Dear Neil: This is a three-year-old dwarf apple tree. As you can see in the photo, all of the growth is on one side of the graft line. The opposite side has no bark. Do I have to leave the tree staked? My concern is that I’ll come out some morning, and find the tree broken off.

Unfortunately, it looks like the tree’s trunk has originated from the rootstock beneath where a graft would have been made. I’m not sure that you have a good apple variety. What you have growing is whatever dwarfing rootstock was chosen in the process, and the tree looks very weak. It’s only a matter of time (probably months) until the tree will snap. You’ll have apples many years sooner if you’ll start a new tree right away.

Dear Neil: What potting soil mixture would you suggest for growing tomatoes in five-gallon nursery pots? And what varieties are best?

First of all, a five-gallon nursery pot is actually more like four gallons in size. That’s too small for a standard tomato plant. I use seven- or 10-gallon pots, and I find that I have much better success. The smaller pots dry out rapidly when it starts to get warm in late spring, and blossom-end rot becomes a terrible problem for the developing fruit. My potting soil mixture might vary each time that you ask me, but it will usually be something like 50% sphagnum peat moss, 30% finely ground pine bark mulch, 10% horticultural perlite, and 10% expanded shale (for ballast to help keep the plants from tipping over). I wouldn’t be opposed to someone decreasing the peat and bark by 5% each, and using compost as an additional ingredient. I use a highnitrogen, complete, water-soluble fertilizer with each watering to supply nutrition. As for varieties, stay with small and medium-sized types such as Super Sweet 100, Red Cherry, Fantastic, Early Girl, Roma, Celebrity, and Better Boy. Avoid the large-fruiting types like Big Boy and Beefsteak. They do not set fruit well once temperatures climb higher than 90 degrees.

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