Apple tree's?

[6884]

I have been looking to add some apple tree's to the farm this year, I want to plant 2 golden delicious apples and 2 red delicious apple tree's. I read that they will pollenate each other, with no ill effects, is this true, or do I need to keep them separate. I had planned to plant them up a road to the chicken coop but wanted to confirm they can be put close to each other first. Also, we are experiencing some good wet weather right now, would it be wise to stick them In the ground now or wait till the ground warms some, thanks in advance.

 

[majorcatfish]

they are self pollinating, but yes a red delicious, honeycrisp or red Jonathan are great pollinator companions.. make sure you plant them with good spacing between them...depending on what you purchase<standard,semi-dwarf,dwarf>.... plus check out how many hours of chill they need

here is a basic chill hours map for reference....

depending on your soil drainage <clay/sandy.etc> would determine planting call your county extension and ask they would know best..

 

[6884]

Good info major, Thank you. Look's like I'm between 1000 and 1200.

 

[Collector]

I won't plant fruit trees until spring and No chance for hard frost. Here I have to put 6' tall fence hoops around them or the deer eat the buds off all the limbs and kill the trees.are you thinking about potted or bare root trees? I personally have only had luck with bare root trees, every potted tree seems to j root on me. Good luck

 

[Nyboy]

Apple trees means spray spray and more spraying. I researched disease resistant trees for my area did not spray still had lots of trouble. If you have the room plant a crabapple all the orchard here use them for pollination

 

[Smart Red]

As far as I've learned, there are no varieties of apple trees that need to be segrated from other apple trees. The only exception would be clearing wild apple trees from your planting area because they tend to spread disease problems. I've got my 5 apple trees planted in a group right beside my pears, cherries, and peaches. That's what I call my little orchard.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

the red & yellow delicious apples are better as pollinators for lots of other apple trees. i grafted a few heirloom apple trees in 2013 & also planted a few trees i bought from Stark Bros. & Raintree Nursery. i got the usual trees everyone expected-Red & Yellow Delicious, Breyburn, Red Fuji since they are supposed to have a long pollination period for the other trees on my property. since i bought those 4 trees i have not see them flower or produce apples (all 4 from Stark Bros.).

4 Pink Ladies/Cripp's Pinks (from Raintree) had produced & 2 of my grafted heirlooms did this past summer/fall! the Pink Ladies are far from my coop & didn't get fertilized so they produced lots of tiny & deformed apples. i think they got hit hard from the frost & damaged some of the flowers. the 2 heirlooms which are about 15 feet from the coop & right in my garden space get heavily fertilized for the past 4 years & each gave me 4 large apples & not a blemish on them! i also did not get to spraying last winter/spring.

@Lickbranchfarm were you planning on buying the trees locally or ordering them from a catalog? i only know a few places that mention what type of rootstock they graft to. knowing what they use can help you decide how far apart you can or should space them. it also helps you to know how soon you could expect to see apples after they get planted & if they will need extra support since not all rootstock will have a strong root system for many years.

Orange Pippin is always a good reference about apples & some other fruit tree info.
https://www.orangepippintrees.com/articles/fruit-tree-advice/rootstocks-for-apple-trees

 

[thistlebloom]

It's good to hear your grafted apples are producing @Chickie'sMomaInNH .

 

[6884]

All good info guys, thanks. I was at Tractor supply and saw they had a good assortment of fruit trees at several different stages of growth. Some 3' some 6' some could have been 9'. The smaller were rootstock, but the larger were in pots. They looked good and healthy, but I'm not familiar with fruit tree's.

 

[Nyboy]

What you need to research is chill hours needed to produce fruit. You are in the south some apple trees need more cold then others. Major lives in the Carolinas and used to have a orchard.