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I have an aple tree that is about 4 years old ,its still very small the main stem is quite thin and still needs staking. This year is the first year we have apples on the tree at least 50, do i just leave it or do i need to take some off as i am not sure if the branches are big enough to support all the apples. Any help would be much appreciated as i would love to eat my own apples this year.
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Last edited by Newbie gardener; 08-06-2019, 05:55 PM. -
They'll probably thin themselves in the next couple of weeks - "June Drop". I thin out each cluster of apples, taking out the weediest one to give the others chance to grow.Last edited by veggiechicken; 08-06-2019, 06:06 PM. -
Thanks for the reply, what about the thin branches will they hold the weight of the apples. I will upload some photos. I can not upload it says file failed.Comment
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There's a 2Mb size limit on images . Try reducing to that.Comment
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I have to disagree with VC on this one, sounds to me like the tree has got much too large a crop on it and some fruit will need to be taken off. Obviously it will be possible to go in to more detail when you can post a photo.Originally posted by Newbie gardener View Post
I also don't like the sound of a v thin trunk on a 4 year old tree - can I ask what the variety is and if you are growing it in a container or whatever ?Comment
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I don't think we're disagreeing , but it would be a shame to thin out the apples and have all the rest fall off in the June drop - which is why I wait!Comment
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Hard to be certain of course VC, but depending on what the variety is and where the OP lives I'd say the "June drop" is largely finished now and any apples which seem to be set at this time are not going to fall off later.
I've been thinning my apples for two weeks now - though of course its a proposition which takes more time, when you have a number of trees between 15 and 25' high, so getting a bit of an early start is more or less a necessity.Comment
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Haven't noticed a Drop here but I have been taking out the tiddlers that I know won't mature.Comment
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Hi i will upload photos now, the tree is in the ground not sure on the variety as it was given to us from my childs school. I have had no fruit drop from the tree yet. I still can not upload i have decompressed them but now it says wrong file extension.Comment
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Um - bit puzzled as I would have expected a tree planted in the ground to be rather bigger than what you are describing - may be its on a very dwarfing root-stock.Originally posted by Newbie gardener View Post
I'd say the safest way to proceed would be to gradually thin the fruit doing a few each week until they are down to a number which seems reasonable for the tree to carry - assuming the ground is fairly damp then putting on a mulch FYM is also a good thing to encourage growth at this time of year.Comment
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Right i think i have done it i am going to try and upload pictures again.Comment
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here is another
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sorry this is the other side.
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Well the good news is the tree is growing well, which is the main thing you want - hard to be sure from the photos how many fruit it has on it, but from the overall size and leaf growth I'd say the maximum number you want to develop fully this year would be around 20.
Best to give a bit of thought to what shape tree you want ultimately, and to snap of the top third of any new growth where you don't want too much extension growth happening ie a type of Summer pruning.
BTW if you care to post some photos of the fruit when its ripe, we may be able to hazard a guess as to what variety it is
Happy Gardening :-)Comment
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I "think" the photos are sideways because you've taken them vertically. Horizontal images work better.Comment
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