Need help with my apple tree

ktyrrel

I am new and do not know anything about trees. We moved into our house a year and a half ago and there is a fully developed apple tree on the property.

We live in the mountains surrounded by tall Redwood trees. The apple tree stands about 75 feet from the nearest tree.

The month we moved in (October) the tree was full of greenish red apples. They were delicious, but there was a problem...the centers on most of the apples were black/gray with this fuzzy mold. The apples looked otherwise healthy. No worm holes, they were crunchy and sweet. But the centers looked nasty.

The tree had moss growing all over the trunk and branches and my husband thought that might be a problem. At the end of winter, beginning of spring when the banches were all bare, he pressure washed all the moss off the tree. That fall, the tree did not produce any apples.

We left the tree alone and then this year, the flowers budded and I can see little apples beginning to grow. I don't know if the apples are going to come out alright, but I can see bugs on the branches right now that are concerning me.

There are ants and bugs on the leaves. I don't know what kind of bugs they are, I only know that they fly. The bugs look like they have long bodies, they are reddish brown in color (kind of look like a little sliver of wood) with some black too (the black might be the wings). They are on the branches too, but they seem to be attracted most to the leaves. They stick to the under side of the tree where the shade is.

Oh, and it looks like they are killing the leaves (the leaves are all brown now and shriveling up like someone hit them with a torch for a few seconds.

I would greatly appreciate any advice from someone who might know what the problem is and how to fix it. Please let me know what you think.

Thank you!!
KT

treeshaveneeds

Need some pics to get any idea what you're talking about.
It does sound like your husband knocked off all the flower buds while he was pressure washing the trunk.
Moss and lichen on a tree seldom does any damage unless it completely envelopes the trunk and minimizes/stops air exchange thru the lenticels on the bark.

Eric Frei

Browning leaves ... from a flying bug?

Definately need photos.

Sounds to me this tree is real crook. apples with rotten cores etc.

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TreeSpecialist

You should try leaving the tree alone. it got big and grew with out much help in the past.

Mulch beneath the tree, keep it evenly watered and see what happens.

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