Pollinators - Educate me

[Sam16]

Very novice fruit orchard enthusiast here....

I see a lot of terminology on this forum that frankly I just don't understand. The first of many is... pollinators. What I know is that bees are necessary to cross pollinate the flowers on apple trees to produce fruit... Am I correct so far?

Is there ever a situation where there are not enough of these pollinators to get the fruit going?
Is there anything to do to increase the success of the pollination?

In general, looking for some good info before I dive deep into planting several trees next spring. What do I need to know.

Thanks!
Sam

 

[dogdoc]

Bees are probably the most important but other insects can pollinate also. Plant other plants that will keep pollinators close. Wildflowers and clovers are an example. Early flowering clovers like crimson work great. Establish a bee hive or set out mason bee houses to establish a good population.

 

[Sam16]

Could it be that my little 3 apple "line" that I expected to have apples this year but didnt was it because there werent enough pollinators around??

 

[dogdoc]

I'm assuming your trees flowered?
If they did then the more likey reason would be a late frost over lack of pollinators.

 

[buckdeer1]

Late frost or is there any chance they are planted in a frost pocket?

 

[Neahawg]

Also are they three different trees? If so do they bloom during the same time period? Are they three triploid trees ex winesap, ashmeads kernel, and Arkansas Black?

 

[Native Hunter]

The existence of pollinators depends on suitable habitat for them to survive and conditions to sustain their existence just like any other form of life. As previously mentioned, bees are important but not the only important pollinators.

Bottom line is that we are concerned about creating deer habitat, but our greater concern should be looking at the big picture and creating a diverse habitat to promote and sustain all of the important elements of the ecosystem. If certain parts of that system becomes out of balance then we should intervene but with caution not to fix one problem and create another in the process.

A good basic read on the subject of pollinators is shown below. It all comes down to diverse habitat and conditions to sustain the important elements of a complex system that one wiser and greater than us put in place but left us in charge of.

http://www.pollinator.org/Resources/PollinatorFriendlyPractices.pdf

 

[sagittarius]

Bottom line is that we are concerned about creating deer habitat, but our greater concern should be looking at the big picture and creating a diverse habitat to promote and sustain all of the important elements of the ecosystem. If certain parts of that system becomes out of balance then we should intervene but with caution not to fix one problem and create another in the process.

Well said. To intervene = hunting.

 

[Sam16]

My 3 trees (the 4th died) are planted near a wood lot but on the South end of it to get plenty of sun. 2 of them are golden delicious and the third is either a zestar or wolf river. Elevation is good so it's not a frost pocket, but being that it's near a tree line it may be a bit chillier in the shade for part of the day. I would think there would be plenty of bees and such around since it's between a 30 acre woodlot and crop field. I was not there during the spring after April Turkey season so not sure if it bloomed. The trees are still very year, with the 2 golden delicious taking off to 10 feet this year and the other one being 5-6 foot. Last year they had a few apples though and then nothing this year. I'm not super concerned because they are so young, but just curious. I plan on putting many more in next spring and want to make sure I do it right.

 

[Neahawg]

Are they near or in a food plot? If so do you fertilize that food plot? Could be they have just switched over to vegetative growth instead of worrying about reproduction. Sounds like either that or a late frost killed the blooms.

 

[Sam16]

They are in a 25 yard wide opening between timber and crops. I frost seeded some clover but didnt keep up with mowing very well so it's mostly weeds with some clover mixed in. No fertilizer on this spot from me, maybe some from farmer. Here's a pic of them


Before I cleaned it up and tried to train the branches, not sure if this is the same tree but it's from same group of 3

 

[Neahawg]

I don't know the rootstock but I bet they are just young. I think they will be spitting out apples soon enough.

Golden delicious is a great pollinator and ia partially self fertile if I remember right. Get a few more varieties and possibly a crab or two and you will be set.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I agree the trees look a little young to be flowering, even if they did it would likely have been very light. Pollinators can be distracted by another pollen source if there is a better one nearby. Also weather can play a very important role in pollination. If weather was cool, wet and/ or windy during the short pollination window that can seriously decrease pollinator activity. I had that very thing happen to me this year.

 

[Sam16]

Thanks Neahawg! Looking forward to next year