Apple tree.

Greg K · Aug 30, 2016

I have this non producing apple tree that is about 5 years old. Today I just noticed that it had this white stuff on most of the lower branches. Does anyone here have any idea what it is? A bug I'm thinking but I've never seen it before.

glennster · Aug 30, 2016

could be wooly aphids, or a powdery mildew. google pictures of wooly aphids and see if that is what they are. also, if the tree is not producing fruit, did you notice any honeybees pollinating this spring? i put 2 bee hives in last year and have a bumper crop of fruit on all my trees this year.

4520BW · Aug 30, 2016

Do you need another tree to pollinate?

Greg K · Aug 30, 2016

Wood that was fast. It sure looks like aphids from the pictures. I don't recall the breed of apple tree but I'm 95% sure I wasn't supposed to need a pollinator. Kind of funny, it has been growing like a weed but never even blooms. The other one blossoms but sure doesn't grow as fast. I'll have to look up the receipt and see what kind it is.

rustyfarmall · Aug 30, 2016

(quoted from post at 14:44:18 08/30/16) Wood that was fast. It sure looks like aphids from the pictures. I don't recall the breed of apple tree but I'm 95% sure I wasn't supposed to need a pollinator. Kind of funny, it has been growing like a weed but never even blooms. The other one blossoms but sure doesn't grow as fast. I'll have to look up the receipt and see what kind it is.

As far as I know, apple trees do not need a second tree for pollination. We have just one "Red Delicious" apple tree. It always produces fruit. Some years are better, some are not as good, but it always produces.

glennster · Aug 30, 2016

generally, dont put a lot of nitrogen, like miracle grow on a fruit tree unless it really needs it. it will cause the tree to build size but not fruit. i use fruit tree spikes in the fall on my fruit trees to give them added mineral and stuff. also, after the leaves drop, hit them with dormant oil spray. in the spring i use a fungicide/ insecticide like orchard spray. spray a couple weeks before they blossom, then a couple weeks after the blossoms drop. (that way you wont harm the bee polinators. copper sulfate fungicide helps of you get apple scab fungus.

ed will · Aug 30, 2016

Hi, does your tree bloom? Some varieties need a polinator. If you don't want another tree just graft a crab apple onto it. The white on lower branches may be powdery mildew or wooley aphids. Ed Will Oliver BC

Greg K · Aug 30, 2016

Ok. Thanks. I don't have much working knowledge on tree problems, grew up raising grain and cutting trees lol. There is a big fungus problem this year even on the ash trees.

Gambles · Aug 30, 2016

Depending on the variety, it MIGHT need a pollinator. I believe some apples, like the Black Arkansas apple need a pollinator.

Ozlander · Aug 30, 2016

Bees don't make the blooms, that's not their job.

bradley martin · Aug 30, 2016

Unless that tree is grafted on a super dwarf rootstock, it is very unlikely to bloom at only 5 years of age!

GordoSD · Aug 30, 2016

What variety is it? Is it grafted onto a rootstock, or grown from seed? Have you sprayed it very often?

Greg K · Aug 31, 2016

Probably grafted rootstock. I haven't found the receipt from where I bought it, but I'm pretty sure I tried to get one that didn't need a pollinator. I really haven't sprayed it with anything accept malathion once when the grasshoppers were getting to it.

Cue P. · Sep 1, 2016

Is the "whit stuff" fluffy looking like a mold or hard and solidly attached to the branches? If the latter it may be scale. Best to prune it out if a severely infected limb or you can use diazanon (or equivalent since diazanon isn't readily available now) in June I believe. Best to google it and see when scale insect is active and in its most vulnerable state.

Apple tree.

Greg K

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glennster

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4520BW

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Greg K

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rustyfarmall

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glennster

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ed will

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Greg K

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Gambles

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Ozlander

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bradley martin

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