Greetings all My name is Martin O. and I am new on this forum. I live with my dear wife in northern BC. I have recently planted two apple trees. Someone once told me that you should not harvest from a new tree for about 5 years. I want to ask if this is true and if so what am I to do with the fruit that comes on the tree. Do I remove them when they first appear or do I just leave them to ripen and let them fall of by them self. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a wonderfull week. Martin O.
Way tardy in replying to this one, but I can't see any reason why one would wait to harvest from an apple tree. As for when to pick, see When to Harvest Apples from Colorado State Extension.
What varieties did you plant and what kind of a rootstock are they on. Some varieties will produce later, some earlier. if the trees are 3 years old or better you can probably expect fruit within 1 to 2 years. If the tree is well established I wouldn't remove all the apples. Just leave an amount on that the trees can support. If your trees are on a dwarf or semi dwarf rootstock they will come into bearing earlier. it would be interesting to know the varieties and the rootstock if possible to give you a better answer. Cheers
Yes: What you have heard about is picking the small apples off so they don't develop before the tree itself is up to size.
