In general, apple trees are among the more easy-care specimens, even among the fruit trees. However, with a view to a rich apple harvest, you should not forget to supply the tree with sufficient nutrients.

Fertilize freshly planted apple trees properly

Basically, many hobby gardeners tend to over-fertilize the fruit trees in the garden rather than to supply them with insufficient nutrients. Therefore, all fertilizer should be administered only sparingly. With a freshly planted apple tree, it is usually sufficient for the first two to three years at the new location if the excavated soil around the tree roots was mixed with compost and stored manure when planting. Only then should about 10 grams of blue seed per tree be administered around the trunk in spring and late summer. If the apple tree were over-fertilized with nitrogen, the following dangers would arise:

  • immature, dying branches in winter
  • strong shoot growth at the expense of flowers and fruits
  • increased susceptibility to diseases and pests

Targeted fertilization of older apple trees

Depending on their variety and location, older apple trees usually have a slightly higher nutrient requirement than their younger relatives. First of all, there should be a mulch cover on a larger tree disc around the tree trunk in summer to protect it from drying out. Ideally, for large apple trees in full yield, you should use a complete fertilizer containing potash or an organo-mineral fertilizer. Give about 60 grams per tree twice a year, once in March and once around mid-May. However, if fresh compost is available, you can spread about four liters of it on the tree disc in spring. After a soil sample, you can possibly supplement this with horn meal and calcium ammonium nitrate.

The underplanting with green manure

The use of chemical fertilizers can also be omitted with the apple tree if, in addition to the annual incorporation of compost into the soil in the area of the tree disc, there is also underplanting with green manure. Plants such as the low-climbing nasturtium or lemon balm are suitable for this, which are then worked into the substrate after the season. In this way, decomposable material is created in a natural way, which protects the sensitive root system of the apple tree and supplies it with moderate amounts of nitrogen and other nutrients.

tips and tricks

When mulching young apple trees, no freshly chopped pieces of wood should be introduced into the soil, otherwise they would withdraw nitrogen from the soil during the rotting process. Older trees are less sensitive to this and their tree pit can also be covered with wood-containing materials. In general, proportionate fertilization should ensure a balanced relationship between fruit yield and shoot growth. Fertilization should be avoided in late autumn, otherwise young shoots will not survive the frost temperatures in autumn and early winter.

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Trees