[dankay123]

i have inherited an apple tree on my new allotment plot and it has produced 1 apple as it is only young. its around 9-10 foot high and looks healthy. the apple it has  produced is small. how can you make the fruit bigger or will they get bigger next season? i have fed with growmore pellets as a slow release feed and put some fresh compost around the base of the tree. any ideas?

[sunshineband]

It will certainly have had enough water 

Is it an eating apple, or a  crab apple? Crab apples are naturally small.

[dankay123]

its defo an eating apple.

[dugless]

Look up on the internet by putting in Google Pruning apple trees.

If pruned corectly you will  get more and bigger apples as the years go by.

[Living in Hope]

Also depends on the variery, I have an eater with very small apples, was well established and in the garden when we moved here and they haven't got bigger but taste great.

[sunshineband]

Don't start pruning anything until you know if you have a (more usual) spur fruiting apple or a tip bearer.

You can find out by checking whereabouts the new fruit buds for next sring have formed - they are short fat buds, not pointy ones like leaf buds.

Spur bearers will have these in clusters of leaves that are close to the main branch structure. You can cut off all new growth to shape the tree, down to about two leaves, beyond these buds. This will allow light and air to the buds and ripen them for next year.

Tip bearers have buds towards the end of this year's growth, so don't cut these off unless they are waaaaaayy too long and the tree needs shaping. (These sorts often are grown as a 'weeping' style tree or an open goblet shape, with or without a central leader)

If not sure, cut off nothing and check in the Spring whereabouts the blossom is. Missing a yewar's pruning is not the end of the world  

Give the tree a potash based feed in February - Rose Fertiliser is one - as this will promote healthy bud formation for the year after, as well help the exisiting buds to perform well

Hope all that helps

[SG6]

Are there any other apple trees around that can pollinate it ?

Concerning the pruning it may be an idea to simply take a look and see if there is anything that is broken or diseased and remove that. Also if one branch is excessively long then prune to achieve a shape/structure.

[upthetump]

hi didnt see this until i posted a new topic, could be pollination or lack of. when the trees were in blossom the bees went back into hibernation as weather was so cold, thats what happened here anyway. worst year ever for me

[grendel]

picked 3 apples of one variety off my tree at the plot today, the other variety arent quite ready yet.
Grendel