Apple Trees Need Friends

Most apples need pollen from another apple tree to produce fruit. This is called cross-pollination. This second tree must be a different cultivar but also one that will flower at the same time.

The presence of bees will be very important; poor pollination can reduce the number of fruit and cause misshapen fruit; some orchards rent or maintain bee hives for good pollination. Overusing broad-spectrium insecticides can reduce the number of bees.

Honeybees are the main pollinators of apples. The smell and color of the flower signals to bees there is tasty nectar waiting inside. When a bee visits a flower, pollen sticks to their hair and is carried to the next flower.

Attracting bees to your orchard is one of the best ways to naturallypollinate flowering trees and plants. Fruit-bearing trees are a great choice for attracting bees to your orchard, as they are generally large and provide a steady supply of nectar for bees to feed on.

With the recent decline in honeybee populations, it's more important than ever to plant your orchard with these productive pollinators in mind. By including an array of plants that provide pollen and nectar in your orchard, you can help undo some of the damage to their population caused by modern agricultural practices and pesticide use. You don't need a meadow full of flowers to help the honeybee; planting one or two of the top pollen- and nectar-bearing trees also benefits this little insect. To keep bees coming back to your orchard, avoid the use of pesticides and herbicides.

Pollinators

The most common pollinator for apples is the honey bee. All pollinators need a few basic requirements to live and thrive so they can do the job of pollinating your apple tree. First, they need a home. Consider leaving a corner of your property wild. Native bees nest in trees and undisturbed, bare soil. They don't live well in lawns, mulched areas or places that have been treated with pesticides. Second, they need water both to drink and to cool themselves. Third, they need a year-round supply of pollen. If you plant several different varieties of flowering plants so that your yard is blooming from spring to fall, you have a greater chance of having a pollinator around when you need one to pollinate your apple tree.

Pollination is the process in which the pollen is transferred to the flower for fertilization. Cross-pollination refers to plants that require the pollen of a male flower from a different plant to fertilize the female flower. In many cases, this is done by pollinating insects, such as honeybees. Because of this, distance between pollinators is very important. Even self-pollinating varieties will do better when cross-pollinated with another variety.

Pollinization

Honeybees are the primary pollinators of apple trees. Because of this, the distance is judged by how far the honeybees are willing and able to fly between the trees. As the bees collect pollen from the male flowers, they then travel to the other tree and the pollen spreads to the female flowers. Pollination is sometimes, but seldom, done by the wind.

Providing For Pollination

Resist treating the trees with insecticides or other chemicals while the apple trees are in bloom and pollination is due to take place. Honeybees tend to be extremely sensitive to insecticides, therefore your pollination will not be as successful if these chemicals are applied. For the backyard apple tree, wild honeybees should be sufficient.