Sad little apple tree...what can I do for it?

[journey11]

I planted this apple tree, a semi-dwarf Bonnie Best, just this spring. It was off and growing well early on, but stalled out over summer, and now it looks just plain sad and I am afraid I will lose it.

It was bare-root stock, but nicely rooted. I gave it the whole $40 hole treatment and tried to follow the directions precisely. We have terribly dense red clay mud here, but apples grow well. I did not replace the red clay into the hole, but used a couple shovel-fulls of compost mixed into well-worked garden soil. I planted fish offal into the perimeters of the hole, about 2 feet out, as my FIL always did with his and recommended.

My other 2 full grown apple trees have had apple scab pretty bad this year and the fruit was scant and mostly useless, but they have recovered and developed lush new growth. This little tree has just sat here all summer and not grown anymore since the initial leafing out. The leaves are brittle with a lot of spots and dark gray on the edges. The new buds and tips look ok, but a bit dry. The bark and trunk look fine to me.

Is this possibly a disease? Is there anything I can do to perk this tree up? I am afraid to encourage late new growth as it might take heavy damage when winter gets here. What do you think?

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

The only thing I can see wrong from the pictures is the inability to deep root water this little tree.

Ideally you want to be able to get water to the lowest roots during this time and with a perfectly flat surface even a good rain would just put an inch or two of moisture in the soil.

I highly doubt the bottom of this tree is getting what is needed. The roots may not be able to spread out soon enough to pull in the kind of moisture it needs. I really think it looks starved and is doing what any good tree would do, and that would be minimal growth of any leafy parts; that is, until it is watered properly then it should go bushy on you.

Normally when I plant new trees I furrow the ground around them. I allow for enough surface area to hold at least 2 inches of standing water so that it will be able to reach down deep and quench those most lower roots as it is absorbed.

You do not have to dig up this tree and replant, just simply build a soil mound surrounding the base of the tree to hold water. For this size tree you know the 'drip line' is close because it has not been there long enough to send out any roots beyond what you dug, so just go out a few inches from that point and build a surround/mound. Then I would recommend that you fill this furrow with water at least every 4-5 days for the next month. Then taper off to once a week.

Once this tree goes into dormancy it will want to create as much root during the winter that it can. So even if it goes dormant do not stop watering if you have no seasonal rain or snow. Trees will grow 90% of their new roots during the winter months when the tree does not have to support leaves (although sometimes in warmer climates the apple trees never shed all of their leaves). Still, the most important thing to getting this established is getting roots established and anchored properly.

Other than that I think your little tree looks just fine, only a bit parched is all.

Goodluck,

Ron

ps, also...there is plenty of time to allow for new growth before Winter sets in; once it does the tree will pull the sap down and all new shoots will suspend.

 

[journey11]

I guess that old red clay is good for something afterall. I should have used that to build a dam around it.

You must be right. We had so much constant rain early on this year that I did not put the hose to it much at all. There is a slope below the tree, so it must have all run off. Thanks!