Hi!
I’m cleaning up around my young Arkansas Black apple tree (it’s never really fruited yet) and noticed weird bumps in some locations on the branches. ChatGPT is adamant that these are future flower buds, but to me they just look too weird. I’m a novice. What do you think?
No definitely not fruit buds. Someone else may be able to explain what they are but I’ve not seen anything like that. Unfortunately Ark Black is pretty slow to bear. The spur type is usually much quicker to produce.
Thanks! I believe I do have the spur. Just checked my receipt from Edible Landscaping, Arkansas Black Spur. I put it into the ground in October 2023. It’s been mostly growing straight up, which I don’t really mind. Don’t mind waiting for fruit, too. But those growths are worrying me. Maybe no big deal?
Yeah it’s probably not anything to worry about. That’s a good versatile apple. I think you’ll like it. Just make sure you have a pollinator for it nearby when it finally does bloom.
I cannot make money on spur Ark Black in my nursery. It needs supplementary water and I don’t irrigate my nursery trees. All other varieties thrive under our generally humid climate with rain well distributed through most growing seasons. AB puts all its energy on creating those spurs instead of vegetative shoots, even when young. I can coax growth out of them by removing the spurs before bloom, but they are still sluggish and take years to become the 2.5” caliber trees I sell. Better to graft them on another variety for me.
Looks like some sort of blister/gall…or something? They’re definitely not fruit spurs. Google Gemini told me a caterpillar/worm thing was definitely a honey badger, so yeah.
Thank you for everyone’s replies!
I went back to my orchard yesterday (it’s an hour away from where I live) and discovered fuzzy looking white stuff on old pruning spots and all around the tree. This time Chat GPT gave me a useful answer – woolly apple aphid. I’m pretty sure the bumps on the branches I posted about initially are galls caused by the woolly apple aphid. So bummed, but there it is.
Thanks again for everyone’s responses. I wanted to update in case anyone sees similar growths.
I was going to reply to say the bumps looked very similar to the galls caused by WAA on one of my apple trees, so I agree that’s what they are.
