I think my best Golden Delicious bit the dust. It's a 3yr old. It's been growing great, but no new buds/leafs so far. Feels really dry up top (about 5 ft.) but I can dig a thumbnail into the base. Is it toast?
You can scrape off some bark anywhere along the tree to see if there is any green, but here in zone 4, if a three year old tree is not leafing by now, it is likely toast. If that happened to me I would plant something else in that spot, and start with a new tree in a different area of your property.
Scraped a few spots, even on an upper branch. Green underneath, not dead yet. Maybe a late bloomer or in shock from pruning a few months ago?
I am concerned about this one because I pruned a few others at the same time and they're kicking butt right now. But different locations. I'll keep up with the watering and hope for the best.
I've read that talking to your plants and trees encourages growth. Go talk to them, um, where everyone can see you. Good luck!
I regularly prune and shape my apple trees to an open center. My first pruning occurs in late February to early March. I just top pruned all the tallest branches on one of my 5 year old trees to an outward facing leaf to encourage side growth. I have never had a tree established for more than a few years go into shock from pruning. In fact it seems, if anything, to invigorate them like you noted in your other trees. What seems to shock my trees is the darned Japanese beetles. They were bad on two of 7 apple trees last summer, and this summer those trees barley set any flowers. The apple tree I planted last spring got its entire top and all side branches clipped by rabbits that was able to access it due to deep snow. It is finally growing new side branches, but it only started putting out growth a few weeks ago, so this one was in shock until recently.
I might have had a problem with spider-mites. Just read they're bad this year and can wreak havoc on younger trees. I had a big nest in an Aspen up until about 15 minutes ago, but #9 from a .410 took care of that pretty quickly.
Well I guess a couplee of my apple trees are over a hundred.. Heavy with fruit split like wish bone.. Trying to save them..
Probably. But if it green under the bark in the cambium layer it’s still alive. It may bloom late, or it may send out new shoots but it’s not dead yet. The roots are still alive for sure.
We are 4-6 weeks behind here spring wise than since we moved here. I have a plum sapling that I transplanted from my previous home here, a couple dead twig branches but it is finally starting to leaf out Idk BK, between the 15 year drought couple with over 100* for months in a row for all those years I thought I lost many trees and plants at my previous home more like your terrain, almost all of them came back. WWW was convinced my plum sapling was dead, but the 1/4" trunk was not. Not to mention this sapling is VERY important, from the plum orchard my great great grandfather planted in the 1870's. Yes they all reverted to the wild plum stock the fruitier species was grafted to, but I am just so thrilled it's alive, guessing your apple tree is too, just going with Mother Nature's flow and it's REALLY late here.
wildwest , you're as bad of a night owl as I am. I'm wondering how much the extra U.V. is affecting them, being at this altitude. Everything here was late this year, but with the recent rains it's all boomed. Timberdog - I may be premature, and it might be wishful thinking, but I think I see some new buds trying to emerge. And while checking on the buds hourly (at least today, had to take a break from doing prints) I saw a few, weird, fly looking things latched on to a few buds and sucking juice? I flicked 'em off but I don't know what they were. I just planted a new Blushingstar Peach so I'll be checking that one too.
I had a few that leafed out late but are doing fine now except for the Japanese beetles. Those are honeycrisp. I bought some Jobes spikes to help them through the summer, need to get them in this week. Mine are all young, just planted them this year, so only a few of the older ones in the bunch got fruit...but I just planted them in March so I'm happy. First two are Pixie Crunch and the other is McIntosh. Have some Pink Lady as well but no pictures.
Moparguy , those look great! Sad to report the Golden is toast. I had those Stark Bros. trunk wraps on it and never noticed a "blowout" about 8" up from ground level. From that point up it was dead on that side. Val thinks it might have happened last fall, we had a real cold spell that possibly caused moisture in the tree to freeze, then thaw and cause the seam. I dunno but it seems as logical as anything.
