I would cut the apples in half and see if the lesion has a V shaped cross section. As shown in this bulletin.
If it does you have bitter rot. I would also look for apples that only have small rot lesions and post pics of them since sometimes it’s easier to identify a rot earlier in the life cycle.
I looked at the dwarf Honeycrisp picture. Is the tree staked? I didn’t see a stake. You mentioned that you had a dwarf tree that fell over. I was bit concerned since all dwarf apple trees need to be permanently staked due to the brittleness of the roots and the high crop loads that they can produce early in the life of the tree. If it’s not staked I would suggest staking it with a 8 foot t-stake.
Sorry, I have been busy over holiday weekend. So I gathered more rotten fruits and cut in half. I am still not sure if that was bitter rot. The first (top) row might be?? Anyway I have sprayed with Captan.
I haven’t staked the honeycrisp yet. But I will. I always stake. I have been staking the early peaches and nectarines. Did you suggest to use 8 ft T-post? I usually just use wooden stake but it’s hard to find the correct size/height. I always have to cut to the correct length.
I actually have lost 2 dwarf apple trees. One was Gala, fell due to snow in October a couple years ago when the tree still have leaves. Second one was Golden Delicious last year when it was loaded, around August. But I think that tree had problem already, might be girdled by something. I replaced with semi dwarf one this year. Never dwarf tree again.
In the apples there are plenty of V shaped lesions so I am pretty sure it’s bitter rot. Some of the lesions don’t have the V shape but the shape isn’t always distinct. It also possible that you have a different rot present too but in any case the remedy is to do more sprays a year.
I usually use a 8 ft metal t-stake which is also called a t-post. I use the stronger ones that have lugs all along one side. They are usually used for fencing. You can use wood posts too. I think anything in the 8-10 feet range would work well if you put it in the ground 2 feet. I would attach the tree at 3-4 points along the stake. With dwarfs I think you want to stake as early as possible and certainly before you get good crops. I stake all of my dwarfs when I plant them.
I have to imagine that wooden stakes don’t last all that long. I like to use chain link top rail (10.5 feet long at Home Depot and Lowes) which is galvanized and lasts pretty well. I agree with mroot that it is easier to stake at planting time, though a big part of that is how many rocks you have in your yard. My yard is full of them, so it is a nightmare to add them later. I added them at another property last year and ran into almost no rocks which made it a breeze (using a 5’ iron digging bar to make the hole and pack rocks around the post).
I think what both of you suggesting is permanent stake at/near the base of the tree. I don’t know why I never thought of that. What I usually do was just trying to support the branches that are loaded with fruits, when the fruits are sizing up like right now. I think it will be a nightmare to try to put a T-post now so close to the tree. First, my soil is very rocky. Second, I am afraid I am going to hurt the root. But we made a really big hole (with backhoe) when we planted the trees so maybe most of the rocks are thrown away. Maybe I should give it a try. Thank you for the suggestions mroot and BobVance.
If you used a backhoe to dig the hole, I bet you have a good chance. I’d start maybe 6" away from the tree and keep jamming the bar into the ground until you get 2-2.5’ down. You can avoid any large roots at the surface and change spots if you hit something that makes the tree move (probably a large root, though this happens very rarely for me unless I am specifically trying to remove a tree). The permanent stake would also help protect against snow, which a seasonal stake may not.
One negative of staking is that it makes it harder to completely net the tree. You can’t wrap the bottom of the net securely around the trunk, as there is a gap between the trunk and the post. It’s not something that came up for me until this year when I tried out a net, but it is worth considering for trees where it may be needed like cherries.
I am not worried about netting the trees. I got more than enough cherries this year without netting. The cherry trees are getting sooo big it will be impossible to net. Even when the trees were small, something always break into it. I used that green American netting but it didn’t work and it was such a hassle to put it. But maybe the birds and squirrels haven’t found them yet, as I have one cherry tree about 100 ft away, outside the fenced orchard area, that was stripped clean.
I wish I have the digging bar you used. Otherwise I might have to stand on 8 ft ladder to pound it into the ground, on a slope!
Yes you want to use a permanent stake for dwarf apples. In commercial orchards the trees are attached to a trellis to provide support. In a home orchard a permanent stake next to the tree is the easy way to provide support. If the ground is rocky you may have to move the stake to different locations to find a rock free spot. Six inches from the tree is good but you could go out to a foot or foot and half if you have to.
To place the stake I use a baby sledge and a six foot ladder to get it started. Then once it’s in the ground I use a post setter to drive it in the rest of the way.
I am guessing your cherries are on mazzard which gives a full size cherry tree. You will have to do size control pruning to keep them from getting bigger. A sweet cherry on mazzard can reach 30-40 feet and over time they can get even bigger. Trees on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks like the Krymsk and Gisela series are easier to keep small. But in all cases it is easier to keep a small tree small than it is to reduce a large tree to a small size.
Thank you for the idea. So I’ll make pilot hole first before pounding the post to the ground.
Most of my cherry trees (4 out of 5) are from Schlabach and they’re on Krymsk (60-75% standard). But this particular one is almost 20 ft after 8 years. I am thinking maybe because it’s close to tree line (the woods) so it tries to reach for the light. But it’s actually a very wide tree too. It’s such a hassle to harvest but I think the more cherries they produce the more the birds spare for me. This is the first year I got bumper crops. Last year they were hit by late frost. Previous years were almost nothing. They’re not precocious.
If you want the sweet cherry to be precocious you want trees on the Gisela series. I bought a very small caliper BlackGold tree from Cummins on Gisela 12. It produced a dozen cherries the third year. The crops were much larger in the fourth and fifth years. I have numerous tart cherries on Gisela 5 and they also were early producers.
Your vigorous tree on Krymsk may have a very vigorous scion which can make semi-dwarf tree nearly the size of a full sized tree.
