Malus ( Liberty Apple )

Characteristics

Cultivar:	Liberty
Family:	Rosaceae
Size:	Height: 15 ft. to 30 ft. Width: 10 ft. to 20 ft.
Plant Category:	fruits, trees,
Plant Characteristics:	high maintenance, spreading,
Foliage Characteristics:	medium leaves, deciduous,
Foliage Color:	dark green, green,
Flower Characteristics:	long lasting, single,
Flower Color:	pinks, whites,
Tolerances:

Requirements

Bloomtime Range:	Mid Spring to Late Spring
USDA Hardiness Zone:	5 to 8
AHS Heat Zone:	Not defined for this plant
Light Range:	Sun to Full Sun
pH Range:	5.5 to 7
Soil Range:	Sandy Loam to Clay Loam
Water Range:	Normal to Moist

Plant Care

Fertilizing

How-to : Fertilization for Established Plants

Established plants can benefit from fertilization. Take a visual inventory of your landscape. Trees need to be fertilized every few years. Shrubs and other plants in the landscape can be fertilized yearly. A soil test can determine existing nutrient levels in the soil. If one or more nutrients is low, a specific instead of an all-purpose fertilizer may be required. Fertilizers that are high in N, nitrogen, will promote green leafy growth. Excess nitrogen in the soil can cause excessive vegetative growth on plants at the expense of flower bud development. It is best to avoid fertilizing late in the growing season. Applications made at that time can force lush, vegetative growth that will not have a chance to harden off before the onset of cold weather.

Light

Conditions : Full Sun

Full Sun is defined as exposure to more than 6 hours of continuous, direct sun per day.

Watering

Conditions : Moist and Well Drained

Moist and well drained means exactly what it sounds like. Soil is moist without being soggy because the texture of the soil allows excess moisture to drain away. Most plants like about 1 inch of water per week. Amending your soil with compost will help improve texture and water holding or draining capacity. A 3 inch layer of mulch will help to maintain soil moisture and studies have shown that mulched plants grow faster than non-mulched plants.

Planting

How-to : Planting a Tree

Dig out an area for the tree that is about 3 or 4 times the diameter of the container or rootball and the same depth as the container or rootball. Use a pitchfork or shovel to scarify the sides of the hole.

If container-grown, lay the tree on its side and remove the container. Loosen the roots around the edges without breaking up the root ball too much. Position tree in center of hole so that the best side faces forward. You are ready to begin filling in with soil.

If planting a balled and burlaped tree, position it in hole so that the best side faces forward. Untie or remove nails from burlap at top of ball and pull burlap back, so it does not stick out of hole when soil is replaced. Synthetic burlap should be removed as it will not decompose like natural burlap. Larger trees often come in wire baskets. Plant as you would a b&b plant, but cut as much of the wire away as possible without actually removing the basket. Chances are, you would do more damage to the rootball by removing the basket. Simply cut away wires to leave several large openings for roots.

Fill both holes with soil the same way. Never amend with less than half original soil. Recent studies show that if your soil is loose enough, you are better off adding little or no soil amendments.

Create a water ring around the outer edge of the hole. Not only will this conseve water, but will direct moisture to perimeter roots, encouraging outer growth. Once tree is established, water ring may be leveled. Studies show that mulched trees grow faster than those unmulched, so add a 3"" layer of pinestraw, compost, or pulverized bark over backfilled area. Remove any damaged limbs.

Problems

Fungi : Leaf Spots

Leaf spots are caused by fungi or bacteria. Brown or black spots and patches may be either ragged or circular, with a water soaked or yellow-edged appearance. Insects, rain, dirty garden tools, or even people can help its spread.

Prevention and Control: Remove infected leaves when the plant is dry. Leaves that collect around the base of the plant should be raked up and disposed of. Avoid overhead irrigation if possible; water should be directed at soil level. For fungal leaf spots, use a recommended fungicide according to label directions.

Diseases : Blight

Blights are cause by fungi or bacteria that kill plant tissue. Symptoms often show up as the rapid spotting or wilting of foliage. There are many different blights, specific to various plants, each requiring a varied method of control.

Diseases : Apple Scab

Apple Scab fungus thrives in cool, moist areas and overwinters in infected leaves that have fallen to the ground. In spring, spores infect new leaves, stems, flowers and fruit. If conditions are right (wet and 70 degrees), the fungus can infect the fruit around the bloom in just 6 hours, though visible signs may not be noticed for a couple of weeks.

Infection first appears as a dark green or black irregular patch on leaf surfaces. It is not uncommon for leaves to pucker and become discolored and eventually fall of the tree. Scab on fruit shows up as a brownish patch with a white halo. Older lesions will not have the halo.

Prevention and Control: Plant resistant varieties whenever possible. Remember, resistant does not mean immune. Keep trees properly pruned to promote good air circulation and always rake up and destroy fallen leaves. If you have a known problem from previous years, treat with an appropriate fungicide early on. Follow all directions on the label - make sure the fungicide you select is labelled for use on that plant to control apple scab It is too late to treat if you see scab on fruit and trees.

Fungi : Cedar Apple Rust

Cedar Apple Rust requires two alternate hosts each year: cedar or juniper type plants and apples, crabapples or hawthorn. Between spring and early summer, infected juniper or cedar leaves and stems may swell with greenish-brown galls. By fall, the galls have developed dimples. Though these do no immediate harm to the plant, by the following spring, when weather is wet and warm, the galls swell and develop jelly-like horn protrusions. Spores produced by these horns then infect apple trees. Wind carried spores are capable of infecting trees up to 4 miles away. On apples, cedar apple rust appears as rusty orange spots, having a ring-like appearance. Fruit drop is also common.

Prevention and Control Plant resistant varieties and eliminate hosts from the area. Chinese and Savin Junipers seem to be resistant as are apple varieties Freedom, Liberty, and Priscilla. Always rake-up and destroy diseased or damaged fruit and leaves. There are no chemicals available labeled for home gardener use.

Miscellaneous

Glossary : Naturalizing

Naturalizing refers to planting in a random pattern, much as itwould occur in nature. If you spend any time in the woods, you've probably noticed that plants often grow in groups. The center of the group is dense and towards the edges, plants are located farther apart. Narcissus bulbs are easy to naturalize if you use this method: fill a bucket with bulbs and toss them out. Plant them where they fall. You will notice a portion of the bulbs are close together while the others have scattered farther away.

Glossary : Specimen

A specimen can be a tree, shrub, ground cover, annual, or perennial that is unique in comparison to the surrounding plants. Uniqueness may be in color, form, texture, or size. By using only one specimen plant in a visual area, it can be showcased. Specimen plants are accents in the landscape, just as statues, water features, or arbors.

Glossary : Deciduous

Deciduous refers to those plants that lose their leaves or needles at the end of the growing season.

Glossary : Tree

Tree: a woody perennial with a crown of branches that begin atop a single stem or trunk. The exception to this rule is multi-trunk trees, which some may argue are really very large shrubs.

Glossary : Landscape Uses

By searching Landscape Uses, you will be able to pinpoint plants that are best suited for particular uses such as trellises, border plantings, or foundations.

Plant Images