Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Make a four-on-one apple tree

nafex@lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Mark & Helen Angermayer" <hangermayer@isp.com>
  • To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Make a four-on-one apple tree
  • Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:15:23 -0500

I'm thinking about planting a couple pear trees in the same hole. My reason
is for pollination. I want to try Warren and Magness pears, but there are
complaints the trees are notoriously hard to pollinate. So, I thought I'd
plant them with a couple small Harrow Delight I have on hand. To overcome
some of the pruning problems Bill mentions, I thought I'd try twisting the
trunks together. Anybody ever done this with pear? What problems do you
foresee?

Mark
Kansas

----- Original Message -----
From: "William C. Garthright" <>
To: "North American Fruit Explorers" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 2:11 PM
Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Make a four-on-one apple tree


>
> > Some of us don't want a whole tree full of apples all ripe at the
same time. I wanted an apple tree that started ripening in late July and
finished ripening in October. Here is how I accomplished it:
> >
>
>
> Very interesting, Jim. I was in the same situation a couple of years
> ago. I've got no need for a whole bunch of any particular kind of fruit.
> I want a little bit of several different kinds, ideally some that ripen
> at different times or at least will keep well. But when I looked into
> four-on-one apple trees, I kept seeing recommendations against it, that
> planting several trees in one hole would work out better.
>
> There's information on this intense Backyard Orchard Culture from the
> Dave Wilson Nursery in California:
>
> http://www.crfg.org/tidbits/backyardorchard.html
> http://www.crfg.org/tidbits/byo-examples.html
>
> Of course, Nebraska is considerably different from California, and no
> one around here had ever heard of this, it seemed (this was before I
> joined the NAFEX list). Most of the people I asked seemed to think I was
> completely out of my mind to even consider it. But I thought I'd give it
> a try, so my first plantings two years ago were four dwarf apple trees,
> in a square 18" apart, four dwarf peaches in an other square, and four
> plums in a third. The plums were not dwarf, but I'd hoped I could keep
> them small enough with summer pruning.
>
> Well, everything looks fine, though it's still too early to tell. The
> freeze this spring killed all the blossoms on my young trees (though
> I've got four apples on one tree that bloomed again afterwards). But I'm
> not entirely sure that I'd do it this way again. (I think I should have
> planted them all in a long hedgerow, instead. See the examples in the
> second link.)
>
> The biggest problem for me is that they're hard to prune. Of course, I'm
> very new at this, so I'm learning pruning as I go, anyway. The Dave
> Wilson Nursery says it's easy to keep trees as small as you want with
> summer pruning. Well, it's not so easy for me! The dwarf apples haven't
> been so tough, but the plums are REALLY vigorous. And the peaches are
> pretty vigorous, too. Maybe they'll slow down a bit once they start
> bearing? At any rate, I'm sure it's a lot easier to prune one tree
> standing alone than four standing together.
>
> Since each tree must be pruned to extend only from one quarter of a
> "normal" tree, I suppose that makes them even more vigorous than usual.
> And since all the weight will be on that side, I suspect I'll have to
> cable the trees together when they start bearing fruit, to keep them
> from falling over. Well, I hope that will work. As I say, I think I
> might have been better off to plant the trees close together in a long
> row. But... who knows? I'm very much a beginner at all this.
>
> I guess I'll see what happens. Since then, I've made more room by
> cutting down non-fruiting trees and bushes that have been in my yard
> since long before I bought the place. Therefore, I had more room than I
> thought, so I've been planting my other dwarf fruit trees 8' apart -
> still close, but nothing like the Backyard Orchard Culture examples.
> Well, I figured there was no need, since I'll have more fruit than I can
> eat as it is. But has anyone here tried that sort of thing in a climate
> at all similar to mine?
>
> Bill
> Lincoln, NE (zone 5)
>
> --
> I will not throttle my criticisms of the despicable gang of
> anti-intellectuals who run this country because it might irritate all
> those millions of people who voted for George W. Bush; they were wrong
> and he is wrong and it is my responsibility as a scientist to oppose
> ignorance, especially ignorance that has power and influence. - PZ Myers
> _______________________________________________
> nafex mailing list
> nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
>
> Reproduction of list messages or archives is not allowed.
> This includes distribution on other email lists or reproduction on web
sites.
> Permission to reproduce is NEVER granted, so don't claim you have
permission!
>
> **YOU MUST BE SUBSCRIBED TO POST!**
> Posts from email addresses that are not subscribed are discarded.
> No exceptions.
> ----
> To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the bottom of this page (also can be
used to change other email options):
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
>
> File attachments are NOT stripped by this list.
> TAKE STEPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM COMPUTER VIRUSES!
> Please do not send binary files.
> Use plain text ONLY in emails!
>
> NAFEX web site: http://www.nafex.org/
>
>
>
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.5.476 / Virus Database: 269.10.19/917 - Release Date: 7/25/07
1:16 AM
>
>





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page