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Apple/Pear Trees

There is a hormone spray that can thin the fruit set but it costs money, takes time and all fruit might drop if you do it wrong.


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Admittedly I totally stole concept from Skip; just WAY smaller. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery right? I shrunk this a bit from what I was going to do. Originally I was going to go farther north which would have enclosed a few whiteoaks in back, but decided I'd keep them out of fence. The one brown tree one got a little hot from burning brush. Oops!

I can get a couple hundred trees in here, which will be plenty for me. It will be super nice to be able to keep an eye on them right at home. This area sees sun 90% of the day, so should be good.

Trees are ordered for the spring. I think i'll let the posts settle in before I stretch fence. I'll also probably plant this area down.
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Told u I’m JEALOUS!!! :rolleyes::cool: For real- that’s so much more manageable than my “overkill!!!” Great system & lot of fun. U will have some great rewards later & babying trees to 5 years old just saves so many headaches. Looks great!!!
 
Took some EXAMPLES today. Tried to get some “average size for the age” of some fruit trees. I pulled MOST fruit off. Left a little bit but not a ton. Put my hat next to most of em for reference on size. It’s camo so look closer.

1 year olds... so, 2nd growing season Planted this spring...
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2 year old on its 3rd growing season...
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I believe this is 3 year old - on its 4th growing season. Could be 5th season.....
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4 year old on 5th season.... (tree bigger than looks)...
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5 year old on its 6th growing season....
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9year old on 10th growing season. I had to rescue this one from someone that thought great idea to plant in a soggy wet bottom. ;). Cut it all back & looks like recovering.....
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Nice row of random trees doing well....
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New experiment. Sprayed and Mulching 20+ trees today. Hopefully it suppresses weeds and helps retain moisture.

These babies are doing good! These were planted last spring (2018). I had to pluck fruit off almost all of them and only their second season in the ground!
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For what is worth........

This spring around April I found that one of my Apple trees was girdled 360 degrees around and about 4 inches in height. The tree guard had some how been moved up allowing a vermin to chew all the bark off. The Tree is about 4 years old. I figured I had nothing to lose so I put some tree pruning paint/tar on it. Well so far the tree is doing very well. It looks great....the real test will be next spring....if it makes it next spring I am thinking it will be good to go.
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deep woods goat hunter said:
wow, crazy how that has worked for you.
Jap beetles smoked the apple trees I planted this spring... Will they pull out of it next year?
Click to expand...

I would ask Skip that question. Most of my Trees are in WI and IMO it is way easier to grow here than in Iowa. All I do is fertilize them. I have never sprayed them for anything and they do just fine. I think we have less pests to deal with. I did plant 14 trees in SC Iowa this spring and they seem to be struggling.
 
Man- all that sucks. The girdled tree may be ok. I’d spray it monthly with fungicide & insecticide. Heck- same with jap beetles. It’s like creating a wound on ur skin.... chewed stuff or bugs- it’s an opening bugs and disease can get into. A totally girdled tree MIGHT make it. It wasn’t a lot of area up/down so that helps.
On jap beetles - are trees still alive? Like, green leaves? Can u or have u sprayed them? Keep at it!!!


K- in general.... here’s how I describe Apple trees in Iowa..... to bottom line it.... they just need more care than other states. They need more sprayings (monthly) & need ideal pics on planting sites. Monthly sprayings for bugs, fungus, mildew, etc. & same with weeds... mulch with limestone for example & keep weeds toast. Screen or latex with pepper - ONLY way to protect trunks!!!!!! .....

Sprayings take 2 mins a tree. Maybe. It’s not that hard but yes, they need care!!! The right varieties & root stock are critical as well!!! Just like a food plot or crop.... let’s say “CORN” for example..... it needs 2 sprayings most the time with 3+ herbicides. It needs fertility dialed in just right. The genetics allow it to deal with many of nature’s obstacles. Even when done perfect- pests, weeds, critters can still be an issue. Corn needs TLC (any crop) & apple trees are no different. Iowa farmers just “make it look easy” but it’s not. It’s billions in genetic research & pesticide development & then it’s a gazillion dollars & work in land, equipment, knowledge & timing to make even that successful.

So- plant right varieties & rootstock. Avoid common mistakes (all in this thread), spray a million options & at different times in season (& yes, there’s tons of responsible pesticide options u can find, some of which are even organic) religiously for first 5 years &
Likely still 2-3 times after that. Weed control, watering if drought, all those things. I know all this sounds hard but it’s not. It’s like anything else: do the research & then keep up with taking care of trees with a relatively small amount of work ongoing. They can be very successful done right!!!!
 
Sligh1 said:
Man- all that sucks. The girdled tree may be ok. I’d spray it monthly with fungicide & insecticide. Heck- same with jap beetles. It’s like creating a wound on ur skin.... chewed stuff or bugs- it’s an opening bugs and disease can get into. A totally girdled tree MIGHT make it. It wasn’t a lot of area up/down so that helps.
On jap beetles - are trees still alive? Like, green leaves? Can u or have u sprayed them? Keep at it!!!


K- in general.... here’s how I describe Apple trees in Iowa..... to bottom line it.... they just need more care than other states. They need more sprayings (monthly) & need ideal pics on planting sites. Monthly sprayings for bugs, fungus, mildew, etc. & same with weeds... mulch with limestone for example & keep weeds toast. Screen or latex with pepper - ONLY way to protect trunks!!!!!! .....

Sprayings take 2 mins a tree. Maybe. It’s not that hard but yes, they need care!!! The right varieties & root stock are critical as well!!! Just like a food plot or crop.... let’s say “CORN” for example..... it needs 2 sprayings most the time with 3+ herbicides. It needs fertility dialed in just right. The genetics allow it to deal with many of nature’s obstacles. Even when done perfect- pests, weeds, critters can still be an issue. Corn needs TLC (any crop) & apple trees are no different. Iowa farmers just “make it look easy” but it’s not. It’s billions in genetic research & pesticide development & then it’s a gazillion dollars & work in land, equipment, knowledge & timing to make even that successful.

So- plant right varieties & rootstock. Avoid common mistakes (all in this thread), spray a million options & at different times in season (& yes, there’s tons of responsible pesticide options u can find, some of which are even organic) religiously for first 5 years &
Likely still 2-3 times after that. Weed control, watering if drought, all those things. I know all this sounds hard but it’s not. It’s like anything else: do the research & then keep up with taking care of trees with a relatively small amount of work ongoing. They can be very successful done right!!!!
Click to expand...
I didnt get around to spraying in time and then I didn't know they needed another dose:( leaves are almost all chewed up and browned, a couple still with green areas and the stem of the leaves appear to be green...
 
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