# Fruit tree polinating



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Are your new trees in temporary pots? if so they probably not set fruit, and if they do it will be very small. put them in the ground and give them a few years, it they set fruit now the tree will devote energy in making the fruit.

Most apple tree are self polluting and don't need another tree, check with your grower for you exact variety.


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## warrior (Nov 21, 2005)

With fruit trees the first three years should be devoted to growing a good tree. Pruning, shaping and growing the frame to support good cropping. Knock off any fruits that develop during this time otherwise you'll set back the tree.
Most peaches are self fertile meaning only one tree will set fruit just fine if their is pollinators. They are not bee dependant like their cousin the almond. Wind will suffice but you have a better fruit set with bees and other insect pollinators. Peaches also will set way more fruit than the tree can support to make good peaches. Hence all peaches will need hand thinning of fruit. Hale Haven and some of it's derivatives are pollen sterile.

Apples vary by cultivar with some being pollen sterile triploids, most notably winesap and related cultivars. Others differ by season of bloom that differing types may not be able to pollinate due to time. There is also incompatibility between some. Fortunately Granny isn't one of them. Apples do need bees and insect pollination for good fruit set and also benefit from thinning for both fruit quality and to prevent most cultivars tendency to biennial cropping.
You could also plant a "rooster tree" or a pollen donor that is compatible with most anything else. Golden Delicious is famous for this besides being a good apple. Most crabs will work as well. My favorite Grimes Golden, parent of Golden Delicious, is another good pollinator.


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## warrior (Nov 21, 2005)

Also go ahead and get out your schedule book. That peach is going to need a spray program done like clockwork. Here in Georgia peaches are on life support from the time the pit goes in the ground 

On the Granny Smith, don't be quick to pull them. They are a late apple and will hang long on the tree. Let them hang as long as you can for a totally different Granny Smith than the hard lime green thing they sell in stores. Round here they can be picked starting mid October but aren't their best until the week between Christmas and New Years.


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

You can grow peaches and dwarf apples in very large tubs (3 or 4 feet in diameter) and bring them indoors to an unheated environment for winter frost protection, but just like moving bees indoors to protect them from the cold, you are buying into a whole other set of cultural complexities if you do so. There are a few peach varieties that will set fruit in the warmer, coastal areas of NH. Most of the rest of the state will only support things that are technically peaches, but are not as good as Red Haven, etc., to say nothing of the best peaches from the south. Apples, of course, are another thing - they and pears grow very well in most all parts of NH.

All of my life, I longed to move to an area where I could grow peaches and such, but after 50 years of gardening in Z5a/Z4b I have pretty much resigned myself to reality. 

The hard freeze early this week was unusual, but not at all unheard of. It's even more heartbreaking when it occurs later in the spring.

Enj.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

Thanks to all of you for your knowledge. yes they are in pots now soon to be in the ground. I was mostly concerned about pollinating them indoors where they are but from the responses I shouldn't let them bear fruit this year so I guess its a moot point. I know my bees would be all over this peach as it smells unbelievable.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

warrior said:


> With fruit trees the first three years should be devoted to growing a good tree. Pruning, shaping and growing the frame to support good cropping. Knock off any fruits that develop during this time otherwise you'll set back the tree.
> .


Follow up question. these trees are in pots but over 6 feet tall. does that matter ? guessing a 3 year old tree is only a few feet high? or do you mean the rule is no matter what size in the pot it needs 3 years to develop roots?


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## John Davis (Apr 29, 2014)

Get them in the ground this year and remove any fruit that sets. Give them this year to establish a root system then next year limit the fruit. After that thin for best production. If you can it is good to plant fruit trees in the fall so the roots get a head start over the winter and you gain an extra year. One over six feet is most likely 3 years but has been limited by the roots being cramped.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

There are the dwarf fruit trees that never grow more than
a few feet high. Then there is the standard tree like granny smith
that can reach 10 feet or more if you don't prune it back every year.
So your trees are not the dwarf ones. Yes, starting from the seeds it
will need 3 to 4 years to establish a good root system. In the ground
the roots can spread out further than inside a small pot. The bigger the
pot the taller the tree can grow because there are more room for the roots
to spread out. A tree restricted to the small pot cannot grow more than
a few feet high no matter how many years in it. Look at the miniature or dwarf
fruit trees on ebay. Or take a look at this link http://www.ebay.com/sch/boivistev/m.html?item=262335665609&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
to give you some references. Mostly the store bought trees are from the grafted stocks.
Look down a few inches toward the tree trunk to see if there is a graft union on it.
The self-fertile fruit trees don't need the bees to pollinate them but they will produce more fruits when the bees
are there.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the info. Shovel in hand they go in ground today.


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