Dumb question about apples . . .

[Whitewater]

Can't seem to find the answer anywhere, hoping you folks will know!

So, this year for some reason our 3 year old apple tree is positively LOADED with blossoms, that look gorgeous and smell heavenly. Needless to say, Hubby and I are thrilled! Particularly since last year wasn't really worth talking about, and the VERY early snow/frost combo killed a lot of the bees around here and the two proto-apples that were forming never got pollenated and so, never developed into real apples.

But my question is this:

Are apple blossoms like strawberries, where each flower means an apple? Or does the fruit do something different?

I noticed the blossoms appear to actually grow in a cluster, so maybe, one apple per cluster?

On a three year old tree, will we even *get* apples this year? The tree is a Honey Gold, if anybody's wondering, and there's another Honey-something tree about a half a block away for pollination. We bought a HoneyCrisp at the same time, but the dog ate it and it died. Hopefully this fall we'll get another Honey Crisp tree and put *it* in the yard with a fence around it!

This is my first experience with apples from a tree, and I really don't know a whole lot. Help is always appreciated!


Whitewater

 

[Wildsky]

I have two apple tree's and I don't know how old they are or what kind they are.
One produces red apples and the other green.

The green apples develop in pairs, they do pop out where there were flowers. The red apples, develop single where the blossoms were.

 

[Greenthumb18]

For apples, not every flower will develop into an apple. You'll probably get 2 apples per cluster 3 at the most. Some of the flower buds that were starting to develop into an apple brown and fall off. Its like survival of the fittest for apples. The strongest and best apple will grow on the tree.

I'm going to be planting a Honeycrisp apple tree too soon. I'd say its a good choice for an eating apple, but i havent tasted them before i know some grocery stores have them though. I would like to taste some before i plant a tree.

 

[Whitewater]

Honeycrisps are FABULOUS eating apples, my hands-down favorites. To me, they are crisp, not mushy like some apples can get, they're sweet and tart, and they have a distinct though mild honey undertone. I am pretty picky about apples and I love, love, love Honeycrisps.

And it's not just because I live in Minnesota! (Honeycrisps were developed here at the UMN).

Other people have told me that Honeycrisps were developed to have a taste that resembles the best of wild apples and that they really do taste a lot like the apples you may remember from that apple tree way back when.

Honey crisp apples are not huge (Despite what you may see in the store) and I find them nice to look at, mostly red, with some yellow and pink spreading from the top.

I like to eat them just for the taste, but I find that their crisp freshness makes for a decent palate cleanser too.


I'm hoping that in a few years, the Honey Crisp tree in the back yard and the Honey Gold in the front yard produce a phenomenal multi-purpose apple. I intend to eat them fresh, to make pies, and applesauce. And cider, if we ever have enough.


Whitewater

 

[Rosalind]

Are apple blossoms like strawberries, where each flower means an apple? Or does the fruit do something different?

Technically, if you have enough pollinators, yes--but about half the fruit will fall off as little green apples. Crabapples tend to make more fruit per cluster than regular apples though. Since most folks don't have enough pollinators, you're much more likely to get 1-2 apples/cluster.

On a three year old tree, will we even *get* apples this year?

Depends on the rootstock. Dwarf and semidwarf rootstocks generally produce apples sooner than standards. But yes, you very well could. If there seem to be a lot of little green apples hanging on even in mid-July, it might be a good idea to yank some off so the remaining fruit can get bigger. Unless, of course, you prefer smallish apples. Up to you, really.

 

[vfem]

My suggestion is if you are to get large groupings of apples from the clusters, you need to 'trim' down some of the apples to make sure that the others you keep grow as big and juicy as possible.

They may ALL get pollinated and you get a cluster of say 6. Removing 4 of them after development ensures the other 2 will be stronger and develop fully.

I have a small 3 year old peach, and I used the same technique to remove any small peaches, about 1/3 of what produced into fruit. I want the small tree to not be over loaded and struggle to hold all that fruit and ripen all that fruit... especially so soon as its still a young tree.

 

[ducks4you]

THANKS, Vfem!! I didn't know how to thin. I have tons of small fruits on my red apple tree (type unknown) and the Golden Delicious tree that I fenced in for the horses. My oldest tree, another Golden Delicious had 12--count 'em!!! blooms on it's 15 foot canopy--yes, I know it needs more pruning. Good year for pruning THAT one. What's the best thing to brush on the limbs after pruning (during the growing season)?

 

[Wildsky]

I plan to thin down to one apple on each "cluster" and hope to get bigger ones.
I bought some ladies pantihose (knee high's) to put over the apples in the hope of preventing bugs from getting them. I hope it works! Even if I save a few apples for bugs this year it will be worth it.

 

[Whitewater]

Oh, my, I don't think I can wait until October now! I'm so excited about our apple tree and what all those pretty blossoms mean!

Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.



Whitewater (feel free to keep discussing!)

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Be careful about pruning larger trees too much in any one year as you will get a whole lot of useless thin shoots ( called water sprouts) appearing & therefore using all the tree's energy. Better to do it over a period of a few years & to prune in the autumn/early winter -- it will then encourage strong spring growth & apple production.

Hope this helps. I have owned two gardens that were full of neglected old apple trees & was guided through the pruning of them by a wonderful gardening neighbour.


:rose Hattie :rose