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| Hello, thanks for reading. I recently bought a place in the country and know nothing about trees but am trying to learn. There's a row of trees in front of the house (abutting the street) that used to be conifers of some sort but appear dead (completely brown, no leaves, etc).
Some of the orchard trees in another part of the property seem diseased, but alive. Property hasn't really been taken care of for many years (practically abandoned) and perhaps the trees are reflecting this? Or could it be the moss thing in the attached picture? This is actually a healthy looking tree but all of them have this...Help please! If you are feeling generous and want to tell me how to bring the apple trees, etc back to life, I would be so grateful. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| That's called Lichen... certainly one of the most interesting "organisms" on the planet... but no threat to the trees. I'd suggest waiting until next summer to get a real feel on how "alive" everything is before taking any steps, unless there is something you want to get rid of anyway no matter whether its healthy or not. |
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- Posted by konrad___far_north 3..just outside of E (My Page) on Sat, Nov 3, 12 at 16:07
| Congrats on your property...have fun! Since you have this on all of them I wouldn't worry. Most likely it's Tree Lichens and grow on the same side, in your hemisphere it probably be on the north side. |
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| Mad, no one can tell you anything about your apple trees without a lof of good images. And it's sorta difficult to explain the fine art of apple tree pruning long distance, or much else about fruit tree restoration, for that matter. Luckily, you live in a top apple producing state...second only to Washington, I believe. Also luckily, your Cornell Extension service is one of the finest in the country. That puts you in a great position to find all kinds of terrific support. Making friends with your local extension personnel should be on the top of your list of things to do. The CCE (Cornell Cooperative Extension) website will provide contact information. I'd be asking about pruning workshops as well for the care of home orchards. I envy you this great opportunity. Yes, you've got a lot to learn, but it'll be fun.
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 3, 12 at 18:22
| that used to be conifers of some sort but appear dead (completely brown, no leaves, etc). ==>>> well.. better hone up on deciduous conifers .. as good odds of such.. than dead ... w/o a pic of course ... you got plenty of time to think about an orchard.. but let me be very clear.. to grow edible fruit.. will require a regimen of 5 to 6 chemical sprays per year .. with perfect timing.. etc ... i found that to not be worth the effort ... and if you dont .. then you will have rotting fruit laying about most of the year.. and in fall all that dead fermenting fruit laying around on the ground ... as fodder for bees and hornets who like to get stoned.. and i wont even go into the hundreds of hours of requisite pruning.. to bring them back to some semblance of usefulness ... frankly.. enjoy them as spring flowering trees ... and dissuade yourself of any orchard dreams you may have.. if you really want to do such.. mail order some small dwarf fruit trees.. visit the fruit forum .. and do it the easy way ... ever see an air fern at the store???? same with lichens .. they have ABSOLUTELY NO IMPACT ON THE TREE ... think of them as a bonus show from mother nature ... i mean really.. look deeply at the coloration.. sublime ... i often.. believe it or not.. wondered how to pain a room that color ... good luck ken |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Sat, Nov 3, 12 at 20:54
| first, the conifers. if spruce, got no good news. if larch or dawn redwood, got lots of good news. quick tip on the apples...learn to identify water sprouts/sucker growth. prune it off. there is a lot to be intimidated by, but a lot of elbow grease goes a long way. the quick answer, after attending years of pruning workshops, is that there are seldom "right" answers. where in new york are you? if in southern hudson valley, a gardenweb regular on the fruit and orchard forum, harvestman, is local and would be worth a little time talking to. if farther north, cornell has a research station in the kingston/poughkeepsie area and usually holds demonstration seminars over the winter. i also know a few orchardists in that area who may be willing to offer a little advice...but they aren't really the kind of people to hold your hand. they'll tell you once how to do it, and leave you to your own devices. and for the rest of the night i shall ponder rooms painted lichen and dread the dreams to follow. |
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- Posted by greenthumbzdude 6 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 3, 12 at 21:41
| Yeah I can tell your from the city lol...Anyways lichen is a sign that you have very low air pollution in the area. Its actually formed from a relationship between algae and fungi and will not grow in polluted areas. And those dead conifers could be bald cypress, dawn redwood, or larch. Not all conifers keep their foliage overwinter as most people think.If you have any questions about tree species or anything else feel free to post. |
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| Honey,if you now own a farm that isn't a street in front of your property, it's a road. ;-) I don't have to spray my apples five or six times a year and I laugh all the way to the bank at those five dollar a bag apples in the markets. They also are as beautiful as any ornamental come spring when they bloom. Get thee to the orchard forum right here on Garden Web. We have a smallholding and the way I look at it, is that acreage may as well be paying its way and my orchard, veggie garden, grapes, asparagus beds, bramble patch and nut trees reward us richly. If the apple trees are old and haven't been tended you may do better installing new ones than trying to resurrect the old ones. My biggest mistake was waiting so long to do that. Spend the winter doing some reading, dreaming, online research and planning for spring. Yes, Cornell is a GREAT resource. It's one of the first resources I seek out for things related to horticulture. OSU is another one (but then again I am biased.) Have fun with your new adventure and enjoy it. |
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| Mad, here's a link to the local CCE offices. I meant to include it in my earlier post. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Click here to contact your Extension Service
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| I'd like to emphasize and agree with Calliope. You can certainly have a strict spraying schedule if you want perfect fruit that looks like it was carved from wax. But you can also go easy on the chemicals and have great apples, cherries, pears, or whatever. Choose disease-resistant varieties and learn some of the tricks of organic gardening. Your fruit may not be grocery-store flawless, but it will be still be healthy and oh-so satisfying. You should learn about pruning for best structure and fruit production, but there's plenty of books, websites, and workshops for such things at your local extension office. The workshops are really fun and a great way to make friends. Also, do what Calliope said and check out the Fruits and Orchards forum. I love it there. Once you start looking at bloom times, varieties, and rootstocks, you're the proud owner of a happy and healthy new obsession. I envy you! :-) |
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| Most people think that the only use for an apple tree is apples, except ornamental apple trees like Crabapples. Rejuvenating an old, unmaintained apple tree into a model of a commercial orchard tree is a long row to hoe for a person who knows how to do it,.... and a much longer row for a neophyte. I would prune for ascetics rather than apple production. The average tree usually produces more apples than you can give away, no matter how it's pruned. (Butchered, is another thing) Treat your tree as an ornamental and it will be a lot easier. |
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