Since it was fairly cool outside today, I am in the mood to write. Yes, outside temperature has an impact on indoor activities. If it’s too hot out, I tend to get lazy. If it’s chilly out, I get to work. Today was in the lower 70s and that’s just fine for me. Now this evening (right now) is in the 50s and that’s even better for me. I think I might have to order that big hoody I have been wanting a little early.
Anyway, I decided to run up to Lowe’s this afternoon after my companion and I finished discussing how much better Lowe’s nursery is than Home Depot’s. Actually, I have seen some good Home Depot nurseries out there, but Lowe’s does seem to have that area down.
I wanted to pick up a few things. I needed to get some fruit trees, some evergreens, a *** and a ***. I will leave those last two as a surprise for my next post.
Okay, so I got to Lowe’s. I quickly browsed their garden area and found that they didn’t have any small White Pines or Norway Spruces. What else is new…nobody ever seems to have any of them. I mean, sure, whenever they get them in stock, they sell out immediately. Hmmm…gee. Weird that they don’t order more to satisfy the hungry evergreen crowd. No, that would make too much sense. Just keep filling the aisles up with those medium sized evergreens that never seem to leave. Yeah, everyone wants those. Okay, sarcasm over.
I went shopping inside to get the other items I went there for and then I returned to the garden area. I looked through the fruit tree area and picked out two apple trees that I believed my better half would like. I was given a slight nudge from my partner before I left. She wanted something what would grow some fruit on it and no more of those crabapples that I love so much. Hey, if it’s good enough for my mate, it’s good enough for me (okay, I’m out of funny names for her).
The two fruit trees I decided on were a Red Delicious Semi-Dwarf Apple Tree and a Yellow Delicious Semi-Dwarf Apple Tree. I don’t think either of these types of apples are on our most favorite lists, but they were the only ones there and I needed something to plant in the front yard. Also, I have eaten Yellow Delicious apples and I don’t hate them. Red Delicious I can do without.
I got back and grabbed the shovel. I also grabbed the wheelbarrow and dug up some compost from my little compost area. That stuff is coming along very nicely and is chock full of worms. You just have to see it. I supposed I should have taken some pictures of it, right? Maybe next time. Sorry about that.
I brought the compost and trees up to the front yard and got to work. It took a few minutes to dig the holes because they were larger than I normally dig them. I thought it would be neat to follow the directions on the back of the tag for once. You know, “Dig the hole twice the size…blah blah blah.” Yeah, I did that and used the majority of the compost I dug up from the pile. We’ll see what happens. Usually, if I follow the directions on a plant, it ends up dying. Although, I did read somewhere that if you plant a tree correctly (instead of just shoving it in a shallow hole like I usually do), it will grow twice as fast as it would if you plant it incorrectly. I guess it has something to do with the roots being able to get out there in the dirt.
So, here are the photos of the two trees I planted today.
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- Red Delicious Semi-Dwarf Apple Tree tag from Lowe’s
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- Yellow Delicious Semi-Dwarf Apple Tree tag from Lowe’s
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- Red Delicious Semi-Dwarf Apple Tree
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- Yellow Delicious Semi-Dwarf Apple Tree
Incoming search terms:
- dwarf apple trees
- lowes apple trees
- semi dwarf yellow delicious apple tree
- red and yellow apples
- yellow delicious semi dwarf apple
- simi delicious
- granny smith dwarf apple tree
- dwarft apple trees at lowes
- lowes apple tree
- how large does a red delicious apple tree get
Hi – researching dwarf apple trees. Does the back of the tags say how tall semi-dwarfs get?
Also, do you know much about pollination? Both tags say Granny Smith is the recommended pollinator tree. Will red and yellow delicious pollinate one another?
Thanks……….like I said. I am researching. Trying to figure out which ones work with what. Local nurseries don’t seem to carry. (???)
The back of the tag says the semi-dwarf grows to 20-25 feet tall. That’s a pretty big dwarf if you ask me.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about pollination, but if you do find the answer to your question, please don’t hesitate to post it here.
Thank you.
Hi – thanks. You are right. Not very dwarf!!
Finding out that certain species require certain other species to be planted nearby in order to be pollinated and bear fruit. Didn’t realize they were so picky!! Don’t know about yours in particular, so you may or may not get apples. According to the tag, they both like the pollen from the Granny Smith Apple tree, so if you already have one of those nearby, you should be okay.
Good luck with your trees!
Semi-dwarf means that the tree was grafted onto a rootstock of a different tree and will be 80% of the size of the original tree. It is done sometimes just because the rootstock is more cold hardy or has other desirable characteristics. The red and yellow delicious should pollinate each other, according to one nursery’s website. However, I live in the south and am trying to find out if it will do well here. Some trees require a certain amount of “chill hours”. Anyone have anymore info on this?
Thanks!
Stephanie
hi
have they started to give fruits , i had planted red and yellow delicious , i see few small fruit bearings on red delicious , nothing on yellow , i planted them in 2009 fall.
No fruit as of yet. We’ve only had these apple tree for a few months and it’s still really early in the season. I’ll give them a few months.