Flowering

• When choosing cross-pollinating cultivars for apple trees, consider when the cultivars bloom during the growing season. The Red Delicious variety blossoms in the middle of the blossoming period, or slightly earlier. Fuji apple trees blossom later in the blossoming period. The blossoming periods for these two cultivars overlap, making them compatible cross-pollinators.
  
  

Pollination Distance

• The effective pollinating distance for your Red Delicious and Fuji apple trees depends on the size of the tree. Most apple trees are grafted onto root stocks that keep the trees at a dwarf or semi-dwarf height. Dwarf trees can be planted as close as 4 to 8 feet apart. Semi-dwarf trees can be planted10 to 14 feet apart. Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service recommends that fruit trees be planted no more than 100 to 200 feet apart to ensure sufficient pollination.
  
  

Pollination Sources

• Apple trees are insect-pollinated, primarily by bees. There are other insects that work as pollinators, although they do not have the same impact as bees. Some trees are pollinated when wind moves pollen between trees; apples are not one of them. If you are concerned that your Red Delicious and Fuji apple trees are not close enough for adequate pollination, try clipping a flowering branch from the Fuji cultivar and placing it in a bucket of water below the Red Delicious tree. Repeat with a fresh branch daily while the trees are flowering.
  
  

Grafting

• If your yard has limited space, consider having a couple of branches from a Fuji cultivar grafted into your Red Delicious apple tree. Your local tree nursery or county extension office can help you locate an experienced and qualified expert to graft the branches for you. Grafting needs to be done properly or the grafted branch will not thrive.