I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA

A few facts are missing. Did the trees produce any blossoms? If yes, then it
could
be a pollination issue. If not, the trees may be in a biennial cycle, where
they will produce fruit every other year. Control against this is proper
thinning, so that the trees do not overproduce in any given year.

Sherwin D.

TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...

TIA

You will most likely never get apples. They require full sunshine.
Anything else I can say is moot. However, you also have to select the
proper chill hour trees.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:41:37 GMT, TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA

the first year they produced on what was stored when you planted them. actually,
your instructions for planting should have told you to strip the flowers off to let
the tree growth take all the energy. growth and reproduction are opposing needs.
once trees produce, they divert energy from growth. sun is essential for production,
and if you didnt buy dwarf apple trees, I suggest that you do and make ABSOLUTELY
SURE you are on extremely hard rootstock, something like P22.
It could also be that winter is killing the fruiting buds. I am not sure what your
zone is and how winter hardy your apple selection is. Ingrid

TG wrote:
I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am in zone 2 or 2a, and I'm not sure what the trees are as the labels
have faded.

wrote:
the first year they produced on what was stored when you planted them. actually,
your instructions for planting should have told you to strip the flowers off to let
the tree growth take all the energy. growth and reproduction are opposing needs.
once trees produce, they divert energy from growth. sun is essential for production,
and if you didnt buy dwarf apple trees, I suggest that you do and make ABSOLUTELY
SURE you are on extremely hard rootstock, something like P22.
It could also be that winter is killing the fruiting buds. I am not sure what your
zone is and how winter hardy your apple selection is. Ingrid

TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

You should easily find varieties to suit your conditions, but no fruit
tree will bloom or fruit unless it is in full sun. Full sun means all
day long, morning till evening, at least 8-10 hours.

The only reason it put out any fruit was a mechanism of survival. The
tree was very stressed out and trees will produce a few fruits under
those conditions when they are ready to die.

On Tue, 20 Jun 2006 14:34:01 GMT, TG wrote:

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am in zone 2 or 2a, and I'm not sure what the trees are as the labels
have faded.

wrote:
the first year they produced on what was stored when you planted them. actually,
your instructions for planting should have told you to strip the flowers off to let
the tree growth take all the energy. growth and reproduction are opposing needs.
once trees produce, they divert energy from growth. sun is essential for production,
and if you didnt buy dwarf apple trees, I suggest that you do and make ABSOLUTELY
SURE you are on extremely hard rootstock, something like P22.
It could also be that winter is killing the fruiting buds. I am not sure what your
zone is and how winter hardy your apple selection is. Ingrid

TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

"Apple trees (fruiting varieties) are listed as hardy from zones 4 to 8, though there
are a few crabapple species that are hardy to Zone 2. If you want to grow an apple
tree, however, it isn't impossible! Planting the tree on a south facing slope with
good drainage and protection from winter winds can raise the microclimate of an area,
to the point that you may have success with apples. It can be quite amazing what you
can grow in lower zones if you put plants in just the right places. I would suggest
that the best place to look for plants that will survive your conditions would be a
local nursery, if you have one, or in seed catalogues such as McFayden, West Coast
Seeds, or Thompson and Morgan, if you want a few names to get started with."
http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/fo...read.php?t=556
you need to contact a university or some such that can give you advice on what to
plant and how to create microclimates. I think the blossoms are getting killed.
Ingrid

TG wrote:

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am in zone 2 or 2a, and I'm not sure what the trees are as the labels
have faded.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Maybe you should tell that to several apple trees in my backyard getting a half
day
of sun.

Sherwin D.

Jangchub wrote:

You will most likely never get apples. They require full sunshine.
Anything else I can say is moot. However, you also have to select the
proper chill hour trees.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:41:37 GMT, TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA

TG,

Here are a few measures you can take to try and correct this problem.

Try some light Winter pruning. It sometimes stimulates the trees to produce
blossoms.

Check the chemical makeup of the soil around the trees. It could be something
like a Nitrogen deficiency, or something else.

Try pruning some of the trees shading the apple trees to see if light is a factor. As
I have mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I have apple and other fruit trees that
do ok in partial sun. It depends somewhat on which variety you have.

Sherwin D.

TG wrote:

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am in zone 2 or 2a, and I'm not sure what the trees are as the labels
have faded.

wrote:
the first year they produced on what was stored when you planted them. actually,
your instructions for planting should have told you to strip the flowers off to let
the tree growth take all the energy. growth and reproduction are opposing needs.
once trees produce, they divert energy from growth. sun is essential for production,
and if you didnt buy dwarf apple trees, I suggest that you do and make ABSOLUTELY
SURE you are on extremely hard rootstock, something like P22.
It could also be that winter is killing the fruiting buds. I am not sure what your
zone is and how winter hardy your apple selection is. Ingrid

TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Jangchub wrote:

You should easily find varieties to suit your conditions, but no fruit
tree will bloom or fruit unless it is in full sun. Full sun means all
day long, morning till evening, at least 8-10 hours.

Where are you getting your information from? Yes, they will do better
in full sun, but it is not a requirement as I know from my own experiences.

Sherwin D.



The only reason it put out any fruit was a mechanism of survival. The
tree was very stressed out and trees will produce a few fruits under
those conditions when they are ready to die.

wrote:

plant and how to create microclimates. I think the blossoms are getting killed.
Ingrid

If you read his postings carefully, he says he almost never gets any blossoms. If
you are refering to something killing the flower buds, that is something else.

Sherwin D.

How long is half a day?

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:11:59 -0500, sherwindu
wrote:

Maybe you should tell that to several apple trees in my backyard getting a half
day
of sun.

Sherwin D.

Jangchub wrote:

You will most likely never get apples. They require full sunshine.
Anything else I can say is moot. However, you also have to select the
proper chill hour trees.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:41:37 GMT, TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA

Thanks

The trees seem very healthy, lots of leaves and new growth, just no
blossoms. I was thinking about pruning this fall/early winter, do you
know any good online resources on pruning?

I am thinking about relocating them to a sunnier location, but they have
been in about 4 years now and are pretty established. Where they are
they do get 5-6 hours of sunlight in the months of may/june/jul and a
tad less on each side of those.

A soil test is a good idea, I did put in some fruit tree spikes this
spring as well.

sherwindu wrote:
TG,

Here are a few measures you can take to try and correct this problem.

Try some light Winter pruning. It sometimes stimulates the trees to
produce
blossoms.

Check the chemical makeup of the soil around the trees. It could be
something
like a Nitrogen deficiency, or something else.

Try pruning some of the trees shading the apple trees to see if light
is a factor. As
I have mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I have apple and other
fruit trees that
do ok in partial sun. It depends somewhat on which variety you have.

Sherwin D.

TG wrote:

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am in zone 2 or 2a, and I'm not sure what the trees are as the labels
have faded.

wrote:
the first year they produced on what was stored when you planted
them. actually,
your instructions for planting should have told you to strip the
flowers off to let
the tree growth take all the energy. growth and reproduction are
opposing needs.
once trees produce, they divert energy from growth. sun is
essential for production,
and if you didnt buy dwarf apple trees, I suggest that you do and
make ABSOLUTELY
SURE you are on extremely hard rootstock, something like P22.
It could also be that winter is killing the fruiting buds. I am not
sure what your
zone is and how winter hardy your apple selection is. Ingrid

TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced
fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring
(05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send
jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up:
http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold&qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold
website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold
site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Say about 4 hours. Most of my apple trees are semi-dwarfs on the west side of my
house and only get the afternoon sun. A few are on my south boundary north of a
line of my neighbors tall pines and buckthorn. Even less light gets there.

Sherwin D.

Jangchub wrote:

How long is half a day?

On Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:11:59 -0500, sherwindu
wrote:

Maybe you should tell that to several apple trees in my backyard getting a half
day
of sun.

Sherwin D.

Jangchub wrote:

You will most likely never get apples. They require full sunshine.
Anything else I can say is moot. However, you also have to select the
proper chill hour trees.

On Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:41:37 GMT, TG wrote:

I picked up three apple trees 3 or 4 years back (in the spring), and
planted them in a semi shaded area, where there are some birch and
poplar trees growing about 3 meters away. All three trees produced fruit
the next year, (which surprised me) but have produced little or nothing
since.

They dont get a lot of direct sunlight where they are, but they seem to
be growing well and thriving, just not producing fruit. Last spring (05)
I planted 2 more in an area that gets a bit more sun and slightly more
out in the open, and it looks like they will produce a lot this fall.

Anyway, back to the first three I planted, I am wondering if it is a
matter of pruning, location, or both. I suppose I could possible move
them, although they are probably quite well rooted by now. But I have
seen other apple trees growing wild where they were quite shaded and
there was tons of apples on them, mind you that was in coastal BC and I
now live in northeastern Alberta.

So if anyone here could help me out I'd be grateful! I can send jpegs of
the trees locations or of the trees themselves if that would help...


TIA

TG wrote:

Thanks

The trees seem very healthy, lots of leaves and new growth, just no
blossoms. I was thinking about pruning this fall/early winter, do you
know any good online resources on pruning?

There are numerous sites on the web about pruning. Just plug in 'fruit tree
pruning'
into google.




I am thinking about relocating them to a sunnier location, but they have
been in about 4 years now and are pretty established.

I would only move one at this time as an experiment to see if sunlight is
really
a factor here. Of course, moving it introduces a new variable of possibly
different
soil, etc.

Where they are
they do get 5-6 hours of sunlight in the months of may/june/jul and a
tad less on each side of those.

As I answered before, that normally is plenty of sunlight.



A soil test is a good idea, I did put in some fruit tree spikes this
spring as well.

sherwindu wrote:
TG,

Here are a few measures you can take to try and correct this problem.

Try some light Winter pruning. It sometimes stimulates the trees to
produce
blossoms.

Check the chemical makeup of the soil around the trees. It could be
something
like a Nitrogen deficiency, or something else.

Try pruning some of the trees shading the apple trees to see if light
is a factor. As
I have mentioned elsewhere in this thread, I have apple and other
fruit trees that
do ok in partial sun. It depends somewhat on which variety you have.

Sherwin D.

TG wrote:

Thanks for the answers all.

The first year they did not produce, it was the next year.

There has been very little or no blossoming in the past 2 springs

I am in zone 2 or 2a, and I'm not sure what the trees are as the labels

Just noticed this remark. You are in a very cold climate where most apple
varieties
will not thrive, or may even die. If your variety is not very cold hearty,
that could also
be the problem here. Strange that you were able to get blossoms the first
year, but you
may have had a mild winter that year.

Sherwin D.