Apple trees deliver delight but require care

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

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It's said a bad tree won't yield good apples, so selecting the right tree is essential to assuring a sweet and fruitful future harvest.

Fortunately there are lots of good varieties that flourish in our region. Each offers unique flavors and qualities earning descriptions every bit as evocative as those applying to wines.

Perhaps the most extravagant superlatives apply to the Honeycrisp apple, a relative newcomer developed by the University of Minnesota. For more than a century, it has been recognized for its research into cold-hardy apple varieties.

With millions of trees sold worldwide, the university describes the Honeycrisp as a standout favorite having a "well-balanced sweet-tart taste and explosively crisp juicy texture."

"I think it's the best apple ever," said Larimer County horticulture agent Alison O'Connor. Hard, sweet and crisp, the Honeycrisp is particularly taking root in western Colorado orchards, she said.

Honeycrisp is perhaps the best known among the trademarked cold-resistant apples trees being developed by the university. Others include Zestar, which the university describes as having a "sprightly sweet-tart taste with a hint of brown sugar," and SnowSweet with a "sweet-tart balance and rich overtones."

"Minnesota apples are on the forefront of where Colorado should be going," said O'Connor.

Creekside Garden Center owner Tom Haynie is similarly complimentary of the Honeycrisp, but would quibble about the suitability of the others.

First, he said, they're unlikely to be available locally. Further, he said, such extremely cold-hardy apple trees are unnecessary in this relatively temperate zone.

The debate about global warming aside, "We're changing, it's gotten a lot warmer," Haynie said. "We aren't that cold. We're not even close to Minnesota."

He instead recommends some of the familiar vintage varieties such as McIntosh, Cortland and Red and Golden Delicious.

The Delicious varieties are probably the best known, with the firm, crisp and juicy Goldens good for eating or cooking and the crisp and sweet Reds favored for fresh eating.

The familiar McIntosh also is favored for eating and baking, as is the Cortland. Haynie also likes Fireside, State Fair, Sweet Sixteen and Wealthy – other varieties developed in Minnesota – as well as Fuji and Gala, arriving here from across the Pacific.

The flip side of choosing the right tree is avoiding the wrong ones – particularly those that are subject to fireblight, a bacterial disease that can kill branches or entire trees.

Haynie said many popular varieties that grow well elsewhere, such as Jonathans and Granny Smith, are particularly prone to fireblight.

A fact sheet from Colorado State University Extension details the varieties of fruit trees most subject to fireblight, as well as ways to diagnose and treat the disease. It is available at www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/02907.html.

After choosing the variety, the next decision is choosing the proper size. This usually is straightforward, as semi-dwarfs are the clear favorite. Growing to a height of 10 to 15 feet, they consume considerably less space and bear fruit much sooner than the standard varieties.

Haynie said apple trees typically are purchased in five-gallon containers, although larger ball-and-burlap trees are available to the impatient and should produce fruit within three years. He said they should be planted in a sunny spot with one-third humus backfill.

While usually requiring a tandem tree to serve as a pollinator to produce fruit, Haynie said the abundance of local apple trees generally makes that unnecessary.

O'Connor said those intending to harvest healthy fruit suitable for anything other than applesauce need to be prepared to care for their trees much more than ornamental ones. That means repeated spraying to keep coddling moth at bay.

Coddling moths emerge in the spring soon after blossom time from places in the tree where they overwinter as larva. The female moths lay eggs in the developing apples or nearby leaves. Tiny worms emerge to infiltrate and ruin the fruit.

Spraying for coddling moth is a complicated issue, according to Haynie. He said apple trees must be sprayed at least two or three times to eradicate coddling moths. Organic sprays are available.

Respected Fort Collins fruit grower, the late Herb Norlin, recommended a first spraying immediately after blossoms are off the tree. The second should occur 10 to 14 days later when moths normally would appear and start laying their eggs. He recommended a third spraying another 10 to 14 days later. Another three sprayings are advisable throughout the summer to destroy the survivors, according to an information sheet Norlin prepared.

So it takes a little work establishing and maintaining apple trees. But it's well worth it to experience the joy of sitting in the shade of one on a hot summer day, savoring its sweet, crisp bounty that defies adequate description.