North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[David Baldwin <apples@ns.sympatico.ca>]

Hi Ginda,

MM.111 is one of the least dwarfing rootstocks, and usually precocity and 
dwarfing are quite related, so it
would be normal to be slower to come into bearing.

Things that will make the tree grow more vigorously, such as pruning or 
fertility will be more of a hindrance to
flowering. How long is the new terminal growth each year? Always kinda hard 
to make suggestions without seeing I
guess...

Anyway, my point was that if the tree is quite vigorous, then I wouldn't kill 
the grass around the tree or mulch
it. That's more likely to encourage vegetative growth, when you want flower 
bud formation.

db

- in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley - where our maritime climate is holding 
the buds back quite nicely so far -
with the dreaded combination of green tip, scab ascospores and lots of 
tractor seat just around the corner...

> I planted a Jonathan on M111 four years ago.  For the last three years,
> it has had two distinct types of buds.  Every year, I hope that the fat
> buds at the ends of spurs will flower, but they never do.  The little
> buds that lie flat to the branches grow new branches, and the fat buds
> produce a ring of leaves.
>
> So, does this mean that the tree is "mature" enough, but isn't getting
> enough sun/nutrients/water/???  Or do I just need to wait?  The tree is
> not in an ideal spot (I don't have any ideal spots), but it gets sun
> most of the day, and this year I plan to kill back the grass around it
> more aggressively.
>

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David Baldwin
Courtney Hill Farm
Woodville  Nova Scotia