There could be lots of reasons... I notice a Skimmia thriving in the pic, it suggests you have an acid soil - do you know the soil PH? Apples are fairly tolerant but don't like a very acidic soil. Also young trees will not tolerate waterlogging. If you are on clay with last winter/spring that could be an issue...Did you prepare the planting site well? There are so many reasons it may not have thrived.
The soil is pretty neutral though I feed acid lovers with slow release acid food every year which is prob why the Skimmia looks healthy. The new tree was planted with a bag of tree and shrub soil and the bed was completely dug over before it was planted, an area of prob 4ft around. I have since read that planting trees straight into existing soil without digging very far around is actually better for them as it stimulates root growth, you just add bonemeal to the backsoil, don't know if this is agreed with by everyone but its what the RHS seem to be saying. Thanks for the advice though, I do appreciate people trying to help and think about what is being said in case that's it, and I agree there are many reasons why It could have died, but I would really hope it wasn't my initial planting or the aftercare that's caused this, I actually planted a triple grafted apple tree the same time which produced fruit last year and is thriving.
It sounds like you have done everything right, so if possible as previous posters have suggested, contact the supplier. So sad when it doesn't all work out. Especially with something like a fruit tree that we hope will be there for years and years.
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There could be lots of reasons... I notice a Skimmia thriving in the pic, it suggests you have an acid soil - do you know the soil PH? Apples are fairly tolerant but don't like a very acidic soil. Also young trees will not tolerate waterlogging. If you are on clay with last winter/spring that could be an issue...Did you prepare the planting site well? There are so many reasons it may not have thrived.
The soil is pretty neutral though I feed acid lovers with slow release acid food every year which is prob why the Skimmia looks healthy. The new tree was planted with a bag of tree and shrub soil and the bed was completely dug over before it was planted, an area of prob 4ft around. I have since read that planting trees straight into existing soil without digging very far around is actually better for them as it stimulates root growth, you just add bonemeal to the backsoil, don't know if this is agreed with by everyone but its what the RHS seem to be saying. Thanks for the advice though, I do appreciate people trying to help and think about what is being said in case that's it, and I agree there are many reasons why It could have died, but I would really hope it wasn't my initial planting or the aftercare that's caused this, I actually planted a triple grafted apple tree the same time which produced fruit last year and is thriving.
It sounds like you have done everything right, so if possible as previous posters have suggested, contact the supplier. So sad when it doesn't all work out. Especially with something like a fruit tree that we hope will be there for years and years.