Going down the Apple Worm Hole

[HawkinsHollow]

I am planning on planting 3 or 4 apple trees at the house. There is a lot to consider when planting apples I am learning. I am in Zone 7, SE Tennessee. There is a guy about an hour away that has 3 year old 5-7 foot semi-dwarf trees in 5 gallon containers for $27. Not bad!

My choices are Honey Crisp, Gala, Ark. Black, Fuji, Granny Smith, Liberty, Wolf River, Macintosh, Pink Lady, Mutsu, Enterprise, Wine Sap, Yelow Transparent, Jonagold, Ginger Gold, Grimes Gold, Cortland and Cameo.
I am leaning towards Jonagold, Enterprise, and Grimes Gold.

Everything I know about growing apples I learned in the last hour sitting here looking at my computer. Diploid, Triploid, Pollenizers, etc. Please school me if you have any apple knowledge to spread. Thanks in advance.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My Industrial Cabin Build

We broke ground on the homesite this weekend. As many of you know, I have been building an orchard in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. 55 acres purchased in last summer 2015. We had 20-25 acres logged, leaving us with an inordinate amount of slash and debris. We have 3 acres of Apple...

www.tractorbynet.com

This guy planted a large apple orchard.

 

[DarkBlack]

I have some enterprise trees here. I’m zone 5. About 12-15’ tall on M7. They do good here. Thick skin, not so great for biting though but helps it be a good winter keeper, and cuts down on pest damage. It’s a good disease resistant variety. Make sure you have at least one different variety that flowers at the same time. Your other varieties are a bit more southern type ,(I’ve done cortland in the past) for my climate so can’t comment on those. I mostly try to stick with disease resistant to cut down on spraying

 

[Peter 315]

You in Laconia?.

I have some enterprise trees here. I’m zone 5. About 12-15’ tall on M7. They do good here. Thick skin, not so great for biting though but helps it be a good winter keeper, and cuts down on pest damage. It’s a good disease resistant variety. Make sure you have at least one different variety that flowers at the same time. Your other varieties are a bit more southern type ,(I’ve done cortland in the past) for my climate so can’t comment on those. I mostly try to stick with disease resistant to cut down on spraying

 

[34Willys]

First you have to decide what you want your apples for. Granny Smiths are tart and great for baking pies and crisps, etc. We have those here. I prefer Gravenstiens, but I'm from Northern California, so... Arkansas Blacks are great for eating, but get mushy. They were a target for Bears at our neighbors in Upper Lake, always breaking branches.
Patrick

 

[CliffordK]

My favorite apples from Mom's orchard are the Gravenstein and King apples.

If you're putting in several trees, then pay attention to the harvest time, and try to extend your harvest period for as long as possible.

 

[BnRidge]

I had some semidwarf Cortland trees for 10 yrs, never got an apple off of them. The amount of insecticides needed to make it work wasn't something I could stomach. Is there a better way? Finally planted some full size trees and am getting at least something. More apples than the worms can destroy anyway.

 

[Jstpssng]

Winesap is a good eating apple and keeps good into the winter. I used to buy a 1/2 bushel every year and would eat the last one about this time of year.

You can reduce the amount of spraying using BMP methods such as insect traps to determine when you need to spray. Also, good hygiene; i.e., picking up drops and raking rhe leaves in fall; helps by removing places for the insects to overwinter.

 

[oosik]

For about 15 years we had apples. Early Transparent was the best variety. But - that's here, maybe not TN. Know what you will use them for - check around - what are others planting.

Our downfall - not realizing the damage pocket gophers could/would do. We lost 50% of our young trees to those damn beasties. In the end - we had six apple trees that survived.

If you have pocket gophers, gophers, moles, voles, ground hogs - etc, etc. Get a "gopher cage" for each tree you plant. It a wire mesh cage that goes in the hole first and allows the young tree to develop roots. The young tree gets a fighting chance before the underground beasties attack.

Now - it's a whole lot easier, for me, just go up north - Green Bluff - and buy a box of apples.

 

[DarkBlack]

You in Laconia?.

That’s my area. You?

 

[skipmarcy]

My biggest problem here in TN for growing fruit trees is the RUST. There are WAY too many cedar trees and I haven't been able to spray enough to keep it off my fruit trees for 16 years now. For years early on I was diligent about spraying but it's almost impossible to keep rust from hitting your trees. I started spraying fungicides in early Feb. (Immunox) before the first buds even showed and kept up with it all season with fruit tree spray (Bonide) and would still get rust. My pears and apples get it the worst but the peaches and plums get it too. Some years are worse than others.

Our Jonathon apple has been the most dependable and productive, ours is a semi-dwarf, but it is strictly a cooking apple - we make applesauce every year from it. We have Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Yellow Delicious - each has only produced randomly and not much for eating - the few years we got fruit from these we just added it to the Jonathons to make applesauce.

Our peaches make it to fruit about 1 in 5 years around here, it's a matter of late frosts getting the blooms. We have Red Haven, Elberta, Georgia Belle, and Contender. Rust also hits these trees but not as severe as the apples.

Be very careful when planting - we supposedly bought all dwarf and semi-dwarf trees over the years but a few ended-up being full-sized trees - plan accordingly. I have a Honeycrisp and a Keifer pear that are HUGE and have to be pruned heavily every year.

 

[D&D]

I am planning on planting 3 or 4 apple trees at the house. There is a lot to consider when planting apples I am learning. I am in Zone 7, SE Tennessee. There is a guy about an hour away that has 3 year old 5-7 foot semi-dwarf trees in 5 gallon containers for $27. Not bad!

My choices are Honey Crisp, Gala, Ark. Black, Fuji, Granny Smith, Liberty, Wolf River, Macintosh, Pink Lady, Mutsu, Enterprise, Wine Sap, Yelow Transparent, Jonagold, Ginger Gold, Grimes Gold, Cortland and Cameo.
I am leaning towards Jonagold, Enterprise, and Grimes Gold.

Everything I know about growing apples I learned in the last hour sitting here looking at my computer. Diploid, Triploid, Pollenizers, etc. Please school me if you have any apple knowledge to spread. Thanks in advance.

I prefer Macs for cooking / canning. Mutsu, Johnagold or Sweet Tango for eating. Did you run into the term espalier? The trees are trained to grow more horizontal than vertical. Makes regular care and picking easier. Most of the large NY orchards are moving in that direction.

How to Grow Espalier Apple Trees - Fine Gardening

Espalier apple trees are a year-round garden feature and easier to maintain and harvest than standard or dwarf fruit trees.

www.finegardening.com

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I don't know enough about your climate to know if you get enough cold days for some of those varieties.

Fruit Tree Chill Hours

Chill hours are the number of cold hours or days that a deciduous fruit tree (or nut tree) requires for flowering and fruit production each year. Every fruit tree variety has its own number of

harvesttotable.com

 

[NoTrespassing]

I am planning on planting 3 or 4 apple trees at the house. There is a lot to consider when planting apples I am learning. I am in Zone 7, SE Tennessee. There is a guy about an hour away that has 3 year old 5-7 foot semi-dwarf trees in 5 gallon containers for $27. Not bad!

My choices are Honey Crisp, Gala, Ark. Black, Fuji, Granny Smith, Liberty, Wolf River, Macintosh, Pink Lady, Mutsu, Enterprise, Wine Sap, Yelow Transparent, Jonagold, Ginger Gold, Grimes Gold, Cortland and Cameo.
I am leaning towards Jonagold, Enterprise, and Grimes Gold.

Everything I know about growing apples I learned in the last hour sitting here looking at my computer. Diploid, Triploid, Pollenizers, etc. Please school me if you have any apple knowledge to spread. Thanks in advance.

Honey Crisp are awesome and my favorite apple!

 

[LouNY]

I have been thinking about planting a couple of apple trees myself. I haven't started researching them yet and my desires are a bit different then many peoples.
I want a very hardy full sized tree that will get good sized to keep the apples out of the deer's reach.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

I don't know enough about your climate to know if you get enough cold days for some of those varieties.

Fruit Tree Chill Hours

Chill hours are the number of cold hours or days that a deciduous fruit tree (or nut tree) requires for flowering and fruit production each year. Every fruit tree variety has its own number of

harvesttotable.com

I have picked varieties that will grow well in my climate. Lots of good info on the web about apples and climate zones.

 

[D&D]

I have been thinking about planting a couple of apple trees myself. I haven't started researching them yet and my desires are a bit different then many peoples.
I want a very hardy full sized tree that will get good sized to keep the apples out of the deer's reach.

They can stand pretty tall on their hind legs. Plant an extra 1 or 2 to share.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

My biggest problem here in TN for growing fruit trees is the RUST. There are WAY too many cedar trees and I haven't been able to spray enough to keep it off my fruit trees for 16 years now. For years early on I was diligent about spraying but it's almost impossible to keep rust from hitting your trees. I started spraying fungicides in early Feb. (Immunox) before the first buds even showed and kept up with it all season with fruit tree spray (Bonide) and would still get rust. My pears and apples get it the worst but the peaches and plums get it too. Some years are worse than others.

Our Jonathon apple has been the most dependable and productive, ours is a semi-dwarf, but it is strictly a cooking apple - we make applesauce every year from it. We have Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Yellow Delicious - each has only produced randomly and not much for eating - the few years we got fruit from these we just added it to the Jonathons to make applesauce.

Our peaches make it to fruit about 1 in 5 years around here, it's a matter of late frosts getting the blooms. We have Red Haven, Elberta, Georgia Belle, and Contender. Rust also hits these trees but not as severe as the apples.

Be very careful when planting - we supposedly bought all dwarf and semi-dwarf trees over the years but a few ended-up being full-sized trees - plan accordingly. I have a Honeycrisp and a Keifer pear that are HUGE and have to be pruned heavily every year.

Interesting and geographically useful info. ,thank you!! There are varieties that are resistant to rust, I will look into that. Maybe I will get the most disease resistant varieties that I can find. You are the second person to mention disease as a limiting factor. Enterprise, Liberty and Grimes golden are all rust resistant. Maybe I will go that route.

 

[DarkBlack]

I have been thinking about planting a couple of apple trees myself. I haven't started researching them yet and my desires are a bit different then many peoples.
I want a very hardy full sized tree that will get good sized to keep the apples out of the deer's reach.

Apple Trees on standard rootstock take years before fruiting. They’re also a lot of work and money to spray and take adequate care of. Deer here eat my buds during the winter. They don’t bother my fruit. Other pest like gray squirrels, and blue jays, are another story.
Cummins Nursery would be my choice if I was you in NY

 

[LouNY]

They can stand pretty tall on their hind legs. Plant an extra 1 or 2 to share.

They are welcome to all the drops. That is one of the things that bring them into my yard are the old and I do mean old apple trees in the yard that are dying off. When we were sitting around a few years ago before my father died we tried to figure out how old they likely were. The consensus that we finally came up with was that they were around a 100 years old then so the two left are maybe 120 now.
This hillside got planted as an orchard while all the field work was still being done with horses and was managed as an orchard for 2 generations. Down to two of the old trees now.