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Hi,

My Bramley apple tree has been in the ground for a couple of years now and last year was covered in blossom and produced 30 fruits.

However, this year there are only two blossom clusters, even though in winter it appeared there lots of fruit buds - but these are opening only producing leaves.

I've read this variety is prone to be biennial - how are everybody else's apples this year?

Variable!
The Lidl cheapies that I've pruned as cordons are only just budding up, but look promising, the two Bramlies I have, one has lots of blossom the other only a few! I know they are inclined to be biennial as you say. My mature cordons are smothered, but interestingly my pears are a bit late this year and the blossom isn't fully open on some trees, they are usually well ahead of the apples.

Now you mention it, ours is just the same. Huge crop last year - just ate the last yesterday - but no flowers this year.

The only way to stop biennial bearing, and it does sound like that, is to thin the crop in the good year, so the tree doesn't exhaust itself. Try being ruthless next year and cutting out half the fruit while it's still very small.

Or just plant another variety for the empty years?
;D

We have never thinned our Bramley and it has produced well over a 100 apples of large siize, every years since it began fruiting. Now Rev. Wilkes, that is a different matter. No matter what you do, it only fruits every other year, but then it does produce enough to last the off year!

our pear, cherry and plum blossom's open, the apple's only just starting, loads of it but I think the apple's tapped in to the main drain, it always produces too many for us..going to get an apple press this year  ;D

 Down here in Cornwall, my pear tree is the first this year to open it,s snowy white blossom, the apples are holding back, although they now have a few leaves .  At the end of last  Autumn when the trees went dormant and the heavy rains began,I took up a 15year old apple tree and transplanted it to a new area in the veg garden .It was stunted in growth and produced pathetic little apples,I think because it was over shadowed by some other much bigger trees.   Well winter came apon us and I planted three new 1 year maiden apple whips in what will be my new mini orchard. I showed a friend who thought I was mad to attempt to transplant such a big tree and made no comment , the look on her face said it all !   I quickly moved her and her bad vibes away from my little tree.  I also kept "he of little faith ! " well away from it too! And it too now has leaves and buds SO THERE !     Rohaise      :)

I just had a look at your profile, wondering where you are in Cornwall, and you appear to be drifting somewhere west of Lundy! Should I inform the coastguard, in case you're a hazard to navigation?

My conference pear blossom came first. Why is there such a difference?
Mind you, if you count the apple blossom that I photographed in late October, then the apples did come first!

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on April 16, 2007, 23:05:52
I just had a look at your profile, wondering where you are in Cornwall, and you appear to be drifting somewhere west of Lundy! Should I inform the coastguard, in case you're a hazard to navigation?

Hi Robert !   I,m in Mullion,   and I can tell you that if I were drifting around in the sea ...I should be very happy to be rescued by any of our wonderful  RNLI coast guards lifeboat crew Sea King helicopter Air Ambulance and beach lifeguards...all voluntarily risking their lives to save others !     :D  Rohaise 

Back to Apples !  I have grown a purpley red flowering clematis up and through one of my biggest apple trees and this year it is really romping away ,I cant wait to see it in flower  all around it,s branches . Rohaise  :)

Quote from: Rohaise on April 17, 2007, 18:35:36
     Hi Robert !   I,m in Mullion,   and I can tell you that if I were drifting around in the sea ...I should be very happy to be rescued by any of our wonderful  RNLI coast guards lifeboat crew Sea King helicopter Air Ambulance and beach lifeguards...all voluntarily risking their lives to save others !     :D  Rohaise 

You're further west than I used to be then; I lived at Foxhole in the Cornish Alps.