Will remoiving leaves in early fall make apple tree to go dormant early

General Fruit Growing
#1

…or it will kill it?
I need to replant 5 years old apple tree on B9 in beginning of October and usually it is not dormant yet at this time. Should I just dig it up as is or try to speed up dormancy by removing leaves before it (when?).

#2

I’m not sure, but I do remember reading that in the tropics @applenut artificially tricks trees into dormancy by pulling leaves.

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#3

Yes! I remember reading it somewhere. But question is when it has to be done?

#4

I would guess that if you stress your tree too early, it will probably lose all its leaves anyway. Maybe it’s worth it to just water heavily and transplant quickly?

I imagine at any point you could do it artificially. Don’t some trees lose all of their leaves from rust if not managed anyway?

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#5

What I am not sure about is how tree will take disturbance of the roots if it is not dormant yet. …

#6

I have plums, plum hybrids, pears, cherries, apples, persimmon, mulberry, peaches, jujube, asparagus, blackberry, honey berry, arctic raspberry, raspberry etc. from this year. Past years we had apples. Done of my plants have ever gotten a disease or fungus. pests like aphids yes. Something other than a pest to strip the leaves not in my part of the country.

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#7

Will you have have had a killing frost by the time you need to dig it? If so, even if the leaves are still present my guess would be the tree will be fine. The biggest issue will be if the tree has stored enough reserves in the roots to push the new growth come Spring. Obviously killing frost is not on the same date every year sometimes earlier, and the trees still break dormancy come Spring.

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#8

What zone are you on? One problem is that apple trees recycle nutrients from the leaves before they fall. Removing leaves deprives the tree from minerals that sustain it during both dormancy and early spring growth. If you are in an area if mild weather it should not be that bad.

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#9

Killing frost may be in begining of October or may be not, I saw it both ways. I am in zone 5 b, moving to zone 6 a. So what you guys recommend, just move the trees as is?

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