Mike Buckley wrote:
Hi All

We moved into a house last July, and I was pleased to get a good crop of
(I think) Discovery apples from one tree. The second tree also a
Discovery I think was covered in aphids and only had a couple of apples
on it. I sprayed the aphids off with a hosepipe and looked forward to
two crops in 2010. It doesn't look like it though, the healthy tree is
still healthy and has masses of blossom on it, the aphids tree doesn't
appear to have aphids but does appear to have powdery mildew. I've had
a go at spraying it with some stuff from the local garden centre but
there's very little blossom and no sign of any coming.

I would expect Discovery to be in full bloom just now. If there's no
sign of flower buds, there's something wrong.

The mildew is
only on bits of the tree, and it does look healthier than last year now
I've removed the affected parts. Ladybirds in attendance hopefully
dealing with aphids.

Is there anything I can do to help this tree along? I guess it's too
late for this year, but for next? Or is it doomed?

Um, if it were my tree and it turned out to be Discovery, it would
indeed be doomed - or at the very least the top-hamper replaced by
grafting on a decent apple or three.

I rate Discovery with French Golden Disgusting, and to compound its lack
of attraction, it doesn't keep.

Is it possible that the tree is suffering from woolly aphids rather than
mildew? The recent weather (here in the East anyway) doesn't seem very
conducive to mildew.

If the tree itself is OK, you could try lopping off a branch, leaving
about a foot on the trunk, and grafting on some othe varieties, say,
Bramley and Cox, or Codling and Charles Ross.

If those flourish, lop off another branch and graft on a couple more
varieties.

If they take, but don't flourish, I'd suspect the tree needs to be
removed. The wood is excellent for burning and for smoking fish and
cheese, and for woodwork, carving and turning.

You'll find grafting instructions in some books and on the WWW - it's
not too late to try this year, though ideally grafting should have been
done (traditionally) around Good Friday.

--
Rusty