Hi all,
I’m after some help and tips getting to grips with my first Apple tree which is a Redlove Era. I’ve had the tree maybe 7 years the first 3 of which it was planted in a large pot and was on my patio. So the last 4 years it has been planted in my garden and basically the fruit yield has gone down hill.
This year it looks like the tree is only going to have one apple. Last year a few more (say 8-10) Apples were growing but a sudden hot spell (very hot!) and my lack of watering caused them to not grow to full size.
This year I’ve been watering every few days since the weather has warmed up but as I’ve said, only one Apple. I’m thinking this could be down to pollination issues mainly lack of it but I’m not entirely sure. Do I need to add another tree or two for cross pollination? If so, does anyone know which other Apple trees would be suitable to plant?
Any advice appreciated.
Peter.
In general, apples need crosss pollination. My guess is that there could be crab apples or some other apples in your neighborhood that bees helped carriespd those pollen for all these days.
Weather can hurt pollination i.e. late freeze, frost, too much rain during bloom time, etc.
Anyway, yes, to assure good fruit set, you need another apple variety (that is not triploid) that blooms about the same time. If you are willing to learn to graft (easy for apples), you can graft one or more varieties to you Era. Maybe, graft Redlove Calypso or Redlove Odysso to your tree?
@peter_cook2,
After I enlarged the pic to see the trunk of your RL Era, I admit the graft union of your tree concerns me. I am worried that it will break one of these days.
Since Redlove Odysso is supposed to be the best tasting variety of the Redlove series. If I were you, I would buy an Odysso tree, plant it in ground. This winter when Era goes dormant, collect its scionwood. Keep the dormant wood in a fridge. Graft that scionwood on the new Odysso tree in the spring.
This way, if something happen to your Era, your Odysso will be fine and has a pollination partner available.
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How would the crab apples affect the pollination of my tree? Would it spoil it?
I like the sound of grafting Redlove Odysso with my Era although sounds slightly daunting as I have no idea as yet how to go about it. Also just having a quick look around I cant see any Redlove trees available to buy at this time. Not sure if this is due to the current circumstances or not.
I also would like another apple variety I think, which is a nice eater. Can anyone recommend a variety which is good to eat, good pollination partner for the Redlove and easy growing for a beginner?
Tell us where you live. Apples, like other fruit, can produce different quality fruit grown in different soil, climate, etc.
Cross pollinating your apple with crab apple does not hurt your apple. Many apple orchards use crab apples for cross pollination as they bloom profusely and their blooms last longer, a good quality in a pollination partner.
I’m in the UK. Long Melford in Suffolk to be more precise.
Check out Stephen Hayes’ apple orchard videos. He is an English guy who has a lot of good viedos on apples including the varites he likes, how to graft, etc.
He is my go-to guy when I first started. His recommendations probably will be better than any US forum members as he lives in England, too.
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Cool. Thanks for that. I’ll check him out and see how I get on.
When this tree was removed from the pot and planted out did you do anything to address the circling roots? You can check the integrity of the root system by rocking the tree back and forth to see that it is well anchored. HOWEVER, with that questionable graft union, I would not try that with this tree, it could snap at the union. I wonder of the root system has continued to circle after planting and this has caused the decline of the tree. If that’s the case, digging the tree up and root pruning would be necessary. Backing this tree up as Mamuang suggests is probably wise.
Yes I can remember that when it came to taking it from the pot to planting it in the ground I researched it and watched several You Tube video tutorials about the process. I can remember spreading the roots out as the video instructed.
After a bit of research last night I really fancy a Kidds Orange Red as a second tree. Still not quite sure if this will be a suitable pollination partner however.
Also I’m quite tight on space. How much spacing do trees on a semi dwarfing root stock need?
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Watering every few days might not help. Better to water deeply once a week - so roots strike farther down. This mitigates many potential problems.
I live in an area where very dry conditions prevail for 90-110 days each year; sandy soil. I still water no more than once a week for my youngest fruit trees, every two weeks for the established.
Kidd’s Orange Red ought to do the trick. It is a bit more vigorous than Era & blooms mid-season. Depending on what you can get in the UK, Kidd’s on Budagovsky9, M9, MM106, P2, or similar should serve you well enough. Might need a permanent stake for the smallest stocks due to small roots.
Thanks for the watering tip, ill do that from now on through the spring summer months.
It looks like I will be able to get either MM106 or M26 not sure at this time which to go for. Another consideration I’ve just come across is whether to buy the new tree potted or bare root. Pot grown trees can be delivered September onwards whereas, bare root trees are Mid November onwards. Not sure which is best? When I moved my Redlove from Patio to garden it was late September. Is this the correct time for planting from a pot?
I failed to mention I also put mulch around my youngest trees, and retain it indefinitely around those of low vigor. Decreases competition from weeds & turf.
If you want a fairly robust KOR, go with MM106. M26 usually promotes a bit smaller tree than that.
As to planting from a pot, I have never done it. My feeling is to wait until the tree goes dormant, then dig a hole much lager than the root ball, plant it & mulch well. If you can get fungal inoculant for the roots, add that to the hole. Spread the roots gently. The roots can get situated over winter before spring breaks.
Fungal inoculant aids nutrient & moisture uptake, enabling an all-round healthier tree.
I wonder if planting it from pot to ground shortly before autumn/winter would shock the tree into delayed dormancy. That is the other reason I would not do it in September.
