AT A GLANCE
Can you plant an apple tree alone?
Usually you should do not plant an apple tree alone, because this requires a suitable pollination partner for good fruit yield. However, there are exceptions, like the increasingly popular duo trees.
Why shouldn't an apple tree be planted alone?
Most apple varietiesare self-sterile, that is, the fruit trees your flowers cannot with your own pollen fertilize.
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For this reason, you should always cultivate at least two apple trees. Make sure that it is a suitable second variety. Unfortunately, not every apple variety flowering at the same time is compatible. It is therefore advisable to seek advice on these varieties from the nursery.
Is a crabapple suitable as a pollinator?
Even those cultivated as jewelry Ornamental apples are suitable as pollinators for apple trees. For example, the ornamental apple variety "Golden Hornet" is considered an excellent pollinator of the well-known cultivated apples
- cox orange
- Elstar‚
- gala,
- gloster,
- rubinets,
- Jonagold.
When is it enough to plant a single apple tree?
Stand in neighboring gardens already other apple trees, it can definitely work to cultivate just one apple tree that still bears a lot. The distance between the trees plays a role here a subordinate role, because the bees pollinating the flowers fly to trees more than a kilometer away from the hive.
Alternatively, you can bet on a so-called duo tree. In this special refinement, two became each other mutually pollinating apple trees refined on a base. As a result, the fruit trees do not need a pollination partner.
Tip
Water apple trees regularly
Since apple trees bud in the summer of the previous year, it is important to water the trees sufficiently during hot, dry periods. Only if the foliage around the buds stays strong will the future blooms be nourished and stay healthy.