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Old 03-05-2007, 09:32 PM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Jeff Taylor Jeff Taylor is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jan 2007
Posts: 22
Default 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