Hi

We are in the second summer in our house and after last year's bumper
crop on the mature Bramley tree, this year has been followed by next to
nothing - honestly, I can only spot half a dozen apples although there
will be more hiding amongst its branches but the contrast with last year
is so extreme! The tree is obviously severely biennial. I have read
that Bramleys are one of a number of apple trees with this tendency and
I think ours is an extreme example of it! We had some larger and
awkward branches taken off it last year but it needs more of a thorough
going over I think, to take out old and crossed or straggling growth,
however it's too tall for us to get at a lot of it.

What can be done to even out the apple harvest? Do I need to get a tree
surgeon or apple expert for advice or should we just get it pruned and
then thin the apples severely next year? I am a bit nervous as I
haven't kept a large fruit tree before, and I know very little about
pruning, especially apple trees which I think isn't that
straightforward, but something needs to be done to get the tree back on
to an even keel.

Does anyone know of a tree expert in Shropshire?

Many thanks!
Lynda

In article ,
Lynda Thornton wrote:

What can be done to even out the apple harvest? Do I need to get a tree
surgeon or apple expert for advice or should we just get it pruned and
then thin the apples severely next year? I am a bit nervous as I
haven't kept a large fruit tree before, and I know very little about
pruning, especially apple trees which I think isn't that
straightforward, but something needs to be done to get the tree back on
to an even keel.

That is the standard recommendation. Don't worry - the most common
problem with inappropriate pruning is that you reduce the crop!

One alternative possibility is that there was very poor pollination
because of the dire spring. Don't assume that it is the tree based
on just two years.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes
In article ,
Lynda Thornton wrote:

What can be done to even out the apple harvest? Do I need to get a tree
surgeon or apple expert for advice or should we just get it pruned and
then thin the apples severely next year? I am a bit nervous as I
haven't kept a large fruit tree before, and I know very little about
pruning, especially apple trees which I think isn't that
straightforward, but something needs to be done to get the tree back on
to an even keel.

That is the standard recommendation. Don't worry - the most common
problem with inappropriate pruning is that you reduce the crop!

One alternative possibility is that there was very poor pollination
because of the dire spring. Don't assume that it is the tree based
on just two years.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Hi Nick

I take your point about the short time we've experienced the tree's
behaviour and we also had a wet and cold spring here which I think
delayed and affected quite a few plants. However, we have some other
fruit trees in the same area of the garden, including 4 small (ie kept
small by pruning) eating apple trees, and two of them are full of fruit
(one is discovery variety I'm pretty sure) but the other two have hardly
any on them. There are a couple of small conference pear trees and they
both have a decent number of fruit on them, better than last year. We
also have a large mature victoria plum tree right next to the bramley,
too close really and some branches are tangling up together, but that is
also heavily laden with fruit.

Thanks for the response, I will bide my time and see what happens next
year before taking too much drastic action.

Lynda

"Lynda Thornton" wrote:

Does anyone know of a tree expert in Shropshire?

A few to choose from he

http://tinyurl.com/8ks9h

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

"Lynda Thornton" wrote in message
...
Hi

We are in the second summer in our house and after last year's bumper
crop on the mature Bramley tree, this year has been followed by next to
nothing - honestly, I can only spot half a dozen apples although there
will be more hiding amongst its branches but the contrast with last year
is so extreme! The tree is obviously severely biennial. I have read
that Bramleys are one of a number of apple trees with this tendency and
I think ours is an extreme example of it! We had some larger and
awkward branches taken off it last year but it needs more of a thorough
going over I think, to take out old and crossed or straggling growth,
however it's too tall for us to get at a lot of it.

What can be done to even out the apple harvest? Do I need to get a tree
surgeon or apple expert for advice or should we just get it pruned and
then thin the apples severely next year? I am a bit nervous as I
haven't kept a large fruit tree before, and I know very little about
pruning, especially apple trees which I think isn't that
straightforward, but something needs to be done to get the tree back on
to an even keel.

Does anyone know of a tree expert in Shropshire?

Many thanks!
Lynda
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bramley is a thug of an apple. It ignores all norms and totally
disregards rootstocks. All it really wants to do is to outgrow all others
even at the expense of fruit.
Having pruned it, even as little as you have done, can/will give it
an excuse to start growing even more vigorously.
I would leave it alone for a while and expect the fruiting to begin
again. You should be able to see spurs forming now. Just don't expect it
to behave as other apples. Having said that it remains the best keeping
cooker yet~~ though I keep it well away from my other constrained trees on
dwarfing rootstocks, as it looks so out of place.
Left alone it is not normally a biennial cropper, though does vary from
year to year and then not in the same cycle and conditions as other apples.
Shropshire should be the best region for it to flourish.
Best Wishes Brian.
Raspberries today in the co-op~~ product of USA!!