Johnafree Apple Trees

[baymule]

I think I took us on a useless side quest. MY POINT was that I don't think I will hurt their roots when I pull the metal stakes out

So you highjacked you own thread?

 

[flowerbug]

hi jinks, hi jacks, didn't we just have a post about jacks? apple trees grafted to miniature root stock will likely not have an extensive root system anyways. at least that is my hunch from the back corners of my foggy brain...

hope the trees do well.

 

[ducks4you]

HAY---THIS IS A M E R I C A!!!! I have the FREEDOM to hijack my own thread.





so there

 

[ducks4you]

What apple tree do you recommend for good cross pollination? I can buy a cheapo one on clearance at a box store and plant it in the horse's turnout, now that I have a good method to do so. Probably put in a pot and in the garden and plant it next Spring. Thanks!

 

[thistlebloom]

What apple tree do you recommend for good cross pollination? I can buy a cheapo one on clearance at a box store and plant it in the horse's turnout, now that I have a good method to do so. Probably put in a pot and in the garden and plant it next Spring. Thanks!

This is a good apple info site:
https://www.orangepippintrees.com/pollinationchecker.aspx?v=1752

They say that white bloom crabapples will also be good pollinators.
If you know someone with a white blooming crab you could cut some blooming branches and put them in a bucket of water near your Jonafree when it's in bloom. Or for that matter you could do that with any of the pollinators listed.

Crabapples are excellent pollinators for apples in general and they are beautiful in bloom. Worth having just for the beauty.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I tried an online search, mainly trying to determine if Jonafree is an early, mid-season, or late bloomer. You'd think that basic information would be easy to find but I totally failed. I don't trust bloom and harvest season to be the same but maybe they are. You are looking for a tree in bloom the same time, that time can vary depending on your climate. Stark Bros recommend two that they sell, Thistle's site recommends several others, not the Stark Bros ones and most I've never heard of. I'd think your odds of finding a specific variety at a close-out would be fairly slim. That's why I was looking for bloom season.

If you want another apple I'd be tempted to get a specific one I wanted instead of trying for a closeout variety. If you just want a pollinator get one of those white blossomed crab apples. You might find one of those on clearance.

 

[thistlebloom]

Zestar was listed on Orange Pippin as a pollinator. I had one of those and the apples were delicious. It's a relatively recent introduction and shouldn't be too hard to find. I think I found mine at Home Depot.

 

[ducks4you]

This is a good apple info site:
https://www.orangepippintrees.com/pollinationchecker.aspx?v=1752

They say that white bloom crabapples will also be good pollinators.
If you know someone with a white blooming crab you could cut some blooming branches and put them in a bucket of water near your Jonafree when it's in bloom. Or for that matter you could do that with any of the pollinators listed.

Crabapples are excellent pollinators for apples in general and they are beautiful in bloom. Worth having just for the beauty.

WOW! What a good idea. Thanks for the link.
@Ridgerunner, I bought them at Stark Bros, BUT I don't want to pay their prices just for a pollinator tree. I figure that the horses could use a 2nd apple tree and they don't care about the condition of the apples, just that they are determined to sweep them up when they Fall. They remind me of this, and that they are making poo for my gardens.

 

[flowerbug]

What apple tree do you recommend for good cross pollination? I can buy a cheapo one on clearance at a box store and plant it in the horse's turnout, now that I have a good method to do so. Probably put in a pot and in the garden and plant it next Spring. Thanks!

all about the timing and i'm not familiar enough with any of them to recommend a specific tree, but if you can get one of those crab apple trees that gets the large crab apples on it they are worth it if the timing works out right. also if you are interested in different colors of blooms you can also figure in that angle as some crab apple trees have very pretty colors.

 

[ducks4you]

Gosh, @flowerbug I wish I Could grow a crabapple. Problem is that it could make my horses sick---I looked into it. I will study up and find something that blooms at the same time and buy cheap clearance, plant in my tree pot--the really big, plastic one, and winter it in my garden bed, the plant next Spring. Should be the same age as my baby trees.