Content
Most varieties and hybrids of apple trees are hardy and cold-resistant. However, sometimes trees just don't wake up after winter. This can be caused by various reasons, so it is important to understand exactly why apple trees do not bloom, focusing on their condition. In most cases, such a problem does not mean the death of the tree; it is quite possible to “wake up” it.
When do apple tree leaves begin to bloom?
It is impossible to indicate a specific time when apple trees begin to bloom. It all depends on the characteristics of the variety and hybrid, the weather in winter and spring, the quality of tree care and other factors. In central Russia, the buds bloom around the 20th of May. But if spring is early and warm, this may happen 10-15 days earlier. In regions with a harsher climate, you most often have to wait until the end of May or even the first ten days of June.
Apple trees don't bud at the same time every season, and that's completely normal.
Why leaves on an apple tree do not bloom well after winter
If the apple tree does not bud after winter, you need to carefully examine the tree. Despite the declared cold resistance of a variety or hybrid, severe frosts, in combination with other negative factors, can cause serious harm to it. This is clearly evidenced by the leaves not blooming in the spring.
Damage to wood by negative temperatures
When the winter is harsh (the temperature stays below -30 °C for a long time), windy and with little snow, “frostbite” of the wood is almost inevitable. Likewise, they are affected even by a not too frequent (4-5 times is enough) change from thaw to frost during the winter.
The severity of the damage is determined by the color of the wood. If it is yellowish-beige, the problem can be considered minor; severe frostbite is indicated by a rusty-brown tint. When an apple tree does not bloom leaves in the spring and its wood turns brown or black, it is much more difficult to help the tree, but it is also possible.
Wood damaged by frost becomes very fragile, the apple tree breaks under its own weight
Mechanical damage to the cortex
The most vulnerable place is the junction of the branches and the trunk. After a harsh winter, the bark becomes very thin; in the spring, when the air temperature rises and the sun becomes more “active,” the apple tree gets burned. Their appearance is indicated by the red-brown tint of the bark.
When the area of burns is significant, the bark dies. The tree is greatly weakened, so the leaves and flower buds on it do not bloom - the apple tree simply does not have enough strength, they are sent to “treat” the resulting damage.
Broken branches
Frequent changes in negative and positive temperatures during the winter are dangerous not only due to “frostbite” of wood. As a result, the branches break or crack under the weight of the ice freezing on them. The sap flow system is disrupted, and some of the leaves and flowers on the affected shoots do not bloom.
It looks very beautiful and unusual, but it puts a serious load on the tree
Affected kidneys
If a gardener neglects to care for the apple tree, in particular, preparing it for winter, the leaf and flower shoots are the first to suffer. The experience of gardeners shows that the buds that “survive” are mostly on the tops of the shoots. Others quickly die and fall off.
Damage to leaf and flower buds by returning spring frosts is also possible. In regions with a harsh climate (Urals, Siberia, Far East), negative temperatures in May and even June are not completely ruled out.
For most varieties and hybrids of apple trees, even short exposure to cold is detrimental
“Gnawed” roots or trunk of an apple tree
The apple tree needs to be protected for the winter not only from frost, but also from rodents. Otherwise, mice, rats, and hares will consider its wood a delicacy. Such “gnawing” poses a serious danger to the vascular system.Leaves and flower buds on such trees may not bloom for several seasons until it recovers.
Rodents pose a danger to any fruit trees
Application of nitrogen fertilizers in autumn
Nitrogen is a macroelement that the apple tree needs in the spring, at the stage of active formation of green mass. Then it is even harmful to it - the tree begins to “fatten” to the detriment of fruiting. Nitrogen fertilizing in the fall is especially dangerous - this macroelement activates the growth processes of the tree, preventing it from “hibernating”. As a result, the leaves begin to bloom in the fall and inevitably die in winter from frost.
What to do if the apple tree does not bloom in the spring after winter
A “withering” apple tree, in which leaves and flowers do not bloom, can in many cases be saved. The main thing is to take the necessary measures already in the current season and be patient, giving the tree time to fully recover.
When freezing
If the apple tree does not bloom leaves due to “frostbite” of the wood, it needs proper pruning. But depending on the degree of damage, you should act differently:
- When black-brown wood indicates frostbite of critical severity, hasty decisions and actions will only harm the apple tree. You need to wait until the tree, on which the leaves have not blossomed, still “wake up”. The so-called tops, emerging from the “dormant” buds, will become the new “skeleton”.
- If the wood of the apple tree is brown, on the contrary, you should not hesitate with pruning. All affected shoots are removed even before the leaves bloom on the tree. Then the apple tree is provided with “donors” of water and nutrients so that it does not die.In the tree trunk circle, close enough to it, 2-3-year-old “wild” plants are planted. Usually 4-5 pieces are enough. Planting holes for them are prepared as for “cultivated” seedlings, and the tops of the trunks are grafted under the bark of an apple tree with damaged wood, which does not bloom in the spring. During the season, the resulting “symbiosis” is not fed with mineral fertilizers, limited to abundant watering. If buds form on the “main” tree, they are immediately torn off, not allowing them to bloom.
- An apple tree with slightly yellowed wood is the easiest to “wake up” after winter. As a rule, it is enough to spray it with cold water in the morning, and after a few days, treat it with any biostimulant.
“Useless” and even “harmful” tops when the apple tree freezes help restore its “skeleton”
In case of damage by rodents
As soon as above-zero temperatures are established, all the “wounds” left by rodents on the apple tree, whose leaves have not blossomed, are disinfected, washed with a solution of any fungicide, cleaned and covered with garden varnish. Otherwise, the situation will be further complicated by infection. This treatment, coupled with proper care and several sprayings with biostimulants during the season, is quite enough to restore the strength of a tree with superficial mechanical damage (bark and cambium) over the summer. Next season the leaves will bloom as usual.
If the trunk of an apple tree has been chewed to more than half its thickness over the winter, the only way out is to provide it with “donors,” just like a tree with heavily frozen wood. Instead of wild seedlings, you can use the root shoots of the apple tree itself.
Installing rodent protection is a necessary step in preparing an apple tree for winter.
At faults
Any cracks found on an apple tree that does not bloom leaves must be disinfected by washing with a fungicide or a “homemade” remedy with an antiseptic effect. Then do this:
- Thick “double” trunks above the fracture site are tightly tied with wire, placing soft cloth under it so that it does not cut into the wood and injure it even more. Then a hole is drilled 5-10 cm below, a bolt is inserted into it and a nut is screwed on.
- Thin trunks or large fruiting branches with a diameter of 4-5 cm are similarly fixed with a wire tie. Then two construction brackets “facing” in different directions are driven crosswise into the wood.
- Small branches of the apple tree, on which leaves do not bloom due to fractures, are fixed with screws, leaving their ends sticking out.
All items used to tighten fractures are also disinfected.
In case of kidney damage from pests
The apple blossom beetle or weevil is a pest that becomes active in the spring, when the air warms up to 10 °C. Its larvae eat away leaf and flower buds from the inside, leaving only superficial scales.
To notice a pest attack at an early stage, apple trees are regularly inspected, looking for drops of “liquid” on the buds
Having discovered a characteristic symptom, use suitable insecticides (Decis, Biotlin, Fufanon, Kinmiks), following the instructions in the instructions. In the fall, preparations for winter are carried out especially carefully, including cleaning the trunk circle from plant debris, deep loosening of the soil, and whitewashing the trunk.
What to process
If you have not been able to understand why the apple tree does not wake up after winter, it is recommended to use biostimulants. The concentration of the solution, the method and frequency of treatments are determined based on the instructions given by the manufacturer.
Stimpo
At the same time a biostimulant and a drug that has a positive effect on the immunity of the apple tree. It can be used to treat trees that do not leaf out, together with most phytosanitary treatments, including mixtures. A balanced complex of phytohormones and microelements is responsible for a positive result.
Apple trees and other garden crops can be sprayed with Stimpo at all stages of the growing season.
Pennant
The drug is of natural-synthetic origin. It is used mainly to increase the “stress resistance” of plants. With regular use, it can completely replace fungicides. For maximum effect, treatments are carried out three times - while the leaves of the apple trees have not yet blossomed, at the moment of bud formation and immediately after flowering.
Pennant not only helps apple trees “wake up” after winter, but also increases their productivity by about a third
Albite
A complex product that combines the properties of a fungicide, biostimulator and growth regulator.The drug is completely natural, obtained from bacteria and other microorganisms living in the soil. It is recommended to spray apple trees if their leaves do not bloom to “awaken” and in the pink bud phase to increase “stress resistance” and productivity.
The drug Albit removes the phytotoxic load from apple trees that do not bloom leaves
Conclusion
If apple trees do not bloom after winter, there is clearly something wrong with the trees. Therefore, the gardener must find the reason for the prolonged “hibernation”. As a rule, there are no problems with this - the accompanying symptoms help. “Waking up” a tree is quite possible, the main thing is to take effective measures in time. Then the damage to the apple tree can be minimized; this will not affect its development and fruiting.
