I am a few decades removed from experience with apple trees but I’m on my second year of establishing a still smallish orchard. I have a dozen or so apple trees which are beginning their second year in the ground (started as 4 ft. tall bare root trees in April '24). A number of them are producing some blossoms this year and I’m wondering if I should snip them off or leave them alone. Most of the trees are still less than 1" diameter.
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I’d remove them to speed growth of the trees.
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I’d keep some, so you can start your disease/pest learning curve in your orchard. Hate to see your first crop year being a bumper crop year and seeing it wiped out by pest/disease xyz which you were not aware of/unfamiliar with.
MF
Fireblight almost always shows up first in blossom clusters here.
If it is warm and wet active apple blossoms are going to get it.
Early blooming apples may bloom and finish before it warms up enough for fire blight.
Apples from flowering group 3 almost always see FB during the last half of their bloom… flowering group 4 can get FB early mid bloom.
I have removed 3 fruit spurs and 2 limb tips from my Novamac since late April.
TNHunter
Hey, I am in the same boat and had a very similar thread last year Can I leave one apple on a tree I planted this spring or is it a really bad idea?
For what it’s worth - the apples ripened and the tree looks fine and happy. The only sad thing is that the following spring (this year), the tree decided to take vacation and didn’t open any flowers.