Can You Plant Two of the Same Apple Trees?
- Apple tree varieties that are identified as self-pollinating or self-fruitful will set fruit more heavily and regularly if they are cross-pollinated. To ensure successful cross-pollination, purchase two apple tree varieties that bloom at the same time with abundant, viable pollen. Online fruit tree nurseries and garden centers give information on the various bloom times and days of maturity of each variety. Some varieties require only 70 days to maturity and some as much as 180 or more. The chill hour requirements for most apple tree varieties is 1,200 to 1,500 hours of temperature at 45 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
- Commercial apple growers install one bee hive per acre of orchard to pollinate their trees. Bees are attracted to home gardens that provide flowers with nectar and pollen. Shasta daisy, marigolds, coreopsis, bee balm, oregano, cosmos and dandelion are just a few flowers and herbs that bees frequent. All members of the mustard family, as well as artichokes and borage, are bee-attracting plants. Allowing some vegetables to go to seed and produce flowers also attracts bees. Arugula produces abundant white flowers that bees love.
- All apple tree varieties thrive in a garden site that receives six or more hours of sun per day. The soil should be well-draining. Locate the two apple trees within 100 yards of each other to ensure adequate pollination. Each planting hole is dug slightly larger than the root system, with the graft line 2 to 3 inches above the soil top. Placing synthetic chemical soil additive or fresh manure in the planting hole may burn the roots. Organic compost should not be used as a soil additive at planting time because it creates excessive density around roots.
- Apple trees are fertilized as the growing season begins in spring. Spread mature compost in a diameter around the tree at least 6 inches from the trunk. A light application of mature organic compost fertilizer is given in June. Organic compost is a slow-release fertilizer that supplies the trees with essential nutrients on an "as-needed" basis as the tree produces fruit. Trees are pruned back 15 to 20 percent each winter to allow sunlight into the canopy center. Deep watering once per week is sufficient for most trees, more when drought conditions are present.
