Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Buckley
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. 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?
--
Mike Buckley
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It isn't very clever having two trees of the same variety, because apple trees benefit from cross-pollination, even if self-fertile. So the idea of replacing one with another variety seems to be a good one, provided you ensure the flowering periods are similar. When I had a young tree that wasn't doing very well, I planted a third tree, but also waited to see if my attempts to rejuvenate the other one would work, which in fact they did. So now I have 3 apple trees.
A tree heavily affected by aphids when a similar one is unaffected tends to suggest that the tree is already weakened, hence allowing attack. Have a look to see if it has cankers or something. Or it may be an issue at root level, maybe it just isn't getting the nutrients and/or water it needs to thrive in comparison to the other one. Maybe it needs a bare earth circle digging round the trunk to reduce grass competition, some feeding and watering. Or maybe it is too wet or too shaded, or needs a good prune.
Rusty says discovery should be flowering now. Well most things are 2-3 weeks late this year, and some things are coming in the wrong order, so I don't think you can be sure. None of my apple trees look like the flower buds will open for at least a week or two yet, though none of my apples are earlies.