Something girdled my big (semi-std) apple tree :(
Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2018 11:05 pm
Unbelievable! I discovered today that something has girdled my Enterprise apple tree. It’s a semi-standard and I’ve had it for quite a while now, and it is pretty big — I’m guessing at least 5-6 inches in diameter at the base. I didn’t think you had to protect them during the winter when they get this big, though I normally do put trunk protection aeound smaller trees, especially since I lost an espalier-in-training Pristine apple tree to girdling a few winters ago.
I was looking up and realizing the neighbor’s white pine tree had gotten even bigger (I SO wish they had thought about how big these trees were going to get as they mature before planting a row of them between our properties....) the one closest to the apple tree was definitely reaching its branches at the Apple’s dripline, robbing it of sunlight, and which means its roots are robbing the apple of nutrients and water....
I was thinking this explained the poor performance of the Enterprise apple tree in the last couple of years... and thinking maybe this tree is just not going to do particularly well here any more, even if I were to cut back the pine branch reaching for the apple tree... and maybe it’s time to think about planting some new trees....
Then looking at the ground, I was thinking the ground AROUND the tree was unusually soggy, wondering if there is some kind of sink-hole forming to hold so much water in puddles.
Thinking this is not good for the apple tree.... THEN FOCUSED ON THE TRUNK
I was looking up and realizing the neighbor’s white pine tree had gotten even bigger (I SO wish they had thought about how big these trees were going to get as they mature before planting a row of them between our properties....) the one closest to the apple tree was definitely reaching its branches at the Apple’s dripline, robbing it of sunlight, and which means its roots are robbing the apple of nutrients and water....
I was thinking this explained the poor performance of the Enterprise apple tree in the last couple of years... and thinking maybe this tree is just not going to do particularly well here any more, even if I were to cut back the pine branch reaching for the apple tree... and maybe it’s time to think about planting some new trees....
Then looking at the ground, I was thinking the ground AROUND the tree was unusually soggy, wondering if there is some kind of sink-hole forming to hold so much water in puddles.
Thinking this is not good for the apple tree.... THEN FOCUSED ON THE TRUNK