Sunday, May 1, 2011

Apple transplant, beautiful day!

So, I have two columnar apple trees. I bought them bareroot around 3-4 years ago, and got my first apples off of the Golden Sentinel last year. I'm hoping the Northpole will fruit this year. I had them in large plastic pots from Home Depot that turned out to be the crappiest pots on the face of the earth. The pots weathered quickly in the sun, and went to pieces. One of the pots had crumbled well past the soil line. Soooo, I wanted to repot, and we bought a couple wine half casks. The trees have quite a few leaves, and lots of buds that haven't yet opened. I didn't want to disturb them so close to blooming, but they desperately needed new pots. So, I bit the bullet and went for it. A couple whacks with the shovel, and the pots disintegrated. LJ and I managed to wrestle the trees into their new homes without too much difficulty, and without knocking off any of the pending blossoms. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they weren't rootbound. I couldn't see any roots around the outside other than a few thread thin bits. Good to see, as I hopefully haven't disturbed them too much by repotting. Fingers crossed! We placed the new planters out near the big apple tree, and perhaps they'll help each other out.

Was a beautiful weekend. I went to the spring garden fair with Paula, KT, David, and Mallory. We had a great time, and I'll detail later what I brought home. Got the lawn mowed this weekend, and the front yard is now fenced for the geese. They're loving the chance to stretch their legs and munch on some spring grass.

Anyhoo, time to get some steaks a grillin. Lovely weekend!

4 comments:

Rain said...

good luck with those apple trees-sounds like they may indeed have a chance! It was a wonderful weekend here also-for cleaning out the winters accumulation in the chicken barn!! Got it half done-hopefully other half today!! Have a great week Rae!!

Paula said...

We grilled steaks too! It was just the right weather for it. What a gorgeous day.

Gina said...

You describe your life in such a great way. I'm jealous at the idea of fruit trees actually producing fruit for you. I planted a lemon and a lime tree when we arrived in Australia 5 years ago and although they look ok they never give fruit. The blossoms come but then wither and die and fall off. Good luck with this years crop. I hope both trees produce fruit!

Rae said...

Thanks, Gina. As for your citrus trees, it could be a nutrient problem. Irregular watering could cause it too, shocking the tree. I'm no citrus expert, though.. If you have some sort of extension service in your area, they may be able to help troubleshoot. Hope your trees produce fruit eventually!