Gala apple

I have (or had) a Gala apple tree that I planted a couple of years ago. During a 70 mph wind this year, it broke off about two inches above the ground. There were new shoots coming up from the stump. Should I let them grow or are Gala apples grafted onto a different variety? I haven't had any apples yet but would like to get a Gala tree going. Any suggestions?
Thanks

Ruth The shoots are they coming from above or below the graft?

No matter I would replace the tree. Apple trees take several years to mature enough to get a decent crop. I would't want to risk five years of time to figure out the tree was worthless.

If you want to experiment you can let the broken one grow if you have the room for to. But remember if the broken on is a flop you have a bigger mess to clean up than if you trash it now ans start over. Ernie

Ruth hope the typo's didn't scare you off. Ernie

Thanks Ernie!
I didn't know if it was grafted or not, I couldn't tell from all the bunny teeth marks on it. There are some shoots coming from the very bottom of the stump. I think I will take your advice and whack it off and re-plant.
Thanks again.

Ruth your welcome when I plant young trees I put that corragated plastic sewer drain pipe around the trunk just slit it down one side and slip it around the trunk and bury it a couple of inches. Make it about 12 or so inches out of the ground and leave it there a couple of years. do not put mulch inside or you will attract field mice.

If you want to stop the weeds from growing put a little cardboard circle in the bottom of the hole and put an inch of pea gravel on top.

please stake your tree for the first year to give the roots a good chance to get set. Don' leave the tree staked longer as you want the trunk and roots to stiffen up.Ernie

That's good advice - to stake the tree. I planted my dwarf Gala tree on the site of my old compost pile. I didn't realize how soft the earth would be. Every time it rained the tree would be leaning waaayyyy over, especially when it got taller and heavier(12 feet tall). Thank goodness it wasn't harmed - it now produces great apples.

Eileen

Eileen, how long did it take for your Gala to produce? I have had a Halared for 5 years and it has one or two apples on it every year, but nothing this year.

I'm not sure if my Gala would be a typical example - it grew in very rich soil and I think it's pretty tall for a dwarf tree. I think it concentrated on growth rather than fruiting for the first few years. 3rd summer after planting I got 2 apples, 4th summer I got some apples but they all fell off when tiny. This past summer was the 5th summer and it bore approx 15 apples of normal size and excellent flavor, although the other apple trees at that age were much heavier bearers.
My Melrose mini-dwarf for example is 5-6 feet tall and kind of weeps - the branches arch due to the weight of the fruit. It's around 8 years old and had around 50 enormous apples this summer. The Yellow Delicious dwarf is 15 ft tall and is 8 years old and had over 100 apples although some were rather small.
Eileen

Wow, I didn't think dwarfs ever got over 10 feet tall!! I may have to re-think my plans for all the fruit trees in my back yard. I may not have room for all of them. It doesn't have the best soil, so maybe they won't get that big.

The mini-dwarfs are usually 5-8 feet tall and would be best for a small yard. And my mini-dwarf makes plenty of apples!

So far, I have two plum trees, the one Halared, and one sour cherry. I wanted to put a couple of peach and apricot trees in there yet, but now, I think I'll wait a few years to see if these make it or not. I'm in zone 4, but a friend of mine has two Reliance peach trees and they produce scads of peaches. My back yard is very sheltered so they would do well.

Ruth, I have also considered an apricot tree since (I think!) they are self-fertile and I don't have room left in my yard for more than one tree. Any recommendations as to which variety? I'm actually on the border of zone 4/zone 5.
Eileen

I have looked at getting Sungold (cold hardy), Goldgot and Moongold, but I think you need two for pollination. I was going to get one Sungold and one Moongold. The Moongold is a yellower variety and the Sungold is the darker orange.