Heyup,
Just go an allotment, have got the main part of it mostly clear of junk and rotten carpet, still need to finish that and fork over the growing space...and start a compost heap, sort out water collection and repair the shed...and get seeds and tools...shame I've found myself a bit broke right now!
Anyway, the plot has an apple tree, which my neighbours say did not fruit last year. We are guessing that the fact that the bee hives a few plots down have been removed might have summat to do with it. Does anyone have any ideas what to do about it please?
bah....wanted to go to it today, but I'm having to wait in for a phone call
Well I'm by no means a fruit tree expert, but last year was not going to be a good year. We had very cold weather very late, which might have damaged blossom?
If it was me, I'd just see what happens this year, you might get a better picture of the state of the tree.
There can be many reasons for fruit tree not to produce..lack of pollinators, weather, lack of nutriens, general health of the tree etc,etc,
But to start with..if you keep the ground under neath clear from junk there won't be restrictions for rainfall..you could give it a feed during next month..any general sort will do..growmore, blood fish and bone meal etc...sprinkle it underneath the trees canopy area and give slight rake.
If there is any damaged branches you could saw/cut those off but otherwise I would leave pruning to minimum for now.
Allotments usually have several apple trees about,,enough to provide flowers to pollination..if that tree has fruited before that should not be issue.. but remedy for that would be planting other suitable tree.
Other than that there is not much else you can do for now...come May/June...you could give it a feed again and keep any growth underneath down..strimmed or mowed and/or mulched...
..and about the beehive...lack of pollinators could have effect..but even without the hive there should be some bumblebees about to be able to pollinate even odd fruit or two.
What you could do though..just to attract some pollinators ..you could sow some flower seeds..everybody must have a little patch or two of some ground which is not going to be used as such..you could get something like poach eggplant seeds..cost around 30p in Wilko's..rake some in surface on soil in Feb/March time and leave to it...you will always have some flowers after that..they will readily selfseed but are not difficult to get rid of if they prove to be bit 'frisky' :-X Shallow rooted as they are..they are easy to rip/scrape off and put into compost heap or even useds as greenmulch ;)
some other bee atracting plants are poppies, phacelia..even if you get 'old' cabbage or turnip and plant it up and allow them to grow flowers...doesn't cost a fortune..
Many old/established/neglected trees go over to biennial bearing which means very heavy crop one year and then almost nothing the next... wait and see what it does this year... :)
have a look around other plots to see what other apples are growing and ask the plot holders what your tree does usually - could just have been as Saddad says or that frost got the blossom - I wouldn't tinker with it until you know more about the tree just give it some basic tlc
Bumblebees and solitary bees are often more important for apple pollination than honeybees, as it's early in the year when honeybee colonies are still small. They used to use hives in Kent, but they were local strains which had been bred to build up very fast in spring. If the tree didn't fruit last year, but does normally, it could well be down to the horrendous cold spring we had. My apples were OK, but I got nothing off the plums at all. One frost while the tree was flowering could have done it.
Thanks for the advise people...
I'll see if other apple tree people at the site have had trouble, but otherwise will just leave it, apart from putting a few flower in, which I was going to want anyway.
The tree has not had trouble before, and the strawberries that cover the ground all around were fine last year.
If the tree's been OK before, it was probably just the one year. Real problems tend to build up over time.
Hmm..strawberries do tend to be rather hungry crop..and if they are covering the ground and been there for years.. :-\
Feeding would still not hurt even if that is not the 'root' of the problem.
Quote from: saddad on January 23, 2011, 14:07:59
Many old/established/neglected trees go over to biennial bearing which means very heavy crop one year and then almost nothing the next... wait and see what it does this year... :)
I agree - if you aren't certain it failed in 2009 too, then this is by far the most likely reason.
Leave it another year - if it does fruit you might want to strip all the fruitlets off one side to try and get them to alternate.
After that - and/or - is the possibility that it's a seedling which might never do much.
Cheers.
Using a few well-chosen words threaten the tree with extinction. That should do the trick!
I have just taken my old granny smith out and buried it. It was not producing more than one or two apples and these were diseased. I am going to get some cordon apples and plant them in a better place.
Even apple trees are mortal, unfortunately!
Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on January 26, 2011, 17:21:22
Even apple trees are mortal, unfortunately!
mmm...someone should bread Highlander apples...
KingofDerby, there is more info you can collect which will help you manage your apple tree.
First ask your neighbours whether the tree blossomed or not last year.
Second (not necessarily in this order) carefully examine the branches and spurs of your tree to see if there are any fruit buds (fat buds), or if they are all growth buds (thin buds). That will tell you if the tree is going to blossom this year.
If you have no blossom and no fruit, then that is one set of causes and remedies. If you have blossom but no fruit that is a completely different set of causes and remedies.