My apples never came?

Question

I have two apple trees in my yard and they did not bear ANY fruit this year. How can I make sure this does NOT happen again. (I am thinking it is because of the late snow we had this year)

Answer 1

Unfortunately there is no way to guarantee that fruit trees will bear each year. The productivity of fruit trees is completely at the mercy of Mother Nature. There was a late frost that hit many areas of the country this year, and even many of the commercial apple growers are in the same boat.

WARNING: Apples, and many other fruits, tend to be somewhat biennial when it comes to production. IE: If they have a heavy crop one year, they have next to nothing the next. If they have a very light crop one year, they have a very heavy one the next. Etc. Since you had nothing this year, there is a good chance that next year will be a bumper crop. To avoid this cyclical nature of apples, you will need to thin them out next year if they are over heavy.

Apple blossoms form in clusters of 6 flowers with the "King Bloom" in the center, and 5 secondary blooms around it. The "King Bloom" will produce the largest, best quality apple of the bunch, but unfortunately, it is more sensitive and will freeze first.

You should thin your apples down to 1-2 apples per cluster once they reach about the size of a quarter. Thin them to one per cluster if it's really heavy, and two if a little lighter. Doing so, you will get bigger, nicer apples than if you let the whole cluster grow.

Answer 2

Hello. I am a Certified Master Gardener. My major in college was Horticulture. I have been employed in a plant nursery, and I do volunteer work with plants at my local University Botanic Gardens.

Very many apple tree varieties s actually REQUIRE a chilling, so the late snow should have been of benefit.

You may not have the right cross-pollinator apple tree.

Or the trees may have been improperly pruned, or not pruned at all.

The apple trees may not be receiving enough water.

If the branches show evidence of die back, they could be affected by a blight disease. If the blossoms dropped off prematurely (before they could form little apples), that is also an indicator of a problem.

Fertilize your trees, prune them yourself, or hire a reputable arborist to prune them. Water them deeply twice a week, after digging a shallow water-retaining basin around each tree.

You could also graft a branch of another variety onto each tree. Or, place fresh bouquets of blossoms from another variety (in a container of water) at the base of the trees to help ensure pollination.

Most varieties require 900 to 1,200 hours of temperatures at or below 45 degrees Farenheit.

I sincerely hope this helps you and your trees.

PAMELA J.

Answer 3

You can't be sure. It was probably the late freeze. A whole lot of people across the midwest, and east are in the same boat.

Short of covering your tree, and even possibly having to heat it, there is no way to prevent the damage a late freeze can have on an apple tree.

Answer 4

I had the same problem and I know it was caused by a late freeze. I have two types of cherry trees and two apple and got no fruit this year.

Answer 5

Are those trees same kind? I think that apple need to be cross pollinated with other kind of apple tree. It they are the same kind, get a different one close by. The bee will help after that.

Answer 6

Unfortunately, what you're probably seeing is the result of the large loss of bee population in the U.S. Hives have been turning up empty, and crops don't get pollinated.

Refrain from spraying insecticides if you can possibly do so; our little winged friends need all the help they can get right now.