Fruit on a young crab apple tree

fwor

I have a Malus John Downey which I care about, as I planted it as an ornamental tree in memory of a good friend who died in a climbing accident.

It has a couple of things against it - firstly I had to buy one that was tall (to keep its head above the bracken that grows all round it) so the roots were pot-bound when planted, and it's also in very poor, sandy soil.

Despite this it flowered well in spring, and it now has 20 or so small fruit growing on it.

The question is, should I try to help it conserve energy by chopping off the fruit now, before they develop fully, or should I just leave it alone?

demystified

Just leave it be, crab apples are as tough as old boots. Just remember to water it in this hot, dry weather especially with the competition from teh bracken (yes, despite all the rain it'll need watering)

fwor

Thanks - Ok I'll leave it alone.

Unfortunately it's up on a hillside several miles from where I live and a quarter mile from the road, so I can't just stroll up to it and empty a watering can on it - but if it stays dry I'll try to get to it with some water on Sunday...

Farway

I would remove the fruit to give it fighting chance, sometimes plants flower & fruit well when on their last legs in order to spread the genes around

You & the tree have years ahead of you, give it a chance & remove the fruit

fwor

Hmmm... Conflicting advice!

Ok, I'll take one piece from each and go up and snip and water it tomorrow.

sammyroser

Tree's do well from a long soak once a week, so if possible hike up their with a bucket of water. Lots of trees you remove half the fruit every year so it fruits again the next year, although I've not heard of doing it for apple trees I don't think it would do it any harm either. Good luck with your tree.