There are several reasons why your apple tree may not be producing fruit. First, apples trees much reach a certain age before they begin to bear fruit. This is typically several years of age. Most of the apple trees we carry should bear fruit this year or next. Second, apples are produced from the flowers. If the flowers are damaged by weather, frost or other issues, no fruit will form.
Third, apple tree flowers must be pollinated by another apple tree in order to form an apple. This occurs naturally when bees and other insects move from one apple tree to another. If you have no bees, you won't get any fruit. This is why some people have started using Mason Bees in their garden.
Next, you have to make sure there is more than 1 apple tree in your immediate area, or the bees will have no pollen to work with. The apple trees must blossom at the same time and they must be of compatible varieties. Some apple trees have sterile pollen and those can not be used as pollination sources.
Just like us, apple trees need to be fed to produce. Apply a dose of Fruit tree or berry food in the early spring before the flowers appear. This fertilizer has a high second number which encourages the production of flowers and fruit. In some cases, your tree may also need micro-nutrients which are available from specialty products like Fritted Trace Elements.
Finally, apples tend to be biennial. That is, they tend to produce more fruit one year and then less in the second. You can mitigate this natural occurance by thinning your apple crop in the bountiful years.
For more information about producing apples, give us a call at 604.882.1201 or visit us in person at Arts Nursery Ltd.