That makes me feel better
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If you have a cool place to move them, say 40 degrees to just above freezing, they will just go into shut down until the weather outside is warmer. I store many trees at 40 degrees in full leaf, even in the dark. Some will lose a few leaves, some keep all the foliage. Just like a long nights sleep. Either way, it would be far less of a shock for them.
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Will small black ants (like a decent sized colony of them) a few feet from a Pawpaw tree bother it? I found out that besides being heavy clay and large rocks I’ve also got lots of tiny black ant colonies in my yard.
They bit me a bunch last week when I accidentally destroyed their home and killed a lot of them, for some reason. I’m not holding a grudge about that, they can live there all they want if they leave my tree alone.
Hi all. I got a tree from Fedco that has some dried leaves still attached (see below). I am concerned about fireblight and don’t want to add it to the orchard yet. Anyone have any feedback?
What kind of tree?
i’d personally just remove the crispy leaves and plant. Also were I planning on pruning at planting time, any suspicious looking wood would be high on my list to trim.
If you are particularily worried, spray the tree with H2O2 and monitor…chances are if it is fireblight it will show up again pretty quickly and you can spray with a more appropriate chemical and contact the seller.
Scott
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This is a Black Oxford apple. I assume it’s just a dried leaf that never fell off, but I am admittedly overly worried about fire blight so before introducing it into my orchard I wanted to see.
I have some 2 or 3 month old english walnut seedlings that I have in quart yogurt containers. I’m a bit worried about root binding; any other commonly available objects that I should consider re-potting them into?
You could easily cut the top off some milk jugs. Handle built right in. Ha. 4 quarts. If you needed a couple more you could ask the neighbors or check a few bins on recycling day.
Hi Colin - Black Oxford is one of the last of my many apples to drop leaves in the fall and there often are dead leaves still on in the spring. I just pull them off; nothing to worry about. Plus I think it’s unlikely Fedco would send a tree that looks like it has fireblight. I hope it does well for you. I like my 20 yr old BlOx. Sue
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Thanks for the reassurance, Sue! That was my belief but I wanted to be sure. I’ll get it in the ground.
Tangentially, how do you like the Black Oxford? I loved the look and history so took a gamble.
What’s the best insecticide for aphids?
Here’s one:
Any dish soap for washing dishes should work too.
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Thank you!
Below is a post I made in another thread from 2021 season (You can find more discussions about the apple if you search for Black Oxford). They are better flavor after a month or so in storage.
Sue-MiUPz3
My Black Oxfords were darker than usual this year, larger, too, and good flavor right off the tree. It appears this apple liked the unusual long, hot summer we had. And I liked the harvest! The large size was likely due to the “natural” thinning thanks to hard freezes late May during blossoming. But I still got 33# of real nice fruit. REally nice when I didn’t think I’d get any. Sue
The fruit actually was darker than shows in the photo. I had a hard time getting good color. But they sure shined up when polished. REally beautiful.
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i almost pulled the trigger yesterday on fedco and bought a black oxford. i believe it was discovered in oxford county , ME. the winter ripening stopped me as i thought it wouldnt ripen in time. got a zestar instead. oh well there’s next year. glad it grew/ produced well for you Sue.
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Sue,
When did you pick Black Oxford. Mine were not that dark but last year was the first time it fruited.
@mamuang - I like to wait to pick them until temps are forecast for the low 20’s which can be mid Sept. to mid Oct. But I’ve had to pick earlier because of bluejays eating them. Mine usually aren’t as dark as the year in the photo. That was a rare one when we hadn’t even had a frost by mid-October (then the temperatures dived down). But the color does seem to be different depending on the year. Sue
@steveb4 - So far these are my latest maturing apple, though I have a couple more that just started last year and it looks like they will be similar harvest time. This is probably the latest I can ripen apples here. I wouldn’t think you’d have a problem with them. If you need a scion next year just let me know. Sue
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When topping an apple whip which is around 5 feet tall, is there a specific manner the cut must be done? 45° angle? Straight? Doesn’t matter?
Sorry for the ignorant question, but i’m doing some pruning of newly-planted bareroots today and I understand topping them right away is appropriate, but want to make sure I use the correct cut. Thanks!
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you usually prune just above a bud. With a angled cut (45 degrees is fine)
The bud above which you pruned and usually a few buds below that will usually form branches. And could be the first branches for the framework of your tree.
might be video’s worth watching
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