ELSTREE apple tree

[mutantpoodle]

I am fairly certain that is the correct 'type' of apple tree I have

It was 'free' when I bought a fruit 'selection' from a well known online garden supplier of 'bargains'
all three of the 'paid for' trees died within 2 years
company offered replacements but postage was more expensive than original!!

the free apple tree has done well and is a great shape and I m pleased to have it in the garden.................BUT

each year it has less than 10 apples on despite much blossom
and the apples fall before getting 'apple sized' (tennis ball)

garden has plum...pears and other apple trees all doing and fruiting well

what am I doing wrong...or of course NOT doing, for the ELSTREE

any ideas please

[bungeejumper]

Needs a pollination partner, probably, now that the others have died.

Which would be another tree from the same pollination group (there are three, A, B and C), but it might actually be a different sort of tree entirely! https://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/blog/ap ... tion-dates might help.

The partnering tree doesn't need to be in your garden, it might be 100 yards away. One of our friends complained that her apple tree had almost stopped fruiting since her neighbour had chopped down his Bramley.

DG Hessayon's Fruit Expert (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fruit-Expert-D ... 0903505312) is probably the best three quid you'll ever spend.

BJ

LATE EDIT: Is your tree an Elstar? Group 3 (apparently), so any of the pollinators listed at https://www.orangepippintrees.co.uk/pol ... spx?v=1020 should do it.

[jackdaww]

what exactly is an ELSTREE apple?

[bungeejumper]

what exactly is an ELSTREE apple?

As above, probably an Elstar. Popular modern Dutch variety.

BJ

[jackdaww]

what exactly is an ELSTREE apple?

As above, probably an Elstar. Popular modern Dutch variety.

BJ

======================

thanks BJ

i thought it might be - i have one - its not very good in pembrokeshire though.

its an october cropper and may be late flowering which may restrict its pollination prospects .

[Nimrod103]

Needs a pollination partner, probably, now that the others have died.

Which would be another tree from the same pollination group (there are three, A, B and C), but it might actually be a different sort of tree entirely! https://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/blog/ap ... tion-dates might help.

The partnering tree doesn't need to be in your garden, it might be 100 yards away. One of our friends complained that her apple tree had almost stopped fruiting since her neighbour had chopped down his Bramley.

DG Hessayon's Fruit Expert (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fruit-Expert-D ... 0903505312) is probably the best three quid you'll ever spend.

BJ

LATE EDIT: Is your tree an Elstar? Group 3 (apparently), so any of the pollinators listed at https://www.orangepippintrees.co.uk/pol ... spx?v=1020 should do it.

I also recommend Dr Hessayon, though in my edition he says Elstar is 'not a tree for beginners'. I'm not sure what he means.

Elstar is reportedly Group 3 for pollination, and that is the most common, so pollination should not be a problem. Which makes me think it is not Elstar. It may have been wrongly labelled - in my experience that is a very frequent occurrence.
Take a note of when it flowers, early, mid or late, and what other apple trees are in bloom at the same time.

The other cause might be water stress. Has it got a good root system, or is the soil very dry?

[madhatter]

what am I doing wrong...

I once heard such a question on a radio gardeners question slot.

"'Ave yer fed it?" said the expert.

"FED it?!!"

"(chuckle), yer gotta feed it"

Don't know if it was tried, or worked.

[mutantpoodle]

many thanks all so far

it might as suggested not be an ELSTREE....but it cannot be an ELSTAR if they crop in October
although only a few apples they nearly ready now...and will be in a few weeks

ground is poor...dry ish and over clay/flint

but plums..pears and a large Jonagold all do very well with very little effort from me

as I said...its a nice 'shape' tree and am happy to keep it..the apples would be a plus but not essential

[bungeejumper]

many thanks all so far

it might as suggested not be an ELSTREE....but it cannot be an ELSTAR if they crop in October
although only a few apples they nearly ready now...and will be in a few weeks

That's quite early. Tough question, I know, but can you remember when it flowered? The only really important issue with this pollination lark is that the other tree should be flowering at about the same time.

We have a different problem with the apple and pear trees at the bottom of our garden. Last year, our Yellow Ingestrie lost all its apples in mid-season - hundreds of them! They didn't fall, they just disappeared without trace! And this year our pears have been going the same way. The pesky squirrels have been scoffing the lot. We are still working on a remedy. Chilli would work, but who wants chilli-flavoured pears?

BJ

[mutantpoodle]

thats not a tough question.....its easy

it flowered in the spring !!..........ok so no I dont recall particular month
but I have Braeburn..Cox.and.Jonagold apples
3 types of pear incl Conference
and one Victoria plum

I am fairly certain that at least one was in flower at same time

our biggest problem is 'glisglis' but end result is same as squirrels

[jackdaww]

if its nearly ready now , thats quite an early apple.

could be discovery ( one of the best) , beauty of bath or george cave .

early's are generally poor keepers.

[Nimrod103]

We have a different problem with the apple and pear trees at the bottom of our garden. Last year, our Yellow Ingestrie lost all its apples in mid-season - hundreds of them! They didn't fall, they just disappeared without trace! And this year our pears have been going the same way. The pesky squirrels have been scoffing the lot. We are still working on a remedy. Chilli would work, but who wants chilli-flavoured pears?

BJ

Are you sure the culprits are squirrels? Because I only see squirrels running around with the occasional fruit. But I have had a huge problem with wood pigeons this year, like never before. Wood pigeons will strip everything, and at an early stage. So this year I lost all my pears, and all the white currants, blackcurrants and gooseberries which were not in the fruit cage. When I had a cherry tree and a plum, they took everything they could get to, when the fruit was just the size of peas. Interestingly, they appear not to have touched any apples.

[mutantpoodle]

regulars here will know better than to take too much notice of me.......

but re scaring birds etc I use old CDs hanging fromstring/wire or whatever so long as its flexible to allow the wind to keep discs moving

the birds dont like such movement or the reflected lights when sunny

[sg31]

I use bird scarer tape to keep wood pigeons away from grass seed. It works a treat, pigeons keep well away even when it's been there for a month or so. Blacbirds and robins don't mind it so much.

Blackbirds can be a menace with fruit. We lost a complete strawberry crop to them at our last house. They took the berries when they were green and hard. They would pull 4 or 5 then swallow them, go away and return for another load. There were what appeared to be a number of different birds doing it. It's a while back now but I do remember thinking they must be feeding their young. First time I'd seen them eat fruit but I've seen it regularly since..

I wish they would get a taste for cabbage white butterflies, they are in abundant supply near my brassicas.