Growing your own apple trees can be a great feeling. Especially when you see the plump fruits growing, or you’re able to pluck one off and enjoy its sweet, crunchy goodness.
However, did you know the plants growing under your apple tree can affect its growth, and prevent it from fruiting? Many plants, even innocuous grass will compete for nutrients and water when planted under apple trees.
Weeds, vines, and other trees can stunt the growth of apple trees because of their aggressive growth and thick roots. Some plants can be so aggressive they can even destroy your apple trees.
Most times, removing all vegetation under your apple trees for at least two to three feet in diameter will help your apple trees grow more vigorously. The following list highlights some of the worst plants to grow under your apple trees.
If you want a strong tree heavy with juicy fruit, don’t plant these 10 plants under your apple trees!
1. Don’t Plant Grass Under Your Apple Trees
You would think that something as simple as grass would not harm a big apple tree, but in fact, grass will compete heavily for moisture and nutrients. Grass growing directly adjacent to apple tree trunks pose many disadvantages.
These include depriving your apple trees of the water and nutrients they need. Grass roots are excellent at soaking up water and removing nutrients before they reach tree roots.
Lawn Maintenance Can Cause Damage To Your Apple Tree
Another reason it’s a bad idea to plant grass under your apple trees is the damage that can happen when doing lawn maintenance. Mowers and trimmers can damage the bark around the bottom of the tree trunk. String trimmers especially can cause a lot of damage.
I’ve seen trimmers so powerful they actually girdle the tree. Girdling of a tree damages the living tissue all the way around a tree trunk, leaving it unable to get nutrients and water to the branches and leaves. This is often fatal to the tree.
Grass Causes Trees To Grow Slower
When grass is planted or allowed to grow underneath trees, the trees develop and grow slower. The trunk doesn’t grow as wide as it could, nor does the tree grow as tall. The grass could delay the production of fruit on your apple trees if you’re growing them from saplings.
To give your trees a better chance at growth, remove the grass at least two feet away from the trunk. Once the grass is removed, cover the bare area with organic material such as mulch. Just keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk so it can “breathe.”
When trees don’t have to compete with the thick grass roots soaking up all the nutrients, they grow faster and stronger. And your apple trees will produce bigger, tastier fruits.
Speaking of fruit, apple trees come in many varieties. If you are deciding which to grow in your yard, read up on the 10 easiest apple tree varieties to grow!
2. Don’t Plant Oriental Bittersweet Vine Under Your Apple Trees
Bittersweet vines are often beautiful sights because they open up their autumn colors when most other plants are dropping leaves and going dormant.
They have intense red fruits that are surrounded by orange or yellowish petals. These vines can be stunning while running along a fence row, or up a power line.
Bittersweet Will Wrap Around The Apple Tree
The problem with oriental bittersweet is the vigorous growth. These vines are fast-growing, woody vines that can wrap around and harm your apple trees. The vines will quickly spread horizontally, or climb as tall as 90 feet in the air.
Bittersweet vines may look beautiful as they wrap around your apple trees, especially when the fruits pop open. But the vine will literally choke your apple tree to deterioration.
For example: Have you ever seen a piece of wire or rope left around a tree’s branch or trunk? Do you remember how the tree swelled up around the rope and eventually the branch deteriorated? That’s the same thing bittersweet vines can do, except they cover the entire tree!
Bittersweet Can Topple Trees
There have been instances where oriental bittersweet has toppled trees because the vine grew so thick and heavy. When you add in snow or ice storms, the vines become even more destructive. The added weight of snow or ice can uproot or snap tree trunks.
Once bittersweet vines get to the top of the canopy, they will start competing for sunlight. As the vines get thicker, less sunlight is able to reach the host tree. It gets strangled from the vine, and then ends up receiving less essential sunlight.
Bittersweet Vine is a fatal one-two knockout punch for any tree. Unless the invasive vine is cut out and eradicated, the tree that’s effected will eventually succumb to the bittersweet.
Check out our article about why apple trees need sunlight for more info!
Bittersweet Spreads Very Quickly
The fairy tale concerning Jack and the Beanstalk must have been based on bittersweet vines. They have been known to cover half-acre lots in less than a decade.
Not only does this plant grow quickly, but it can spread and be very difficult to eradicate. The roots grow deep and are hard to dig out. They will spread out, and then grow more vines when they reach something they can climb, such as fence posts or trees.
Birds, squirrels, and deer will consume the berries. This aids the plant’s ability to spread because when the animals eat the berries they will drop viable seeds where they defecate.
3. You Shouldn’t Plant Running Bamboo Under Your Apple Trees
Running bamboo is the tall, quick-growing plant most of us think of when we hear the word “bamboo.” The reason it’s called running bamboo is because it likes to “overrun” any area it grows. This fast-growing plant spreads by sending out rhizomes and shoots that stick out of the ground and form new plants.
Even when grown in containers, this type of bamboo tends to get out easily. Once it starts growing in the ground, it’s extremely difficult to contain or control.
When this plant is grown near or around apple trees, the bamboo will end up taking over the area. The bamboo roots will soak up most of the water in the ground and take away any nutrients before the apple tree can get to them.
Bamboo Grows Fast
Bamboo is an extremely fast-growing plant. It holds the record for being the fastest-growing plant on the planet. Certain varieties can grow up to three feet in a single day. All that growth requires a lot of nutrients.
Not only will the bamboo take away all the nutrients, but it will outpace the growth of apple trees and end up covering them in shade. Apple trees need plenty of sun. If they are grown in shade, the fruits will be affected.
If apples grow on shady trees they could be tasteless, or hard and bitter. Once deprived of sunlight, the apple tree itself gets weaker, causing it to become more susceptible to insect invasion and disease.
4. Japanese Honeysuckle Will Choke Apple Trees
I remember loving honeysuckle when I was a child. The sweet fragrance perfumed the air, signaling a sweet treat was available if I was willing to do the work. I would spend hours plucking the flowers off of the plant, hoping for a tiny drop of flowery, sweet nectar.
Little did I know how invasive and destructive these ambiguous vines were. It may feel nostalgic to plant these around your apple trees, but they can heavily compete for life sustaining nutrients, by smothering out other plants.
Honeysuckle Competes For Pollinators
Apple trees need pollinators in order to bear fruit. The flowers often bloom in early spring to the summer months depending on the variety. This is the same time honeysuckle flowers bloom.
The vines can grow so thick that they crowd out the apple blossoms. The honeysuckle flowers will also attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and moths which might not get to the apple blossoms. This will result in fewer apples on your tree.
While honeysuckle nectar is a sweet treat, apples are much better and have a lot more nutrition to them. Plus, apple pie or cobbler is hands down exponentially better than a minuscule drop of nectar.
5. Don’t Plant English Ivy Anywhere Near Apple Trees
Another vigorous, invasive vine that can look very attractive, but will destroy other vegetation is – English ivy. This evergreen ivy can look beautiful as it climbs up brick façades. When the dark green leaves contrast with the red brick, the image can conjure up quaint villages, and simpler times.
That’s where the novelty of this invasive vine ends. English Ivy can quickly overtake nearly any tree, shrub, or ground cover and completely cover it. If this plant is placed anywhere near your apple trees, it will soon completely cover them.
You will end up with an English Ivy topiary and have no apples because this plant will completely crowd it out. The leaves are evergreen so the apple tree will not get but a few slivers of sunlight. Eventually, the apple tree will be a distant memory.
What If You Trim The Ivy To Keep It From Climbing?
While trimming the English Ivy is one way to keep it contained, it’s only a temporary solution. I’ll admit that this ivy can make an attractive ground cover, but the leaves and roots will get so dense that your apple tree will be getting very little water and nutrients.
Besides, do you constantly want to have to trim the vines away from the tree and keep it contained to the ground? You’ve got better things to spend your time on than keeping a fast-growing vine in check.
Another consideration is that birds will devour the seeds and then deposit them all over your property. You don’t want to come outside one day and see a sea of ivy. Maybe that’s a little dramatic, but save yourself some trouble and stay away from English ivy.
6. Don’t Plant Black Walnut Trees Near Your Apple Trees
All walnut trees produce a toxin called juglone that can be harmful to other plants and trees, but the Black Walnut produces the most. While most trees can deal with this toxin, this substance can still stunt growth.
According to the Iowa State University, juglone is produced in all parts of the plant. Even the roots will excrete the toxin into the soil. Not to mention, when the walnut trees are allowed to grow they will start competing with other trees for water, nutrients, and sunlight. Walnut trees, especially black walnuts, can tower over apple trees.
Apple trees often top out at 30 feet in height, while black walnut trees can grow three times as tall. When they get so big, not only do they inhibit growth with their toxins, but they start throwing massive amounts of shade wherever they grow. Your apple trees won’t be able to cope with so much stress.
For more information check out our article about Black Walnut trees!
7. Don’t Let Weeds Grow Under Your Apple Trees
Whether they are broad-leafed or thin, spindly weeds, both are detrimental to your apple tree. Just like grass, weeds will compete heavily for water and nutrients. Since the roots tend to grow closer to the surface, weeds will end up getting most of the water and nutrients that your apple trees need.
Apple trees require a lot of water and nutrients, especially when they are producing bright, crunchy apples. When you let weeds grow rampant underneath the canopy of apple trees, you’ll end up having to water and fertilize them much more frequently.
If you do need to fertilize your tree, check out our article on the 7 best apple tree fertilizers.
8. Be Wary Of Wisteria Under Your Apple Tree
Trees covered in wisteria blooms that have waterfalls of purple and white flowers are a sight to behold. They can be absolutely stunning, but this beauty hides a dark secret. As wisteria dazzles you with its cluster of cascading blooms, it’s slowly harming the tree underneath.
This pernicious plant can send out thick tendrils of vines throughout your trees. Not only does it smother the tree by blocking out the sunlight, but these vines can cause a ton of stress as the weight increases.
Limbs can break and trunks can snap, leaving the tree struggling for its life while the wisteria continues to grow un-phased.
Wisteria vines are also quite toxic. The entire plant is poisonous, but the mass of seed pods that drop after the flowers fade are sometimes ingested by pets. Even if you cut, prune, or pull these plants out from the ground, you should wash your hands afterward just to be safe.
9. Watch Out For Mint Under Your Apple Trees
While it may seem innocent enough with the small leaves, pleasing fragrance, and refreshing taste—mint juleps are wonderful—the mint plant is incredibly invasive. It can grow so thick it will crowd out most weeds and grass.
Mint plants also create thick and deep networks of roots. Apple trees tend to send most of their tiny feeder roots close to the surface of the soil. Mint roots can grow so fast and thick that they will hog up most of the water and food in the dirt.
Your apple trees will be starving and struggling for water. Even if you water the ground deeply and fertilize often, the mint roots will take most of it.
Mint Is Hard To Get Rid Of
Even if you only have a few plants, the mint will quickly replicate itself and take over any amount of soil. You can keep mint in containers, but if it goes to seed, the seeds can fall out of the container, and then you’ll be battling this plant for a long time.
You can pull it up out of the ground but the roots go deep. If you don’t get it all, the remaining roots will just send out new runners and make new plants. Herbicides can be effective, but you’ll have to reapply often as the plant continues to duplicate itself.
10. Don’t Plant Tubers Under Your Apple Trees
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, or beets are a bad idea to plant under your apple trees. These plants need deep soil to grow, and they will disturb the apple tree’s roots.
When you go to harvest these crops, you will inevitably end up cutting and damaging a lot of the apple tree’s roots. Besides, potatoes and sweet potatoes will end up getting tangled in the tree’s roots. You’ll end up with either a smaller crop of potatoes or a damaged and weak apple tree.
What Can You Plant Under Your Apple Trees?
When it comes to planting under your apple trees you want to look for companion plants. These are plants that will help or offer benefits to your apple trees. These can be plants that attract pollinators, add nutrients to the soil, or help to fend off disease and harmful insects.
Plants That Attract Pollinators
The following plants can be grown under your apple trees in an effort to help attract pollinators that will help your apple crop be the best it’s ever been.
- Daisies
- Poppies
- Yarrow
- Bee balm
- Coneflowers
- Black-eyed Susans
- Lupine
- Queen Anne’s Lace
Plants That Repel Pests
Planting certain herbs and other plants can help to deter insects and four-legged pests. Rosemary, hyssop, lavender, marigolds, basil, garlic, chives, and onions all help to repel hungry, destructive insects and even deer that might eat all your apples before you can harvest them.
Planting herbs is a great way to ward off detrimental insects while attracting beneficial ones like ladybugs. This Sustainable Sprout 10- Pack Culinary Herb Seeds has a variety of herbs that won’t harm your apple trees. What’s more, you can harvest these herbs and add extra nutrition and flavor to your favorite dishes.
Nasturtiums Are Great To Plant Under Your Apple Tree
Nasturtiums are great flowers that attract aphids. Wait, you don’t want to attract aphids right? Well, think about it this way, if the aphids are feeding on the nasturtiums, they aren’t ruining your apples.
Nasturtiums can usually keep up with aphid damage. If the plants become extremely damaged, simply dispose of them, aphids and all, then plant more. Find Nasturtium seeds and more plants that are beneficial to apple trees here, Sustainable Sprout Edible Flower Seeds Variety 7 Pack.
More Beneficial Plants
- Chamomile—this plant attracts pollinators and beneficial insects such as ladybugs and green lacewings.
- Chives—these have already been mentioned, but an added benefit to these plants is they deter rabbits and help prevent apple scab.
- Coriander—helps to deter pests and bring in beneficial insects.
- Daffodils—early bloomers that help to deter rabbits and add nutrients to the soil
- Comfrey—this plant is beneficial because it’s a nitrogen fixer. Nitrogen fixing plants help to enrich the soil by creating a symbiotic relationship with soil bacteria. These plants are extremely beneficial to soil health.
- Tansy—nitrogen fixer and can be mulched into the ground.
For more ideas, we have dedicated a whole article on the 7 best things to plant under your apple tree!
Sometimes Nothing Is Best
To be safe, and to prevent a lot of work down the line, often it’s best to let nothing grow underneath your apple trees. By clearing out two feet or more of space away from the apple tree trunk, you help it grow better and stronger.
Cut out any grass, pull out weeds and leave the bare soil around your apple tree. Then fill it in with three or four inches of organic mulch. Doing this ensures that your tree gets plenty of water and nutrients, and does not have to compete with other plants.
Whenever grass or weeds try to grow underneath the tree, simply pull them up, roots and all, and throw them into the compost heap.
That’s A Wrap!
When you’re growing apple trees, you have to be careful what you plant or let grow under the canopy. The wrong plants can leave your apple tree weak and struggling. Depending on the plant, certain vines or trees can be fatal to your precious apple tree.
Planting beneficial plants such as chamomile, garlic, chives, or nasturtiums can help deter pests, enrich the soil, or help to bring in pollinators. All of these will help your apple tree in the long run.
All in all, if you are unsure about what to plant and how to do it – contact a professional! They can assist you every step of the way.
If you’re looking to simply grow an apple tree head on over to our article about how to grow apple trees in your yard!
References:
Bowen, Joanna K., et al. “Venturia inaequalis: the causal agent of apple scab.” Molecular plant pathology 12.2 (2011): 105-122.
Green, S. R., et al. “Modelling water uptake by a mature apple tree.” Soil Research 41.3 (2003): 365-380.
Roussos, Peter A., and Dionisios Gasparatos. “Apple tree growth and overall fruit quality under organic and conventional orchard management.” Scientia Horticulturae 123.2 (2009): 247-252.
Tang, Guang Bo, et al. “Repellent and attractive effects of herbs on insects in pear orchards intercropped with aromatic plants.” Agroforestry Systems 87.2 (2013): 273-285.
