PomologyPomology

Plant: Apple TreePlant: Apple Tree

Term: PomesTerm: Pomes

Apple tree: Malus domestica• Deciduous Tree• Requires full light• Mature size is 10 – 40 ft, but many dwarf and

columnar varieties are available• Grows in any slightly acidic, well-drained soil• USDA zones: 4 – 9• Blooms in Mid-spring, fruit production mid-

summer to mid fall depending on variety• Primary usage: fruit production

Pome:

• A fleshy fruit, such as an apple, pear, or quince, having several seed chambers and an outer fleshy part largely derived from the hypanthium

Varieties (Cultivars)

• How many can you think of– Red delicious– Golden delicious– Gala– Fuji

Most common Virginia Apples

• McIntosh, Empire, Rome,

• Red Delicious, Cortland, Gala,

• Golden Delicious, Paula Red, Crispin,

• Jonagold Jonamac, Jonathan

• Winesap, Lodi, Fuji,

• Arkansas Black York,Redfree,

• Ginger Gold Early Crisp

Forms

• Dwarf

• Semi-dwarf

• Columnar

• Full Size

• Espalier

Rootstock

Rootstock Tree size % Spacing Anchorage Years to production

Seedling 100 15-18 Excellent 6 - 10

MM.111 85 14-18 Excellent 4-6

MM.106 80 12-16 Excellent 3-4

M7a 70 10-14 Fair 3-4

M26 50 8-12 Poor 2-4

Mark or M9

35% 4 – 8 Good 2-3

Central Leader Form

Open form

• Pruned to

Growing Apples• Apple blossoms form in Spring• Cross pollinated by bees.• The bee drops pollen from the stamens of one blossom onto the

pistils of another blossom. • The pollen travels from the sticky tips of the pistils - called the

stigma - down a long tube known as the style and enters the ovary.• Ovules within the ovary become apple seeds.• The petals from the blossoms fall off & the ovary starts growing.• The ovary is surrounded by a thin protective layer. This layer

eventually becomes the apple core. • The outer layer surrounding the ovary becomes the exocarp, or the

eating part of the apple. • The calyx, stamens, and pistils become the dry, hairy part at the

bottom of the apple.

Botany

Flower Parts

Apple Growers Calendar• January

– Order trees from nurseries. – Begin pruning apple trees.

• February – Continue pruning. – Apply fertilizer 4 to 6 weeks before bloom.

• March – Finish pruning. – Plant new trees.

• April – Apply dormant oil spray, green tip, prepink, and pink

sprays for insects and diseases. – Measures to control weeds should begin early in the

season. • May

– Install rodent guards around trunk of newly planted trees.

– Thin fruit with chemicals or by hand. – Apply petal fall and first cover spray. – Remove fireblight strikes. – Discourage deer from eating young shoots by using

commercially available repellents.• June

– Apply second and third cover sprays. – Continue weed control. – Irrigate if soil is dry.

• July – Harvest early summer varieties. – Apply forth & fifth cover sprays. – Irrigate when soil is dry

• August – Harvest summer varieties. – Continue weed control. – Apply sixth & seventh cover spray. – Irrigate when soil is dry.

• September – Harvest early fall varieties. – Take soil samples to determine next year's fertilizer

needs. • October

– Harvest late varieties. – Remove fruit as they fall to ground. Remove and

dispose of decaying, hanging fruit. – Check the ground around trees for mouse activity and

take control measures• November

– Apply lime if soil tests indicate a need. – Cover trunks and lower branches of young trees with

white latex paint to reduce winter injury. • December

– Update your record book for application dates for fertilizer and pesticides.

Pruning

• Apple trees are normally pruned as central leader trees

Types of pruning cuts• Heading:• Thinning

Heading cuts

• Cut just above a bud

• Get new growth at the tips

Thinning cuts

• Cut whole branches to the stem or trunk

• Get more vigorous growth on the remaining branches

Where to cut

How to cut large branches