2192 Route 102 Hwy Lincoln NB, E3B 8N1

www.scottsnursery.nb.ca (506) 458-9208

Toll Free 1 800 561 7268

Apple trees in the home garden: There’s nothing like the first fresh apples of the season. Imagine being able to harvest them right in your own back yard. Apples are a versatile fruit that can be enjoyed fresh, made into applesauce, or baked into a variety of dessert dishes. They have a crisp, juicy texture and a sweet to tart flavor depending on the cultivar. Apples are a good source of fiber and vitamin C, as well as several different antioxidants which are thought to protect against heart disease and cancer. The old saying ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away’ may be true after all. Most trees sold by nurseries have been grafted. The trunk and branches, referred to as the scion, have been grafted onto rootstock from another variety. Usually this is to create a dwarf version of the tree. The scion deter-mines the type of fruit which is produced. Site Requirements: A well drained site in full sun is required for apple trees. They cannot tolerate shade or standing water near the root zone. Another consideration is to select a site which will not be in a frost pocket. Cold air settles in low ly-ing areas and can cause damage to young blossoms in early spring when frost is still a threat. Other than being intolerant of heavy soils they are not extremely fussy as long as water and nutrients are supplied. Planting: The planting area should be free of weeds and the soil should be worked to a depth of 12-18” over the entire area that the roots will grow, not just the planting hole. The hole itself should be twice the diameter of the root ball and about 2’ deep. Place some loose soil back in the hole so that the tree will be at the correct depth when planted. Spread roots evenly in the hole and begin to backfill with loose soil. Firm the soil as you go to prevent any air pockets from forming. Do not add fertilizer to the planting hole as it may cause root burn. Make sure the graft union is at least 2” above the soil level to prevent the scion from rooting, causing the tree to lose it’s dwarf properties. Fertilizer: To ensure proper nutrient levels, it is best to have the soil tested to see exactly which nutrients may be lacking. Otherwise, a general purpose fertilizer such as 10-10-10 can be applied in the spring just as the tree begins to break from dormancy. Fertilizer should be spread evenly on the surface around the drip line. Avoid getting any closer than 6” to the trunk as it could burn the tree. A general rule of thumb is to start with 1 pound of fertilizer the first year, 2 lbs the second year, 3 lbs the third year and apply no more than 5-6 lbs for a mature tree.

Water: Mulch helps to retain moisture in the soil around the tree. Mulch should be spread out underneath the tree as far as the drip line. Rodent guards should be used when using mulch as rodents like to burrow in it near the base of the tree. It is also recommended to pull the mulch back about 12” away from the trunk just before winter to dis-courage rodent populations. Young trees require more water than mature trees. Young trees should receive an inch of water per week whether from rain or watering. Mature trees need only to be watered if it hasn’t rained in three weeks. If left unwatered, mature trees may not produce fruit and may become more susceptible to disease. Pollination: All apple varieties are considered self incompatible. This means that they cannot pollinate themselves or other trees of the same variety. Therefore, unless you choose the 4 N 1 variety, two trees of different varieties that bloom simultaneously are required to produce fruit. Apples are primarily pollinated by bees so it is a good idea not to use insecticides during the bloom period as it may harm the bees. Harvest: Apples are ready to pick when the skin loses its green tint and the flesh becomes more yellow or white, than green. Apples should be stored at a temperature just above freezing with high humidity. The crisper section of the refrigerator works well, with the apples in a plastic bag to keep the humidity levels up. Apples should be kept away from vegetables however because the ethylene gas given off by ripening fruit will cause vegetables to spoil prematurely. Pests and Diseases: As with most fruits, keeping an overall healthy tree is the key to preventing most problems. Regular pruning and removal of infected wood, regular fertilizing and watering, and regular monitoring are important factors to suc-cess. Diseases and pests are better able to attack a malnourished and neglected tree than a healthy one. Common pests include apple maggot and aphids. Common disease problems are scab and powdery mildew. The apple maggot causes premature fruit drop and renders mature fruit worthless. The female adult fly punctures a pin sized hole in the skin of the apple and deposits one egg. She is capable of laying 200 eggs in a season. Her preference is for early maturing, softer varieties of fruit that are just beginning to ripen. A dimple usually forms in the apple at the puncture site. The eggs hatch and the maggots burrow through the flesh leaving brown trails behind. Once the fruit has dropped to the ground, the maggots leave the apple and take up residence in the top 2-4 inches of the soil. Here they make a cocoon and overwinter in the pupal stage. The adult flies emerge again in early July. Apples can be affected by more than one variety of aphids. The most common types are the green apple aphid and the rosy apple aphid. The former usually don’t do enough damage to warrant control although the sticky se-cretions they leave behind are a perfect environment for the growth of black sooty mold. The latter variety can actually damage young fruit with their feeding. Safer’s or home made soap solutions are an effective means of control for the home gardener. Apple scab, or black spot, is just that - black spots on the leaves and later the fruit. It is favored by rainy, humid, and cold weather. The degree to which the fruit is affected depends on when the infection occurred. An infection on fruit that is nearly mature is visible only as tiny spots but can develop during storage and cause rot. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease affecting all parts of the plant above ground. It is most prevalent during hot and humid weather when the tree is actively growing. Infection during flowering will prevent fruit set. Infections after this will result in russeted fruit with discolored, spotty patches of skin. Powdery mildew reduces vegetative vigor and fruit production as well as making the tree less winter hardy. Many of the fungicides to control scab also help to suppress mildew as well. Regular fungicide applications are important prevention. A regular spray program is an important step to ensure a high quality harvest. At bud burst it is important to ap-ply a combination of insecticide and fungicide. Dormant oil helps to get rid of any insect eggs that may have overwintered. After blossoming, another application of insecticide/fungicide combination is required. In mid summer an insecticide for apple maggot is necessary. In the fall it is a good idea to apply a copper based fungi-cide for scab prevention.

Scott’s Nursery Ltd Lincoln, NB Canada

(506) 458-9208 www.scottsnursery.nb.ca

Pests and Diseases

Green Apple Aphids Rosy Apple Aphids

Apple Maggot Larvae Apple Maggot Adult

Powdery mildew on leaves Powdery Mildew Damage on Fruit

Scab on leaves

Scab on fruit

Scott’s Nursery Ltd Lincoln, NB Canada

(506) 458-9208 www.scottsnursery.nb.ca

Pruning: Initially, new trees are pruned heavily to produce a strong, solid structure which will be the basic shape of the tree from thereon. After this, annual pruning is done to maintain shape, encourage fruit production, and prevent disease. Pruning should always be done when the tree is dormant, before growth starts. Suckers can be removed at any time of the year though. These are the green shoots that spring up quickly around the base of the tree and in the crotches between larger branches. In general you always want to remove broken, rubbing, and criss-crossed branches, as well as those that are pointing downward or those ones growing upward near the interior of the tree. There should only be one leader, therefore all competing leaders should be pruned out. Branches which create narrow crotches should be removed since narrow crotches are weaker than wide crotches. Main branches should be opposite one another rather than positioned in whorls around the trunk. In addition to pruning, fruit thinning is also necessary to produce good quality fruit. This is the removal of some of the fruits when they are dime sized. Fruit thinning ensures large sized fruit, prevents limb breakage, and con-tributes to good blooming the following season. Ideally, there should only be one fruit left per cluster and fruit should be spaced 4-6” from other nearby fruit.

Cultivars

VARIETY DESCRIPTION HARVEST HEIGHT WIDTH ZONE

4 N 1 4 apples grafted onto one tree from

the following varieties: Lodi, McIntosh,

Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Trans-

parent, Lobo, Liberty or Cortland.

Varies

15’

15’

4

Cortland Large red fruit with flavorful sweet-

tart white flesh. Good dessert, cooking

and cider apple. Vigorous grower and

productive tree.

Late

September

15’

15’

3

Earligold Medium yellow-green fruit with sweet-

tart flavor and crisp flesh. Good for

cooking or eating fresh.

Early

August

15’

15’

4

Empire Red Fruit with exceptional flavor. Very

crisp and juicy. Mid

August 15’ 15’ 4

Freedom Green and red fruit that is juicy and

crisp. Newer variety that is very dis-

ease resistant.

End

September

15’

15’

3

Golden Deli-

cious Large yellow fruit with crisp sweet

flesh. Excellent dessert apple. Re-

quires thinning for good production.

Plant in a protected area.

Early

October

15’

15’

5

Golden Russet Medium-size fruit with golden brown

skin. Firm crisp texture and unique

flavor. Excellent for eating fresh and

one the best for apples for cider.

Stores very well. Has biennial fruiting

habit (heavy one year, light the next).

Mid

October

15’

15’

4

Honeycrisp Newer apple with extraordinary crisp

and sweet juicy flesh. Abundant large

red fruit. Vigorous tree and reliable

producer.

Mid

September

15’

15’

3b

Lobo Large bright red fruit with crisp, sweet

flesh. Good dessert apple. Heavy pro-

ducer that benefits from thinning.

Early Septem-

ber

15’

15’

3

Lodi Medium sized green-yellow fruit.

White flesh is tender, soft, and juicy.

Excellent for pies and sauce.

Mid

August

15’

15’

2

McIntosh Medium-size red and green fruit with

crisp and juicy white flesh. Good des-

sert apple.

Mid Septem-

ber

15’

15’

3

Melba Red flavorful fruit. Good for cooking

and eating fresh.

Mid

August

15’

15’

3

Mutsu Large greenish-yellow apple. Good for

cooking or eating fresh. Not recom-

mended as a pollinator.

Mid October

15’

15’

5

New

Brunswick Summer apple noted for its aromatic

fragrance. Skin is an uneven red on

cream background. Used for cooking

and one of the best for jelly. Intro-

duced by Francis P Sharp in Woodstock

New Brunswick.

Mid

August

15’

15’

3

Northern

Spy One of the best old fashioned varieties.

Mainly a cooking apple but also good for

eating fresh. Keeps very well

Early October

15’

15’

4

Scott’s Nursery Ltd Lincoln, NB Canada

(506) 458-9208 www.scottsnursery.nb.ca

Cultivars

Note: When choosing a pollinator it is important to choose varieties that bloom at the same time. (An early apple would not be a good pollinator for a late apple but would pollinate a midseason apple)

Priscilla Medium, conical fruit with bright red

blush over red background. Good flavor

and quality. Slightly tart. Very disease

resistant.

Mid

September

15’

15’

3

Redfree Medium bright red fruit over yellow

background. Creamy white flesh with

good flavor. Firm and juicy, it is consid-

ered a dessert quality apple. Disease

resistant.

Mid

August

15’

15’

3

Royal Gala Medium-size fruit is red, very firm and

sweet. Stores well for 6-8 months. Mid Septem-

ber

15’

15’

4

Shamrock Green fruit. Excellent quality. Hardy

substitute for Granny Smith. End Septem-

ber 15’ 15’ 4

Spartan Medium-sized fruit with a uniform, dark

red blush. Has firm sweet flesh and

stores well. Good dessert and baking

apple. Vigorous and benefits from thin-

ning. Good scab resistance.

Early October

15’

15’

4

Transparent Imported from Russia in 1870, also

known as the August Apple. Clear yel-

low fruit has tender meaty flesh. It is a

favorite for a pies and sauce.

Early

August

15’

15’

3

Wealthy Medium–sized green and red apple with

crisp tart flesh. Good dessert or bak-

ing apple. Has biennial fruiting habit

(heavy one year, light the next).

Mid Septem-

ber

15’

15’

4

Wolf River Very large red fruit. Exclusively a

cooking apple. Early October 15’ 15’ 3

Scott’s Nursery Ltd Lincoln, NB Canada

(506) 458-9208 www.scottsnursery.nb.ca