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All about apples, pears, plums, and cherries - and orchards where they are grown

Gravenstein Apple tree

Owner: Joe

Location:  Burnaby, B.C., Canada

Age:Planted in about 1980
Age of this tree:47 years
Soil:silty / clay loam 
Climate at this location:west coast temperate
Pruning:Has gotten too tall to thin fruit and am gradually removing high limbs. Main pruning in Jan / Feb annually. Pinch tips back in June / July.
Tree form:Standard
Height:Taller than 15ft / 4m
Cropping:Biennial cropping (alternate years)
Growth:This tree grows easily here
Herbicides:Un-treated
Pesticides:Un-treated
Local pests:caterpillar, some mildew on a few lower branches

Owner's comments

This has been a great tree. It can be extremely productive and has been very healthy with few problems except caterpillars which I hand remove. Crops have been very good since I started keeping mason bees about 8 years ago. Apples are a nice balance of sweetness / tartness. Apples make great pies and apple sauce. Very good eating when fresh. I store apples in the crisper and they last into December although they do gradually lose quality. I have had crops of 400 - 500 lbs. in good years.