I want to buy an apple tree! Help please! :-)

[Guest guest]

I would like to buy a teenage apple tree. By teenage I mean I don't

want to buy a baby bare root where I might have to wait years for a

piece of fruit. And I don't want to have to pay a fortune for a full-

grown daddy. So I figure a moderate sized teenager would be a good

choice, but I have no experience in this so I am just guessing these

things are true.

 

Is there such a thing as a year-round apple tree, probably not? Well

if there is let me know! Otherwise are there some apple trees that

produce longer than others? Please let me know what they are.

Otherwise I think I want a Fuji apple tree. I like " some " of the Fuji

apples I buy. Some of the medium and small ones are good. I buy them

in a 3-pound bag from Whole Foods. Sometimes they're out so I have to

buy other apples. I tried the loose slightly bigger Fuji's thinking

they would taste the same and they were so not the same. They were

mushy and had a different flavor. Man that sucks! Anyway I'm open to

all suggestions.

 

Also I want to buy another fruit tree that I have not decided on yet.

I'm thinking maybe plum or lemon. Any thoughts on that would be

appreciated too. Thanks!

 

Minnie

[Guest guest]

rawfood , " minnie9090 " <minnie9090 wrote:

>

> I would like to buy a teenage apple tree.

 

I live in Northern California, USA!

 

Minnie

[Guest guest]

Well, unless you spend quite a bit of money, you won't be getting a bumper

crop in your first year.

 

That said, there are many varieties of apple tree that you can get. You'll

want to look at an area nursery and talk with the nursery employees about

varieties that do best in your area.

 

Depending on when you buy, you can get an idea of how far along the tree is

and when you can first expect fruit. For example, one of our nurseries had

some year-end sales and among the fruit trees being cleared out was one that

had a full grown, ripened apple on it. LOL I didn't have the money to buy

it at the time but I'd have liked to added that one to my lot.

 

For your selection, go for dwarf varieties and keep them pruned to a height

that you can easily manage. You may even want to consider espalier. Buy

more than one and if possible, locate them near a crab apple tree. (Apple

trees have a short window during which they can be pollinated so you'll want

as many blooms available as possible and a crabapple tree is a good way to

ensure there's ample pollen and pollinators in your area.) I cannot

emphasize enough aving pollen sources and pollinators around when the apple

tree is ready.

 

You can plant dwarf stock fairly close together to increase production. For

example, you can make a 4x4 bed divided in 4 equal squares and plant one

tree in each square. Again, pruning and manageability are important factors

here.

 

Another trick to increase variety and likelihood of pollination is to splice

different types of apples to branches on the apple tree. Splicing is an

interesting thing. Some will splice branches from crab apples to their

trees to increase pollination.

 

In any case, you really should not expect a solid offering from the tree for

1-3 years, even if it's relatively mature. The first year will be spent

developing roots and getting over any transplant shock. The second year you

might get a small crop but it isn't going to be a lot (ergo the suggestion

to plant several trees). In the third year you'll likely start seeing

something. All this depends on how " mature " the tree is when you buy it and

the best bet for getting a relatively mature tree is going to be your local

nursery.

 

Good luck!

 

James