Apple Trees

[MALC]

can anyone tell me where one can buy apple tree;s in udon. thank you malc

[trubrit]

can anyone tell me where one can buy apple tree;s in udon. thank you malc

Malc . I am not a professional by any means but I understand that apple trees along with many other fruits , pears , cherries, plums etc, need a sharp cold spell followed by a warmer period to set the sap rising before flowering. These are not conditions you will get in Udon, so the trees really aren't available here .You might find them in Chiang Mai where they do get relatively colder winters , after all they manage to grow strawberies which require similar conditions, but I have never seen them .I tried a Bramley sapling which I brought from UK but it never got going at all .

[Kudjap or Bust]

Malc,

My friend in the next village has a couple of apple trees, he put them in last year so no fruit yet but they are looking good.
He bought them on the Nong Khai road, not sure how many KM's but you go past the village with the green roofs and keep going, just before a walk bridge over the road there are two garden / plant shops on the left hand side, the first one has the apple trees, the second one has a mass of red and pink leaved plants in pots roadside, you can't miss this one. Sorry I'm not green fingered have no idea what the plants are....
We bought our trees from this guy, not apple I must add, they were reasonably priced and they dilivered and planted at no extra charge.
I may see my friend later today, if so I'll ask him if he has business card from the tree place.
Hope this helps,

[MALC]

hi thank you mr kudjap that would be great malc.

[trubrit]

A few years back I bought some trees in Udon . They told me "Yes they are APPEN (apple). They have grown very well and last year we had a marvellous crop . Of Guavas, farangs . Not complaining , they are delicious but they definitely ain't apples . :-"

[Kudjap or Bust]

Malc,
My friend unfortunately doesn't have a number for the garden centre for apple trees but he did say he's just been there again looking for more fruit trees and they have some nice apple trees in stock

[trubrit]

Before you waste your money may I suggest you look at the Kaset University site . This is the top agriculture establishment in Thailand. They have done considerable research into why apple and other fruit trees will not grow in Thailand. The cold period I described earlier is referred to as 'bud burst" and it can only happen at temperatures below 15c .Don't take my word for it . Google . Apple trees in Thailand. It will take you to a fully documented study , far too long to copy on here .

[Kudjap or Bust]

Trubrit
Do you mean the tree won't grow or the fruit won't grow? If the tree then I must disagree as my friends trees are looking really good, new foliage sprouting all the time, as mentioned they were only planted last year so no sign of fruit yet.

[trubrit]

Trubrit
Do you mean the tree won't grow or the fruit won't grow? If the tree then I must disagree as my friends trees are looking really good, new foliage sprouting all the time, as mentioned they were only planted last year so no sign of fruit yet.

With my one from England . The first year it made new foliage. The second it started to make new growth but very spindly. I asked at the Udon Agriculture College and they basically told me the same as on the Kaset site .It would never fruit .Funnily enough the same happened to some rose bushes I brought over. Lovely big flowers the first year , after that they just looked like those spindly things you see here . The college told me that need a period of cold and also darkness . I tried black plastic bags on them but that didn't work .Whilst writing . You may remember I posted some pics of large yellow lemons I grew from seed .Well the following year, although having lots of fruit they had reverted to those tiny lime type things, not yellow at all . Funnily enough according to my wife " They tasted horrible , just like the yellow things "
It could be your friend has got a small apple variety, similar to our crab apples . They grow here . The thais call then pursar or poosar and eat them with salt .Identical leaf formation .Keep us posted if you get any apples you might get a variety named after you. They will certainly be unique .

[BobHelm]

Funny you should mention both apple and rose growing issues TB, as they appear to be closely related...

The apple is a member of the rose family

I notice that most of the apples in the supermarkets in Udon seem to be of Chinese origin. I would imagine that growinf conditions would be more suitable Loei or Chang Mai way..

[Frankie 1]

As far as I know, the Chiang Mai region is the only place in Thailand where you can grow apples. The rest of Thailand is too hot.

On the other hand. In Holland I have a fig tree in my back garden. Everybody told me it's not possible because it's a tropical tree, but I have loads of figs every summer.

So, don't give up on your Udon apples. You never know...

[parrot]

"most of the apples in the supermarkets in Udon seem to be of Chinese origin"
Udon regularly has brands from Japan, China, France, New Zealand, and Washington. We've taken a liking to the New Zealand brand......good crunch and sweet. Thank you - free trade agreements!!

[rick]

Figs will grow in UK - not well, but will grow. So nor surprised about Holland. As Truebrit says, I would be surprised if apples would grow in Thailand, agree about the need for a cold season for success, same problem occurrs with roses in West Africa. Also, never saw an apple tree in North Australia (Darwin). maybe one of our aussie friends can say how far north you can grow Apples there; I suspect they do not make it to North Queensland.

[mortiboy]

If Apple trees were able to grow south of Chiang Mai,Im sure there would be one in every garden.
Same potatoes,large variety celery, turnips, parsnips. strawberries, raspberries, blackberries,plum trees, peach trees.It goes on and on.
Fact is its too damn hot here.I trying to grow some swede....they germinate fine...but like most stuff, "Bolts".After one week, 2 inches already.Like potatoes, will grow tall and spindly, then flop over and do a death.
Any produce that is imported here,obviously cant be grown here.Pretty obvious really.Otherwise they would have it here already.
There is a similar thing to an apple here grown,bit like an apple called(believe it or not) "FARANG" Not bad, but not alot of juice. You can buy em, or grow em here.

[TJ]

There might be a chance for someone to make some money by doing some research and authoring a book or booklet on Thai and foreign fruits and vegetables that grow in Thailand. Co-author with some Thai agriculture expert. Put it out and update and revise it every so often.

As Thailand has been mostly agricultural and export oriented there are probably studies of this in university libraries though in Thai language.

[BobHelm]

You are probably correct TJ. Science in agriculture in Thailand has been studied here for a long time - I think possibly because it is a subject that an individual holds pretty dear to his heart.
When I looked at the history of potato production in Thailand (yes I will readily admit that sometimes I should get a life - but it only took a couple of hours of my life & I did learn a few things ). It became pretty apparent that taking any old standard strain from Europe & chucking it in the ground would not yield good results. Only 1 variety is actually permitted to be grown in Thailand, it was jointly created by Thai & Dutch agricultural scientists. It does appear to be able to be cooked in most ways, although cannot compare to the 'specialty' varieties available in the UK in any of its cooking methods. I guess it was selected because it cropped well & was reasonably pest resistant (so a good financial crop) rather than delight to eat. Any port in a storm springs to mind..