Apple Tree: Cousin to the Rose Bush

I have a small "orchard" on the side of my house. I call it an orchard, really it is 3 apple trees and something I think is a pear but has not fruited. I want to get good fruit off the apples so that I can make jams and pies and apple sauce and other great apple treats. I don't know much about apple trees, so I headed to the nursery and asked for information on them.

It turns out that apples are related to the rose and that care of apples is very similar. Disease can be crossed between the two, including fungus and rust. You should never let leaves or fruit stay on the ground as if there are and fungi in them, they will contaminate the ground, making it harder to kill.

Pruning scares me. I can do it, but I'm always afraid I'm not going to make a clean cut, leaving it open for attack. I also don't want to prune too much or too little. So, what's a guy gonna do to get his "orchard" cleaned up and producing properly? Well, I found this great little PDF put out by the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension called Caring for Mature Apple Trees. Its main purpose is to teach how to prune apple trees that are years past needing and to keep them looking good. I've read it. I actually read either this or something just like it a few years back, but then hired someone last fall. They did not do as good a job as I'd like, but they got them started. I'll need to continue it and keep them looking good and get them producing better.

Now, I just need to make sure I keep up maintenance on them. I found the following schedule for maintenance. This schedule should be followed every year for the best growth:

Prune late in winter or early spring (Feb to April around here). If you have to prune in spring or summer you can, but never prune in the fall. Pruning will cause new growth and you don't want it expending energy on new growth just before it goes dormant.

Around the same time, be sure to apply dormant oil. This will help to control the bugs. This should be done when temperatures are above freezing and will remain there for 24 hours, but tree is still dormant.

Later in spring (April) you should spray to control insects and fungus, but never spray insecticides when the trees are blooming, or you will kill the bees. We want to keep our pollinators pollinating.

In April or May, you can place pheromone traps to detect codling moths.

October is harvest time. Store your apples at about 40