Practical help for the home orchardist

What Can I Do For You?

You have an apple tree (or two or three), it’s seen better days. Maybe you have some well cared for trees but bugs or disease are eating your lunch. Your local Cooperative Extension office sent you some useful information about growing apples, but tight budgets don’t allow them to send someone out to see your situation. Whether you know what you want, or aren’t sure yet I would like to help you get there.

There are many approaches to pest control, my job is to help you set goals and then develop a plan to meet them. If all you want is to feed the local wild life, the plan is pretty simple. You want to feed your extended family and supply the local food pantry? That will require some time and effort. 

The single most important practice to keep your tree healthy is pruning. If you do nothing else with your tree, regular pruning will encourage healthy productive growth (I am assuming the soil is relatively fertile and the tree is getting enough water).  While trees can go for years without pruning and look healthy, poor growth habits corrected earlier rather than later contribute to the productive longevity of the tree. Apple trees contribute more to your property than apples. They may provide shade, beauty, forage for wildlife and other attributes.

Why prune an apple tree? After all, an oak tree doesn’t need frequent pruning. While many trees take a hundred years or better to reach their full mature height, an apple tree that may live 100+ years reaches its maximum height after 30 years or so. That gives a lot of time for filling in. Pruning thins out excess growth and allows sunlight to reach into the lower parts of the tree, allowing limbs to survive closer to the ground. Pruning also allows you to keep the tree to the height that fits the landscape.

The Apple Doc

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Contact Info

207-415-9025

E-mail:
Scott@theappledoc.com