How To Grow Apple Trees

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree,” said the iconic German priest Martin Luther. This quote blatantly reveals the joy exuded by the mere act of growing an apple tree. Tranquillity falls short of a word to describe the wondrous and rewarding task of growing apples, whether in your flowery garden, or in your alluring backyard. However, the cultivator must be patient, for ten years from the time of planting you will be gaping in awe at a fabulous apple tree with a bountiful yield. If you live in and around the sub tropical areas, there is one inopportune downside which is, apple trees require more winter cold than what these areas can supply. To focus on the bright sides of apple tree planting, it is a highly therapeutic activity. The luscious apples borne by these trees exude infinite joy endowing one’s palate with unbounded pleasure. You can also plant a disease resistance apple tree for your home garden. Let this article be your guide to beautifying your garden by a prolific apple tree.

Growing Apple Trees

Select a spot that isn’t a frost pocket (low-lying regions where cold air gathers) or a spot that isn’t prone to water-logging. Apple trees thrive in bountiful sun and typically demand around six hours of radiant sunlight.
To be blessed with a higher yield of apples, start off with a young tree from a nursery.
Apple trees are self-incompatible. Hence, you require two trees of different varieties to grow apples. A flowering crab will also pollinate your fruit-bearing apple tree and is useful in pest deterrence. Space these trees 8 feet apart and provide proper water drainage.
When the trees are small and planted in sandy light soil, mulch and water them regularly in the summer for nutrition.
Allow the apples to mature longer and observe their phenomenal increase in flavour.
Plant the tree with the same depth as used in the pot or in cases of bare-rooted trees; refer to the soil mark on the trunk. Cross check if the joining point between the rootstock and scion is at least 5cms above ground level. Once you’re down, firm down the soil with your boots to certify that the roots and soil are in just the right contact.
Powdery soils with medium fertility and faintly more on the acid side is the ideal soil condition for growing apple trees. Apple trees can tolerate a variety of soil types but generally prefer sandy clay loam with a pH of about 6.5.
Dig a 2ft by 4ft square hole and slot in as much of organic material possible.
Winter and spring months are the most conducive weather conditions for this preparation.
Stakes should be two inches in diameter and about five feet high, with two feet below ground, and three feet above.
Prune apple tree branches by cutting off about one quarter of the branches' length. To avoid the onslaught of “silverleaf”, a serious disease precipitated by pruning in winter, vaccinate the tree against the disease or treat the cuts with high quality wound sealing paste.
Ensure that the main branches point upward by supporting them from below. This encourages the new growth to protrude vertically, thus enhancing the tree’s load-bearing capacities for maximum yield.
While the tree is still in bloom, leave only one flower for every three buds as this produces the largest yield.
Turn the individual apples slightly in order to increase exposure to sunlight from all sides.
Control the shape of your tree by developing a well-balanced branching network all around it.
In extremely cold environments, wrap the tress loosely with insulating agents like sack clothes and pile 10 inch long wood chips around the tree trunks for endurance.
Remove insulation of all sorts during spring but retain the wood chips due to their abilities to trap moisture close to the trunk thus prohibiting growth of weeds.
Add 10-10-10 fertilizer with its first watering once spring hits, and keep fertilizing about 4 times a year until the tree is six years old.
When you plant the tree in soils previously fertilized for other crops, do not mix in any additional fertilizer, since, very fertile soil results in excessive tree growth and lesser fruit growth.

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