How do you take care of an...?

Question

apple tree? We just moved into a new house, and we discovered two apple trees. they are fully grown, pretty much, i guess, and they have a pretty good amount of apples. we have NO idea how to take care of an apple tree. it was taken care of ok, not VERY well. a little ignored but not so bad. The only thing is that there is a bunch of crunchy scraggly moss thing on the wood, its like a light green, sort of like crunchy moss. its all OVER the wood. Do we have to do something special to fix it up, or just remove the crunchy stuff with our hands? And also, when we bring it to good health, what do we do for regular care, like how frequently should we water it, put fertilizer, general care.

please help! i don't want the apple trees to die! :(

Answer 1

Hi there :) Although I do work in a greenhouse and market garden, I honestly don't know much about taking care of apple trees. (My dad does that)  But hopefully this site will help out a bit! Good Luck! :)

http://www.howtodothings.com/home-and-ga...

Answer 2

You don't say where you are, but if the tree is big it must have survived for a while.

When the weather is cold and the leaves have fallen, rake them up and burn them or send them to a local composting facility. The cold time is when you can do some cleanup pruning and just take a look at the general shape of the tree. Remove any dead or crossing branches, and getting a pruning book at the library is really helpful.

Also you can do a dormant spray in winter to help reduce any fungal problems combined with oil that smothers overwintering insects and eggs. Then when spring comes you can get a box of fruit tree fertilizer and follow the directions on that. Feed as directed and water deeply once in a while. Just don't feed to late in the year because you cause new growth to happen and it is not up to winter, it is tender. Apples are tough. Watch for caterpillars in the spring and you may need to spray those with something called bt.

And finally the green mossy stuff will not hurt the tree. Some people think it is unsightly, but to me it just means you live in a climate like mine in Washington .