Care of Ballerina apple tree
Joe K wrote:
My 5 year old Ballerina apple tree (Polka on MM106 rootstock) has gots lots
of side shoots this year but narry a blossom in sight. Last year I fed it
some blood/bone meal but nothing this year. Should I prune the side shoots,
some of which are quite long or just leave as is and hope that next year is
better? The tree fruited fine for the first 2 years of planting.
Thanks
Joe
Hi Joe,
Are they the same as the 'Minarette' fruit trees I got from Ken Muir
(tall and columnar)?
If so, according to the instructions I got:
Main stem leader (top bit) prune in Winter/early spring.
Cut back 1/3 to 1/2 of last year's growth. Cut back to a bud.
Once the tree's at the required height cut the leader back to 1cm from
the point of growth (in Winter)
Side shoots. If less than 8 inches, don't prune otherwise prune back to
about 3 leaves above the basal cluster in the summer.
Any shoots arising from existing shoots should be cut back to one leaf
beyond the basal cluster (2-4 small closely spaced leaves at the bottom
of the shoot).
If you'd like a copy of the full instructions I could scan them and
email them to you.
Good Luck,
Jeff
NE England
|