Number of fruit trees needed?

[Jared77]

Been thinking about planting some apple trees. I know that I need different varieties to pollinate but do I need an even number of trees?

Was looking at a list of pollinators and given the area was thinking of planting 3 different varieties that are all capable of pollinating each other with similar harvest times.

At our old house we had 4 peach trees in a row with good spacing and they produced like gangbusters.

3 trees is the most I want honestly because that's a lot of apples. I'm ok with 2 but looking at all the varieties it's tough not to get greedy

Thank you for your help on this

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think your plan for three different varieties that pollinate each other is perfect. Even if you lose one you are still OK. As an alternative, you can go with two but plant a crab apple. They pollinate regular apple trees too.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

three should be fine. as long as you have at least 1 that will pollinate the others you will be fine.
also, if you're in an area that grows apples or there are neighbors with their own fruit trees you might be fine and have some pollinators already nearby.

 

[thistlebloom]

What three did you pick Jared?

 

[Jared77]

I have a prairie fire crab apple on the property already and did read I could use it but it's not very close to where I was going to plant the apple trees.

Michigan grows plenty of apple trees but I haven't seen any apple trees close to me. My neighbor has a pair of peach trees though and I plan on adding a pair of those too.

@thistlebloom I was thinking about keeping simple. Thought of doing an Empire, Granny Smith & Golden Delicious. I'm not a big fan of delicious apples but they do make a good bulk apple for apple sauce. The ones I've picked from are REALLY productive though. Plus they can pollinate so many varieties it's tough to say no to one on the property. I can buy these varieties all locally in containers so I know exactly what I'm getting. I'm a control freak when selecting perennials

Empire, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith can all pollinate one another anyway. Which is a deal breaker for me. I'm open to suggestions though. So long as everything can pollinate one another I'm good.

http://www.orangepippintrees.com/pollinationchecker.aspx was the site I used to look for suggested pollinators. Scroll down and it will list what they sell. Below that it has other varieties that they suggest but do not carry. It's really a great tool.

 

[journey11]

Sounds like you've done your homework.

I lost both of my mature apple trees this year to severe fireblight after 3 wet summers in a row. So many intriguing varieties I would love to have, but I am going to have to go for disease resistance next time I go to purchase. I hear Golden Delicious is just about the most universal pollinator there is. I do like them when they're recently picked and still somewhat tart. They make good apple butter and pies.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if you're looking at disease resistant types also look at the rootstock they are grafted to. i chose Bud 9 when i grafted 2 years ago because it has some fireblight resistance to certain apples. also produces a dwarf tree and hardy for my area.

this site gives a good breakdown of dwarf/semi-dwarf rootstocks and their traits if you know what you're getting for trees and they mention this is what it is grafted to. http://www.summittreesales.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16&Itemid=57

 

[thistlebloom]

That Orange Pippin site is fantastic isn't it? I think it was @journey11 , that brought it to our attention on TEG a couple of years ago.

Oh, and your trees don't necessarily have to be real close, just in reasonable bee distance while they're working all the blooms.

 

[Jared77]

Yeah its a great site. I actually stumbled upon it when I was looking for pollinators.

@journey11 yes it seems like golden delicious is pretty much a universal pollinator. Sorry to hear about your tree losses. I agree all the varieties are really appealing but for the investment I want proven winners vs battling to keep something more rare going.

 

[Nyboy]

How much spraying are you willing to do? I am planting apple trees this spring, I know I wil do very little spraying because of time. I am looking for Disease resistance trees for my orchard. Thats only half the battle my understanding is insects pests are high for apple trees.