[GardenShed]

I planted a Braeburn apple tree about a year ago, its now about 6 feet tall.  Never grown a fruit tree before and would appreciate some advice if possible.  It blossomed this year, which has now all gone.  I notice that there are now some buds on the tree, a few CMs in size - I presume this is the fruit - they look sort of brownish.  Is that the colour they should be?  How long does it take for them to mature?

Also, vandals tried to uproot it recently, but didn't succeed.  I pulled it back into position, compressed the soil to keep it straight and watered it well.  I now notice that the leaves look like they are dying - brown patches.  Some leaves are still totally green.  Could it be that the tree is dying or is this normal.  I also notice that some of the leaves have holes in them, even quite high up leaves.  Not round holes necessarily, just patches where bits of the leaf near the centre of the leaf look like it might have been eaten or rotted away.  What can this be and what should I do?

Do I need to spray anything on it or is it too late?

Lastly, I haven't pruned it ever. Should I leave this for a few years before doing so?  I notice that some stems are growing right at the bottom of the trunk -  should I cut these off?

Any help appreciated! Thanks.

[diospyros]

Some photos would help if that is possible!  First off you should certainly remove the branches growing at the bottom of the tree.  Fruit trees are usually grafted onto the roots of a different variety to dictate how big they grow, and these branches may be from the rootstock, which will not produce the right fruit and may divert strength away from the bit of the tree you want.

It is not a disaster if you have not pruned the tree apart from this.  It depends how strongly it is growing, but apples are usually pruned in the winter.  You can prune in summer but regrowth will not be so strong, so if you have a very vigorous tree with not much fruit this is sometimes done.  In any case it is easiest to give advice on pruning when the tree is bare.

I'm not so sure about the symptoms it is showing, whether this is due to the vandalism or some pest and disease.  This where a photo would help.

You would expect the fruit to be ready in September or so. So brownish "buds" doesn't sound quite right, at this stage the fruitlets would more likely be green and look like little tiny skinny apples.  Photo useful again.  I would say though that most apple trees need a pollination "partner".  Braeburn I think is self fertile, but even self fertile varieties do better with a pollinator. Your tree may just be too young still.

[GardenShed]

Thanks for the advice.  I've attached some pictures to show the leaves and the fruit.  On closer inspection, I would say the fruit looks more reddish than brownish - perhaps this is OK, though some of the leaves don't look too healthy. 

The tree has long thin branches now, when should I prune and hoe much?
Should I spray the tree with something? If so, what and when?

Cheers.

[Aunt Sally]

It should be pruned.

It's still very young so not to late:

http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-apple-trees.htm

[GardenShed]

It should be pruned.

It's still very young so not to late:

http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-apple-trees.htm

Should I prune it now whilst it has fruit on?  Also, this is the first year it has had fruit - should I not pick the fruit this year?

Thanks.

[Aunt Sally]

I wouldn't let it fruit this year and I would summer prune it later this summer.

Look at the link I've already posted and this one:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=212

[GardenShed]

Does it matter that it has already fruited?  There sees to be loads of fruit on it.

To recap, questions I am hoping to get help / advice on are -

Does the tree / leaves look OK?
Should I spray it with something to protect it?
Does the fruit in the pictures look healthy?
The tree is about 6 foot tall and has long thin branches - if I prune it, does it matter that there is lots of fruit already growing on it?

Cheers.

[New shoot]

The leaves are showing signs of stress.  The smaller round patches that are going black in the centres are a fungal disease, so you need a fungicide spray and then repeat spray every 2 weeks.  The larger discoloured patches are probably a reaction to being uprooted.

As Aunt Sally says, best not to let it fruit.  It will do no harm that baby fruits have set, just pick them off.  It is the strain of growing them to full size that does the damage to a young tree. The fruits look fine in themselves.

The long thin branches are due to a lack of pruning.  Follow the pruning guides you have been given and this will sort itself out.

Finally, it will do nothing but good if you mulch the base of the tree with manure or good homemade compost.  Just don't let it touch or mound up round the trunk 

[GardenShed]

The leaves are showing signs of stress.  The smaller round patches that are going black in the centres are a fungal disease, so you need a fungicide spray and then repeat spray every 2 weeks.  The larger discoloured patches are probably a reaction to being uprooted.

As Aunt Sally says, best not to let it fruit.  It will do no harm that baby fruits have set, just pick them off.  It is the strain of growing them to full size that does the damage to a young tree. The fruits look fine in themselves.

The long thin branches are due to a lack of pruning.  Follow the pruning guides you have been given and this will sort itself out.

Finally, it will do nothing but good if you mulch the base of the tree with manure or good homemade compost.  Just don't let it touch or mound up round the trunk 

Thank you for the advice, appreciate it. Out of interest how would I have prevented it from fruiting - just by picking off the small fruit?  And what is the reason for not letting it fruit?  Will it be OK to let it fruit next year?

Finally, where can I buy a fungicide?

Thanks.

[New shoot]

Yes you just pick the baby fruits off    The reason for not letting young trees fruit is because you want them to put their energy into establishing themselves, rather than grow fruit. 

It wil be fine to let it fruit next year, just thin out to a reasonable number, but remember apples do what is called a 'June drop' where they shed excess fruit.  Wait until after this, then pick some more off if you think there are too many.  Post a piccy at the time and someone will be able to say yay or nay to extra thinning 

Fungicide sprays are available at any garden centre, DIY sheds or any shop which offers gardening stuff.  Most big supermarkets carry at least 1 brand in their gardening sections 

[GardenShed]

Yes you just pick the baby fruits off    The reason for not letting young trees fruit is because you want them to put their energy into establishing themselves, rather than grow fruit. 

It wil be fine to let it fruit next year, just thin out to a reasonable number, but remember apples do what is called a 'June drop' where they shed excess fruit.  Wait until after this, then pick some more off if you think there are too many.  Post a piccy at the time and someone will be able to say yay or nay to extra thinning 

Fungicide sprays are available at any garden centre, DIY sheds or any shop which offers gardening stuff.  Most big supermarkets carry at least 1 brand in their gardening sections 

That's really helpful.  I'll pick off the fruit and apply a mulch of compost and some fungicide.  As for the pruning - the first link was really helpful and clear to understand, but I was quite confused reading the second one about summer pruning.  Will it be OK to follow the winter pruning guidance in the first link during summer or shall I simply wait until November / December?

The first link does not specifically say how much to take off a branch, but the illustration seems to indicate that about a third of the branch should be cut off - does that seem a bout right as a general rule of thumb?

In terms off the fruit, is it worth just leaving a few or is it best to get rid of them all??

Cheers.

[New shoot]

I'm sure leaving just a couple of fruits will be OK if you are going to mulch the tree and help it along as much as possible 

As you are stripping the rest of the fruit, I would say you could get away with a fairly major prune later this summer.  Look at picture 2 in the first link and deal with any of these problems if you have them.  I would then concentrate on getting the tree into the right shape as shown in section 3.  You can cut back the long branches by about a third and it will make them branch, so the tree will not be so leggy.

I grow cordon apples so all my pruning is summer pruning.  I cut back all the long shoots the trees have made over the spring and summer, so I have lots of short stubby branches off the main trunks.  This concentrates the tree's energy into producing fruit buds for the next year on those shortened branches, rather than grow lots of branches that I don't want.  The fruit is there on the older branches, so I can do this without losing any crop.

Once you get your tree into a nice open goblet shape and you have lots of side branches coming off the main stems, you can do this as well to maxmise fruit production, then do your main structural pruning in the winter 

[GardenShed]

I'm sure leaving just a couple of fruits will be OK if you are going to mulch the tree and help it along as much as possible 

As you are stripping the rest of the fruit, I would say you could get away with a fairly major prune later this summer.  Look at picture 2 in the first link and deal with any of these problems if you have them.  I would then concentrate on getting the tree into the right shape as shown in section 3.  You can cut back the long branches by about a third and it will make them branch, so the tree will not be so leggy.

I grow cordon apples so all my pruning is summer pruning.  I cut back all the long shoots the trees have made over the spring and summer, so I have lots of short stubby branches off the main trunks.  This concentrates the tree's energy into producing fruit buds for the next year on those shortened branches, rather than grow lots of branches that I don't want.  The fruit is there on the older branches, so I can do this without losing any crop.

Once you get your tree into a nice open goblet shape and you have lots of side branches coming off the main stems, you can do this as well to maxmise fruit production, then do your main structural pruning in the winter 

That's great - thanks!

I also have a plum tree which I also planted about a year ago, its about 6 feet tall I guess (similar to apple tree).  It has long thin branches and has little green fruits on it.  Given what you have said about the apple tree, I guess I should also have pruned the tree in winter.  The leaves don't look as unhealthy as the apple tree, though they do have some markings - see picture below.  Shall I spray it with fungicide also?  And should I pick off all the fruit for this year, mulch around the base and prune it towards the end of summer, before settling in into winter pruning?  Lastly, the tree has some little branches near the base with leaves on - should I get rid of these?

[New shoot]

Its the same basic principles, but you do an all-in-one prune on plums and other stone fruits in mid summer.  If you prune in the winter, you risk the tree getting silver leaf disease.

Those little branches at the base of the trunk are suckers from the root stock, so remove them.  Prune for shape, then shorten the main branches.  In subsequent years, shorten the side branches that come off the main ones as well, so you get a compact, productive tree.  With the fruit, if you have just a few, I would leave them.  If there are loads, I would pick off some to give the tree less to worry about in its first year.

Fungicide won't harm the tree.  It does have some mottling on the leaves, but I'm not sure that is fungal disease. The tree could just need feeding, so maybe mulch it as well while you are doing the apple tree 

By the way, there is no need to quote my replies if you are the next poster after me.  We generally use quotes when several people are posting on a thread so it is clear which of them we responding to 

[GardenShed]

OK thanks.  When pruning plum trees mid-summer, will the fruit have fallen / matured by that point - just wondering how you prune a tree whilst fruit is still on it / still growing? Thanks.