Bad Soil?
David Amos
Posts: 27
I planted a two year old apple tree (cant recall the type) which at an early stage developed canker. After a few years it got worse and worse so I dug it out. A couple of years ago I planted a two year old Apricot. It appeared to grow well, but this year started to die back. It now appears to be dead, even the few suckers it threw up. I suspect there is something fungal in that patch of soil. Apples and stoned fruit seem susceptible so before the plant catalogues appear any suggestions for a replacement? The patch is between a Quince and another apple which seem unaffected.
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Tetley you could well be right! I have 10 x apple, 6 x plum/gage, 4 x pear, 2 x quince, 1 x mulberry, 1 x cherry 1 x medlar and a whole bunch of soft fruit. I don't think starting over is an option though. The trees are under planted with grass and wild flowers so all I can think to do is kill everything under the trees, clear away anything that may be harbouring spores and soak with Bordeaux mix (cheap to make!). I do not use herbicide except for the odd bit of couch grass that rears its head! I was thinking of a canker resistant apple but could leave the soil clear for year.
I'm also puzzled ....... David, can we see some photos of your garden please .... maybe we'll spot something that could be causing problems
Many good points there Tetley
particularly the point about the Roundup 
Looking back I can't see which tree was referred to, but if it was an attempt to kill off the suckers under the apricot, it would undoubtedly have killed the tree too
And even just spraying the grass/wild flowers around the base will have damaged the tree unless the trunk was protected.
The method of planting may have caused problems in a wet year, as sometimes the hole can act as a sump and the tree roots simply drown.
Lots to consider.
No point in not pointing out what the problem may be - that's never helpful - as long as we don't make people feel foolish for making honest and well-intentioned mistakes.
We all started somewhere and the man who never made a mistake never made anything.
Tetley you are right I did use Roundup on the grass under the Apricot. Advice was to have the ground under the tree clear so as not to be in competition with the tree. The suckers were not sprayed, just the grass. Which advice is right, clear the grass or not? Clearing the grass will make it easier to clear up any dropped fruit etc. which may be acting as a disease reservoir. The original idea was to plant the trees so that when fully grown the canopies would keep the grass down and only shade tolerant and seasonal wild flowers would flourish. Like a woodland but with fruit trees. I would hate to kill off all the Primroses! Drainage I do not think is an issue, though on sandy clay it is fairly free draining though dig down 4 feet and it''s sandstone bedrock so may be relatively thin.
I will put up some pictures, but the original posting was about a patch of soil between two apparently healthy trees which seems destined not to allow replanting! The fly speck and sooty patches on the apples was and is a separate issue.
I keep the areas under my fruit bushes and trees clear by hand weeding. Much the best way.