When it comes to apples, flowering is the most critical time. It decides how the yield will turn out. We show what needs to be considered when flowering.
apple trees (Malus domestica) already form the flower buds for the coming year in early summer. Due to the hibernation of the plants and their own frost protection mechanisms, they get through the cold season well. In the spring, however, the protective mechanisms are deactivated and the young flower buds wake up as soon as they have one have experienced a definite period of cool temperatures and subsequently thrive in suitable warm and sunny ones conditions. This stimulus to sprout as a result of cool temperatures is called vernalization. This mechanism is found not only in apples, but also in many other plants. As a rule, however, the blossoming of apples takes place at a time when frosty temperatures can still prevail. Then it becomes critical for the apple blossom: late frosts in spring can wipe out the entire apple harvest.
contents
- Protect apple blossom from late frost
- Apple Blossom: Thin out too many blossoms and small fruits
- The apple tree does not bloom: why is that?
Protect apple blossom from late frost
The blossoms of the apple trees are particularly sensitive when they are already wide open. Late frosts are therefore a major problem for the trees. However, there are a few things to consider when planting in order to protect the plants from threatening late frosts. A sheltered and less wind-prone location does a lot to protect against frost. You can also protect your apple tree from frost on cold nights during the apple blossom with an air-permeable fleece. Some old apple varieties are also less susceptible to frost, so their cultivation can be worthwhile.
In commercial cultivation, other methods are used to protect the flowers from frost, for example frost protection sprinkling. The trees are constantly sprayed with water, creating an ice shell around them. Due to the crystallization heat of the freezing water, the temperature inside does not drop far below zero and the flowers do not freeze to death. Fruit growers also install fire barrels in their plantations and "heat" their blossoming apple trees on cold nights to protect the sensitive blossoms from failure.
Apple Blossom: Thin out too many blossoms and small fruits
Many apple trees put on more fruit than they can support. As a result, the fruits remain small. It is best to thin out your apple tree to encourage fruit formation. When June falls, the tree itself sheds the unfertilized blossoms. If there are still too many blossoms on the apple tree, remove them by hand. Remove apples that are too close together or damaged as soon as you spot them. Two to three apples per spur are an optimal number to create a perfect relationship between quantity (harvest volume) and quality (size and taste of the apples).
The apple tree does not bloom: why is that?
If your apple tree doesn't bloom in the first year, there's no reason to panic. Young trees only flower after a few years. With a self-grown seedling, it takes even longer than with a grafted specimen (read more about this here Grafting of apple trees). Depending on the variety, it can take 5 to 10 years before the first harvest. Conversely, the tree can also be too old and already in "retirement", so that it no longer blooms or at best very sparsely.
If you can observe an annual dependency in the abundance of the apple blossom, then you have become aware of the so-called "alternance". A good flowering and harvesting year will be followed by a year with significantly less flowering and less fruit set. For this reason, too, the blossom in apple orchards is deliberately thinned out in order to achieve the most balanced number of blossoms per tree and thus an even harvest every year.
In general, one should remember that the apple tree does not bear fruit on one-year-old shoots. The pruning in winter therefore plays a major role. To be sure that you can bring in a harvest next year, you must be careful not to cut off all biennial or perennial shoots. A new shoot, no matter how lush, will not ensure an equally lush harvest, because the newly sprouted shoots will not bear fruit. It should be noted that some varieties, such as 'Red Star Reinette’ prefer to form their buds further forward on the shoots. In this case, shortening the shoots too much prevents flowering and thus fruit formation.
In addition to the age of the tree, alternation and poor pruning, there may be other reasons why the apple blossom does not blossom:
- Bad growth
- Over-fertilization: Too much nitrogen stimulates the plants to vigorous vegetative growth of roots, shoots and leaves - fruit formation and flowering fall by the wayside
- decrepitude
- Pest infestation (important Diseases and pests in apple trees you'll find here)
tip: If you use a predominantly organic organic fertilizer like ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer use, over-fertilization is virtually impossible, since the nutrients are only released slowly and gently to the apple tree.
The reasons for the missing apple blossom can be varied. In some cases, you can specifically help your apple tree to bloom lushly and successfully. But even the blossoming of the tree is no guarantee for a good harvest. Frost damage can always throw a spanner in the works.
All information about apple trees − from cultivation through care to harvest − can be found in this special article.
