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[mauch1@aol.com]

 <My trees are on Bud 9 and other dwarfing stock, so they won't grow more than
8-9 feet tall, hence the six-foot-wide mulch band.>

 

I have a mix of rootstocks (M26, Ottawa 3, and Bud 9)  As I'm using vertical axis (French axe)

pruning, where the leader is not pruned back to encourage early fruiting, my trees on Bud 9 (the only

one of the 3 above listed I would use now) are easily 12-14'.  This spring was the first time I'd fertilized in

3 years. 

 

Why not M26 or Ottawa 3( M26, two words:  Crown Rot; Ottawa 3:  Transplanting disaster)?

 

Mulch benefits:  holds moisture, suppresses weeds, gradually improves soil.

Mulch problems:  Vole attracting, If against trunk can encourage problems, including winter damage.

 

I need to widen my strip under my trees.  I currently plant marigolds between my trees as they help suppress nematodes, which seem to be the vector for 'apple replant disease' problems.

 

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6
40° 5' N 75° 51'W
~650 ft elevation

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