Bramley seedling bugs
cheryl felix
Posts: 20
I have planted (2 months ago) a Bramley seedling apple tree which came on, I think, 2 year stock. All was well, it had blossom on it, then one day about a week ago I noticed the leaves were wilting. On closer inspection, the underside of each leaf was covered with tiny black insects. The same happened to my Stella cherry tree, (before the birds scoffed all the cherries - again, a 2 year old tree). I sprayed both with a proprietary fruit tree insecticide and the bugs died, though still visible, but the tree hasn't recovered and I'm sure with the next strong wind, the leaves will all disappear.
Why has this happened? I kept it well watered and we have good soil in Lincolnshire. The dog likes to wee against it, but would that be enough to kill it?
And what would be the cause of only a small number of apples on my other (Annie Elizabeth) tree?
Posts
Dog urine isn't helping certainly so try to stop that until the tree is well established. Poor fruiting is usually a result of poor pollination. Your Bramley is a triploid and needs two other pollinators and won't act as a pollinator for your other tree. If there are other apple trees in gardens around you then you should be OK provided they are in the correct pollination group. A crab apple tree is a very useful all-round pollinator if you don't have any other trees around.
We've had some hot dry weather this year and your tree's only very recently been planted .. it has had copious amounts of water regularly hasn't it? At least two buckets full at least three times a week minimum is what I'd have been giving it
Last edited: 15 July 2017 14:03:15
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yep, been turning the hose at its roots for a good couple of minutes almost every day. The other fruit trees are fine, but they were planted 18 months before. But the Annie's a bit bereft, as I said. Just one cluster of four apples as I write.
It's accompanied (the Bramley) by an Annie Elizabeth cooking apple, a Golden Delicious, and there are established apple and pear trees in the gardens adjacent to us. But yes, I agree about the Woofer! It's the closest tree so the first one he goes for. I've put wire netting around to at least keep it at a distance.
Many thanks to you both. New to all this garden malarkey but not too successful so far - nothing I planted in the greenhouse grew - not even a courgette which are supposed to be easy-peasy!