"Mike Buckley" wrote in message
...
In message , David WE Roberts
writes
snip
Have you tried feeding and watering the tree?
I suspect that it is covered in pests because it is unhealthy rather than
vice versa.
There is a lot going on in that border and it is possible that the
particular apple tree is coming out worst in the battle for food in
general.

Also, when you cut off bits of the tree was the cut wood healthy (light
coloured) or was there brown staining inside?
It is possible that the tree has some major systemic infection.

From the picture it does seem to have a reasonable amount of leaf so it
isn't completely knackered.
However something is holding it back from flowering.
Feed it up and see if it perks up this year.
Also check the leaves for signs of disease.
I think it will need a year of good strong growth before cropping more.

Also, it may just be an old tree, in which case it may be due for
replacement.




The borders have been hacked back in a pretty big way now, but I guess
there's still competition for food, what are the best feeds?


Pretty sure the wood is healthy, I pruned both in the dead of winter. The
only thing I noticed was that it could probably do with some of the
branches pruning entirely as it's a bit tangled in places.

Neither tree looks old, and the garden is only 17 years old at most as
that's when the house was built. I suspect from what the neighbours have
said that a previous owner paid someone to plant the garden up but whether
that included the apple trees I have no idea. If I had to guess I'd say
the trees were at most 10 years old.

Google is your friend!

First hit is
http://www.gardenseeker.com/fruit/ap...pple-trees.htm

One good point it makes is that the feeding roots are further out from the
trunk so it should be fed under the edge of the leaf canopy.

My standard feed for almost anything (without special feeding requirements)
is a mixture of Growmore, chicken sh*t, and manure (usually from HomeBase).
Not necessarily balanced but generally does more good than harm :-)