Key Points for Fertilizing Apple Trees: How Many Times a Year, and What Fertilizer Is Best in Spring

How many times a year should you fertilize an apple tree? In fact, it is four times, mainly so that the apples the tree bears are large and good. Spring fertilization is flower-and-fruit-preserving fertilizer; summer fertilization is flower-promoting and fruit-swelling fertilizer; autumn fertilization is root-promoting and tree-strengthening fertilizer.

The first top dressing should be before flowering, with an appropriate amount of quick-acting fertilizer.

The second is top dressing after flowering, which should be done immediately after the petals fall to reduce physiological fruit drop and promote new shoot growth, mainly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer, applying 1 kg of urea per mature tree.

The third is top dressing during the fruit enlargement and flower bud differentiation period, applying an appropriate amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers as well as various medium and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, and silicon.

The fourth is top dressing during the period when autumn shoots stop growing, applying 50 kg of human and animal manure, 1 kg of superphosphate, and 0.5 kg of potassium sulfate per mature tree.

What fertilizer should be applied to apple trees in spring? Spring fertilization of apple trees should be mainly nitrogen fertilizer, combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilizer, supplemented by medium elements such as calcium and magnesium and trace elements such as zinc, iron, and boron.

What chemical fertilizer is best for apple trees? Apple trees should be given nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers, and an appropriate amount of compound fertilizer should also be applied, which is best, about 1 kg per tree; large trees with more fruit can be given more.