Will my single apple tree pollinate?

General Fruit Growing
#21

I see now that I have my hands full with this tree. Oh well, live and learn. Am going to try spreading the three main branches.

#22

I know it’s hard to do especially if its your first fruit tree, I’m the poster child for impatience. Knowing what I know now, I’d give it time for the root system to get established before doing anything other than some light pruning. Give the tree some time to grow and see what it does.

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#23

Thanks for the encouragement. No need to panic. Like you say, just let it grow, and go from there. Will be a great tree to experiment with, and maybe add a few grafts.

#24

Here near Houston z8/9 Ein Sheimer is recommended as the pollinator for Anna. I don’t grow apples myself since IMHO the taste of Anna is not better than grocery store apples. Root stock for apples is also a problem here.

#25

Um, it looks like there is way too much grass growing in your 1st picture there. There is lots of room for experimentation and growing stuff. Mowing grass is so boring, tedious. :wink:

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#26

There isn’t a real need to have a pollenizer for Anna. Without pollenation the apples are skinnier, fuller with cross pollination but anna sets way too many apples to begin with. In Southern California nearly every spur sets multiple. I always need to thin. Anna is super early flowering, but will adapt and bloom later in high chill areas. Warm spells may trick it into blooming early.

#27

I’ve heard Ein Shemer is a terrible apple and one to be avoided. Besides Golden Dorsett, Shell of Alabama and Reverend Morgan are two low chill apples that may be worth seeking out.

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#28

Myself, I’d chop most of the top off. Less stress on the tree after transplanting. But having said that, I’m not an Apple expert.

#30

Einshemer is just ok for an early apple. Not a keeper. Gets mealy very quickly. Abba Stein developed both Anna and einshemer. Who’s to say they don’t taste better in Israel?

#31

Why does everybody in this thread mention only low chill apple varieties? Did not @applenut prove convincingly that one can grow a lot of normal apple varieties in a low chill environment like Southern California or even Africa? @edweather, please check http://www.kuffelcreek.com, this website belongs to @applenut, who specializes in growing many different apple varieties in very low chill climates. You can also search this forum for his posts on his work helping people in African countries like Uganda to grow apples.

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#32

Thanks again for all the help. Have watched a lot of pruning videos. I agree that the whippy tops should be cut. Am considering trying to spread the three main leaders to open it up. Got a couple of pieces of scrap wood to make some spreaders. I’m a total rookie at this. Have grafted a little, and grown some stuff, but am out of my comfort zone with this pruning deal. The good news is that I could probably chop it off at the ground, and it will still grow…these things grow like weeds, especially in our weather.

#33

I didn’t read carefully, so this may have already been mentioned. But that tree isn’t going to flower this year, let alone fruit. Nor should you want it to.

#34

Good point. Still contemplating how we want to shape it. I forgot to mention, we will probably get an apple from it, way to many squirrels here :-/ Might just stick to citrus, our oranges grew great last year and nothing touched them.