracts and kills insects, worms, tent caterpillars etc. They go to it instead of your trees and fruit. Can also spray if need arises.
prune till you have a single trunk, don't allow trees to spout multiple trunks, or sucker, any low nitrogen fert is fine, and don't worry about the apples if any do appear, tree is to small and young to get any or many. I only have light fruit this yr due to late frost killing flowers. If you buy grafted trees they be dwarfed, if you grow your own from seeds, they take longer to fruit, but grow stronger and have better root systems,. gafted apples tend have poor tape roots and little side roots and may need stakes to support them as they mature.
Hit the Japanese beetles with a mixture of Spectracide Once-and-Done or Sevin. No fertilizer the first year. Triple 10 will work in subsequent years, but don't go too heavy when they are young. You could add some lime periodicallly as it takes a while to really move the ph. I would also do other sprays earlier in the season next year especially for plum curcullio right after petal drop.
MW66 has it right. Not recommended to fertilize the first year your tree is in the ground. Once-and-Done or Sevin should do the trick for the Jap Beetles, and it very likely is Jap Beetles, because they love apple leaves and this is the time of year that they emerge, I've got them starting on my apple tree leaves, too.
Definitely need to raise the PH of your soil a bit, I would spread high calcium (not high magnesium) lime around your trees every year for the next several years. You can get it bagged, in pellet form, via NutraLime, which I get at Rural King. White bag with green lettering.
Good luck.
Thanks guys for all the input. I have had them in the ground for about 3 weeks now and I was actually alittle surprised with how much they have grown already. I bet you they have all grown atleast 6" or so and it seems as though they have put alittle girth on their trunks too. When I first got them they were just a main trunk with a few leaves. Now they have a ton of leaves and are all starting to sprout branches, hopefully they continue they way they are growing.
Another interesting thing is the beetles are only on 3 of the 10 trees. I wonder why they are selecting only those three?
I have read that chicken manure is good fertilizer as well. I have a chicken coup so I will have an unlimited supply of this "fertilizer", do you guys recommend that I spread that around the trees?
Depending on your region Japanese beetles are just starting to emerge. I typically spray my orchard right around July 1st every year for these insects. I used to have cherry trees and they would seem to defoliate them overnight if I wasn't watching closely. They hit my apple trees, but nothing like cherry and I plan to spray Spectracide on Friday morning. I've only just started to see them around by me.
