7 Tips For Faster Growing Apple Trees This Season:- Do you want to get the most apples this season? You can do a few things to get your apple trees to grow a little faster, but most of them will grow in the usual way. This piece by gardening expert Merideth Corhs walks you through her best ways to help apple trees grow faster!
Apple pie, apple cider, and apple cider cakes are all very American foods. Every fall, people all over the country hold festivals with lots of great food and drinks to enjoy apple harvests. Going to a you-pick farm or farmer’s market is fun, but picking apples in your own garden can be even more fun.
7 Tips For Faster Growing Apple Trees This Season
Choose a Tree For Your Climate
- Climate is the primary consideration while picking a tree. There are apple tree varieties for practically every climate in the country.
- In the south, growing apple trees may seem impossible. The Granny Smith cultivar thrives in USDA zones 5-9! Another heat-tolerant cultivar is Braeburn. Braeburns grow in USDA zones 5-8. If you reside in a chilly climate, you’ll need more durable solutions.
- Northern Spy and Red Rome bloom later to tolerate long winters.
Chill Hours
- When picking a tree that will grow well in your area, you need to think about the chill hours. For apple trees to grow well and make fruit, the temperature needs to be between 32 and 45 degrees.
- This time frame lasts for hundreds of hours each season. In the winter, if a tree doesn’t get enough chill hours, it might not grow or make any leaves.
- When choosing a tree, if you don’t think about the weather where you live, you might choose a type that doesn’t do well there. The tree will grow very slowly and might never bear fruit again if that happens.
Plant a Tree That’s at Least Two Years Old
- If you want your tree to grow as quickly as possible, you should avoid the young plants and look for one that is at least two years old.
- You will still have to wait for your tree to hit its harvest age, but it will take only two years instead of four.
- In the beginning, taller, more mature trees will cost a little more, but you’ll be able to gather much faster.
Choose a Fast-Growing Variety
- There are types of apple trees that grow faster than others. If you pick one of these, you’ll get to the fruit production step quickly.
- People know that Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples grow quickly. But if you want something a little more flavorful, check out Lodi and Gravenstein apples too.
Also see:- 10 Companion Plants to Grow with Artichokes
Consider Planting a Dwarf Variety
- If you want to get fruit faster, you might want to plant a small apple tree. Many people find dwarf fruit trees easier to care for at home because they don’t grow very tall. They can grow a lot of fruit in a small area.
- Standard varieties can take up to eight years to bear fruit, but most small varieties bear fruit in just two to three years!
- Columnar apple trees are great for yards in the suburbs and for people who live in apartments. The trees are 8 to 10 feet tall and only 2 feet across. What’s even better about these trees is that you can pick apples from them the first year you plant them.
- Another great dwarf type to plant is Cameron Select, but this one does better in a bigger backyard. These are some of the strongest and most productive apple trees you can plant. They grow to be 8 to 10 feet tall and wide. You should be able to eat this Honeycrisp-like fruit two to three years after growing it.
Plant in The Spring
- After gardening for a while, you know that various plants thrive in certain seasons. However, even within broad seasonal buckets like ‘warm season crops’, vegetables, flowers, and trees must be planted at specified times.
- Some can tolerate light cold, while others need soil temperatures above 60 degrees.
- Apple trees have planting requirements too. A summer or mid-winter plant won’t grow. You can do everything perfectly, but this will hurt your tree and possibly kill it.
- Spring is the ideal planting season in most of the country. Fall planting is possible in warm climates (USDA zones seven and warmer). In areas without freezing winters, November is a good time to plant.
- Planting at the correct time for your location helps it grow and fruit swiftly.
Watering
- Except in very warm climates, natural rain and run-off will likely hydrate mature trees with well-established root systems. They need one inch a week, which you can readily provide in summer.
- However, young trees need more water throughout the week due to their shallow root systems. Aim to water young trees 2 inches per week.
- A single deep watering is better than numerous superficial ones. If you plant many trees, consider a drip irrigation system. A water bag is more efficient for managing a few trees. Let the water bag fill once a week (or twice if you have hot, dry summers) and drip steadily throughout the day.
- Water bags or drip irrigation are recommended for watering young trees year-round.
Fertilizing
- Apple trees need nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium to thrive. Nitrogen grows vegetation, phosphorous roots and blooms, and potassium/potash protects the tree’s immune system. Annual growth and development require these minerals.
- By adding organic compost before planting, you may not need to fertilize for the first year. Fertilize next spring if your tree grows 8-12 inches less.
- Fertilize your tree in April. Dormancy prepares the tree to receive nutrients.
- Fertilize the tree one foot from the trunk. Lightly rake beyond the canopy. Hose-watering helps soil absorb fertilizer without burning roots.
Mulch
- We discuss mulch often at All About Gardening. It’s essential for most garden plants, including apple trees.
- You’ve probably seen huge mulch mounds around trees. Mulch keeps tree roots cool in summer, retains soil moisture, and inhibits weeds and grass from growing.
- Depending on the tree, a 6-12″ mulch mound works well. Make a wide, even mound and dig a well around the trunk. This works with any organic material.
Pruning
- Growing fruit trees requires pruning. Home growers sometimes find the process intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.
- Beginning pruning should be simple. A little cautious pruning is better for the tree than none. Apple trees don’t grow well and may never bear fruit without pruning.
- Pruning in late winter before new growth or blossoms is preferable. When pruning, remember these:
- Remove diseased, dead, or damaged tree branches.
- Remove branches growing toward the trunk.
- Suckers that take plant nutrients should be removed like tomatoes.
- Pruning around ⅓ of new growth from one year can boost growth in the following year.
Watch Out for Disease
- Disease can stunt tree growth. We planted two apple trees close together in my garden for cross-pollination. One large tree was strong. The other had Japanese beetles one year and rust the next.
- Both trees differed substantially. We replaced the sicker, smaller tree because it wasn’t growing.
- Choose a disease-resistant tree for your home. They risk fungal diseases that sap tree energy otherwise. Spread fungicide on sensitive trees to prevent infection all season.
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