Apple Tree question

[MountainGirl]

Three years ago this fall we planted a couple apple trees, knowing it would take a few years before they'd produce.
Two years ago, deer pretty much stripped them.. but they flowered a little and we got 3 apples...
Last winter - the deer stayed away, all looked pretty good, tons of flowers this spring, and now -

OMG! It's loaded! And even small I can tell they're gonna pull the young branches down when they get bigger.
Are we supposed to remove some of the apples before something happens or just let it do whatever it's gonna do?

See how skinny the branch is? That's up in the middle of the tree; there are at least 20 little apples hanging on the end of that one and more on the same branch up towards the trunk!

11595

Yes, this is my first fruit tree. I don't know squat about this and Tom doesn't either.

We probably should have removed the lowest branches, those are already hanging just 6" from the ground, and we'll do that late fall -

ALL thoughts/ideas welcome. Thanks!

[Dwight55]

You needn't worry, . . . unless you have a 200 lb gorilla dog guarding the tree . . . the deer will find it . . . strip it . . . and not even say thank you.

I'm seriously thinking of cutting all mine down for that reason.

May God bless,
Dwight

[Innkeeper]

You needn't worry, . . . unless you have a 200 lb gorilla dog guarding the tree . . . the deer will find it . . . strip it . . . and not even say thank you.

I'm seriously thinking of cutting all mine down for that reason.

May God bless,
DwightJust sit out there and shoot the deer as they come in......bait on the branch.

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[Ricekila]

Back-straps ?

[shootbrownelk]

6" off the ground? The rabbits, and other rodents will love you. The deer will take the higher stuff.

[rstanek]

I know the local apple orchard cuts the tops off their trees so they get thicker and not so tall, makes apple picking much easier, just a thought...

[MountainGirl]

Back-straps ?

If by that you mean some way to support the branches.. we might be able to support from below, with forked stakes. Hmmm...

[MountainGirl]

6" off the ground? The rabbits, and other rodents will love you. The deer will take the higher stuff.

Yeah - those branches are 18" off the ground where they attach to the trunk..the weight of what's on them now are pulling them down. I dont think we should prune the tree now - but I might clip off all the apples on those lower branches, just to keep the ground rats away. Do you think that would be a good idea?

[MountainGirl]

I know the local apple orchard cuts the tops off their trees so they get thicker and not so tall, makes apple picking much easier, just a thought...

Good idea, lots of pruning to do this fall. Thanks!

[MountainGirl]

Just sit out there and shoot the deer as they come in......bait on the branch.

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Well now that's an idea too!

I'm not as worried about deer coming up to eat as I am about the weight of the apples (if I do nothing) stripping out the limbs. And I dont think the deer will help me out with judicious thinning, lol.

I just wanna harvest some apples...and not lose the tree.

If you guys think I'm worried for nothing - ffs let me know! :)

[Innkeeper]

We had a late frost so I lost my apple and cherry blossoms so your doing good

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[Ricekila]

If by that you mean some way to support the branches.. we might be able to support from below, with forked stakes. Hmmm...

Not quite --

https://bitzngiggles.com/easy-grilled-venison-backstrap/

[Inor]

Depending on how big the trees are, you might want to remove some of the apples. When ours come in bunches of more than 2 or 3, I do remove some of them to give more tree-juice to the remaining ones.

[hawgrider]

If by that you mean some way to support the branches.. we might be able to support from below, with forked stakes. Hmmm...

Actually.... there was a old old guy who had 2 sizable apple trees. The trees were such good producers that he would simply use forked stake to support heavy branches.

So I would let them grow then you can pick a few crisp green ones before the bugs get to them.

[Slippy]

This method of pruning may not help your existing trees but if you want to plant more trees, it might be the way to go for a more manageable orchard. We plan on using this method this fall/winter when we plant our peach or nectarine trees. (dormant planting) Any, FYI

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/gardening-techniques/small-fruit-trees-zm0z15onzdel

[BucketBack]

I found out deer don't like the wild daisy out by the road. All other plants have their buds chewed off.

[shootbrownelk]

Yeah - those branches are 18" off the ground where they attach to the trunk..the weight of what's on them now are pulling them down. I dont think we should prune the tree now - but I might clip off all the apples on those lower branches, just to keep the ground rats away. Do you think that would be a good idea?

If you do have a lot of rabbits around, you may want to protect the tree trunk with wire mesh. In a bad winter the rabbits will chew the bark off apple trees, especially the smaller ones. If they chew the bark off all the way around they girdle it and kill the tree. Ask me how I know. I've had deer kill a pretty Linden tree by rubbing their antlers on it to remove the velvet. They managed to remove the bark all the way around and killed it.

[Piratesailor]

Nice trees. How mature were they when planted ? What size?

We have mainly citrus that are huge producers. Orange, grapefruit and lemons. We have one small apple tree but it’s very small.

[KnuteFartne]

If by that you mean some way to support the branches.. we might be able to support from below, with forked stakes. Hmmm...This is what I do for my avocado tree. Haven't had the problem with the apple tree yet but ours is loaded with tiny little guys too. I'll be watching this thread for the advice.

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[MountainGirl]

Nice trees. How mature were they when planted ? What size?

We have mainly citrus that are huge producers. Orange, grapefruit and lemons. We have one small apple tree but it’s very small.

I dont know how old they were, but they were about 7' tall when planted.. they're just under 8' now.
Think I'll just keep an eye on them and if the 'hanging' gets to bad might remove smaller or buggy ones; and this fall pruning is on the docket.
Thanks all, for your replies, most appreciated!

[MountainGirl]

This is what I do for my avocado tree. Haven't had the problem with the apple tree yet but ours is loaded with tiny little guys too. I'll be watching this thread for the advice.

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I hear ya. Let me know here if you thin yours out & what happens when you do, lol.
Gonna have a lot of apples to put up this year if they all make it.