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Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 5:09 pm
by Happy
I have an ancient old apple tree in my front yard that seems to bloom on a 3 year cycle...bumper crop, average crop and next to nothing crop. Last spring was looking like a bumper year but the drought changed things and the tiny green apples withered and dropped long before picking time. Well I guess the old tree saved it's reserves and came back with another bumper crop of blooms this year. Hoping for a better year!
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 6:27 pm
by windwalkingwolf
My ancient trees are just covered as well. Some kind of orange Pippin variety, something to do with a wolf...Lobo or Wolf Lake or something like that, you'd think the wolf lady would remember *rolls eyes*. Anyway, in a 'good' year, the apples are ENORMOUS, and soooo delicious. Last year they were only fist sized and a little sour. Fingers and toes crossed for a good apple year!!!
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 6:41 pm
by Happy
I have no clue what variety this might be called. Ive been told the tree was planted yards away from the one room school house that stood in my front yard long before it was no longer in use. It produces a medium sized red that stays fairly firm but is deliciously sweet. They're not the greatest for pies or crisps but they make an awesome apple sauce.
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 7:01 pm
by TomK
Its much the same here...loads and loads of blossoms...same as last year and the yields were not bad then...hoping for a litle better this year....would love to find a weekend course on tree pruning etc ...i have dozens and dozens of large wild apple trees here..all kinds of varieties and a line of four different crabs that my father in law planted back in the 80s that yield wonderful crabapples...theres even a Cox's Orange Pippin tree down at the bottom of the meadow next to the house...awesome eating apple...
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 7:14 pm
by labradors
Oh what fun to have a Cox's Orange Pippin!!! I remember those from my youth in England.
I LOVE apples, and bought a Courtland, a Liberty and a MacIntosh years ago. We also have several wild apples on the property and some of those produce really good apples for cooking. All the trees are covered in blossoms this year, so fingers crossed for a bumper crop for us all.
I've noticed the Baltimore Orioles like to peck off the apple blossoms though. The nerve! {LOL}
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 8:50 pm
by Killerbunny
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 9:12 pm
by windwalkingwolf
That may be it, looks and sounds like it but I can't be certain. Wish I'd written it down, the apples in a good year are softball sized plus, and so tasty. I'm going to try and root some whips this year...the trees are REALLY old and probably don't have many years left
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Tue May 23, 2017 10:42 am
by Ontario Chick
We have Wolf River, got it from a local orchard few years back when they were planting the, wish I had gotten more.
All our apple trees are also covered including one from the seed that is only about 5 years old, pretty unusual .
The most spectacular is the one pear tree we have that looks like a giant bouquet of white flowers.
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 5:29 pm
by Farrier1987
My apricot is loaded with tiny fruit, looks like limb breaking load developing, will have to thin. Some tiny cherries on a couple trees.
Plums blossoming, planted five years ago, bloom every year, but never get plums, not sure why. Got a couple apple trees the goats keep getting at, have not killed them, but take all the young branch shoots. Its a good thing I like goats, but they may want to quit pushing it. Pears all in bloom, but have had very few pears either.
Raspberries doing well but no blooms yet. I have the purple florocaine fruiting that are very good, will be completely done by the end of July. And last year got a primocaine variety, Polka, that bears really well August til frost, good flavor and easy upkeep, I like them too.
Bought Mer du Bois strawberries this year, seem to be establishing well, I hope this variety turns out better than the veestar and others bred for commercial production, but we will see.
Re: Bumper year for apples!
Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 7:11 pm
by Ontario Chick
This is my ancient old apple tree, ( about 40 years old) not as nice as yours Happy, started life as a multi stem wild apple which I kept trimming until two trunks left and then one died, hence the crook in the remaining trunk. Seems to have apples most years, beloved by chickens and turkeys and deer. :)
My "from seed apple trees", first year these three are blooming at the same time,
some of the blooms look very exotic