Apple trees often set more fruit then they can adequately support. When a tree has too many fruit, the fruit tend to be small, poorly colored, and may have low sugar levels. Limb breakage may also result from over-cropping. In general, large trees can support more fruit then small trees, therefore the ideal number of fruit per tree varies with tree size. The number of fruit per tree can be based on the circumference of the trunk. To determine trunk
When discussing apple rootstocks and cultivars, understanding the terminology used to describe the tree is important. All apple trees purchased from nurseries are grafted or budded, meaning that there are at least two distinct parts of the tree. The scion is the above ground or vegetative portion of a grafted or budded tree comprised of the trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit. The scion is the cultivar or the part of the tree that has name recognition such as Gala or …
The planting depth is critical, especially for trees on dwarf or semi-dwarf rootstocks. When planting, dig the hole deep enough to allow the tree to be planted with the graft union 2 to 3 inches above the ground. If the tree is planted too deep and the graft union is below the ground level, the scion variety will form roots and the tree will become a standard-sized tree. Also, if the graft union is buried, the tree may send up …
