Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Apr 19, 2010 11:51 am Hi fruit tree owners,
I have a fairly decent sized apple tree which doesn't produce any fruit. Its a healthy tree and there is plenty of flowers in spring but only one apple, if that, appears. Now when i moved into the house a couple of years ago a fruit tree right near it had snuffed it from borers which i am assuming was the cross pollinating buddy. I have no way of knowing what sort of apple tree it is other than the fact one tiny piece of fruit went red. Does anyone have any advice on how to pair up this tree? I have a nectarine tree beside it which produces well, so even though they are not planted in a great spot (near big gum trees) the growing conditions appear ok. Thanks, B Re: Cross pollination and apple trees 2Apr 19, 2010 5:23 pm I haven't grown apples, but I remember looking into this when I was planting nut varieties, and I seem to remember reading that with apples, you can mix any varieties for cross-pollination. I suppose the only major consideration is to pair it with a variety that blooms at the same time, otherwise it'll be a waste of time. I have no idea about blossom seasons for apples though - tried to Google it and came up with overseas sites that listed mostly varieties I've never heard of. With the nuts, I ended up with a self-pollinating almond (brilliant) and a pair of hazelnuts. Unfortunately the blasted cockies ate all the almonds and one of the hazels died, so no nuts for me. Bugger. Re: Cross pollination and apple trees 3Apr 19, 2010 6:56 pm Ahhhh, well kek, you don't have to have pollinators that bloom at the same time to have a result sshhhhh We can thank two sources for this info. One is from Peter Coppin (From The Great Gardens team). Peter has a pretty good name as someone who is regarded as one of Australia's most respected Orchard consultants. A massive wealth of knowledge in that head that he shares with Great Gardens workshop attendees http://petercoppin.com The other source is where I very first learnt about it and that was from a lovely Sicilian chap who let me in on a a technique he and his family have used for generations. When the early fruitier is in flower, snip off a few sprigs of bloom. Pop them into a plastic bag and freeze them. When the later flowering one comes into bloom, take the frozen sprigs of flowers out and tie off to the tree needing to be pollinated Bees will do their thing and that can be enhanced by mixing some honey diluted into water in an icecream container. Every morning when the flowering has begun, get up at birds fart and flick the tree with the solution. this will attract the bees to the tree and not other distractions like weeds that have more pollen Do this for 3 or 4 mornings and the bees will go there each morning all on their own true Another tip I have heard from both sources as well. Pollinators for any apple will be the plain old Crab Apple. Many red apples can be pollinated with granny Smith but not all. Not bad odds on it though Nectarines are self fertile and having the Eucs near by is a god send for ensuring bees are around in good numbers. I love getting unprocessed Eucalypt honey Yum Jarrah, Karri and Marri honey yummy Re: Cross pollination and apple trees 4Apr 19, 2010 7:29 pm Very clever Fu .....or you could drive around the neighbourhood and steal a few branches from a handy tree. I had no idea crabapples would do the trick. We had a huge one in the front yard when I was a kid; Mum used to make jelly from the masses of fruit. Didn't know they were good for anything else. Re: Cross pollination and apple trees 5Apr 19, 2010 9:41 pm Yep, they are good for little kids to climb, they are good as the neighbourhood pollinator and all the bees that visit them are an ever present reminder to not use a systemic insecticide just to kill a few aphids or scale and not to use a fungicide on a rose to rid it of blackspot or powdery mildew. For those issues, some soapy water for aphids or you can't be arsed doing that some "Yates Insect and mite killer" will do the job in a humane way with no toxins. For fungal disease on roses, It's now official and Colin Campbell on Brisbane radio can breath a sigh of relief, full cream milk is the go. He can now say it loud and say it proud Some one in Brissie ring him on his weekend garden show and tell him http://www.colincampbellsgarden.com.au/ (He prolly knows anyway ) I must add that Colin is a bloody top bloke and one hell of a laugh For those who may not know because no one would spend 20 large on trialling full cream milk as an excellent fungicide he was not allowed to tell gardeners all over Queensland that it was an effective fungicide that didn't hurt us or the bees. (and why would they? The milk mobs would not put in and what would they get in return?) Many knew it was true But those bloody bureaucratic buggers said till there was a trial it was not on and it happened Well in their face It is something that has been trialled and it's official Think of the bees folks before you reach for the bug gun They do a wonderful job. Don't shoot the messenger With more bees we have more food that means you will have more fruit on your fruit trees even if a pollinator is not around. Re: Cross pollination and apple trees 6Apr 20, 2010 11:29 am Thanks for the replies. Looks like either a granny smith or a crab apple. The freezing blossom thing sounds good Fu but i don't know if i am that dedicated, i already get told off for spending too much time in the garden . I was reading somewhere on the net that the crab apple should be the same colour blossom as the fruit tree you want to pollinate to make it easier for the bees to do their thing. Which kinda makes sense. Re: Cross pollination and apple trees 7Apr 20, 2010 11:38 am Yeah I guess it does make sense but I guess only the bees will really know Get what ever colour crab apple you can If you can be fussy then lucky you Crab apples can still be useful for more than a pollinator. Apple sauce Thanks! 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