Gardening Basics: Apples

Apple Essentials

Planning
• Select resistant varieties to minimize apple scab and other disease problems.
• Apple trees are not self-fertile; plant at least one other variety that blooms at the same time. Flowering crab apples that bloom at the same time will also pollinate apples.
• Spring planting is recommended in central and northern areas. Where fall and winter weather is generally mild and moist, fall planting is successful.
• Buy dormant, bare-root, 1-year-old trees, if possible.
• Dwarfs and semi-dwarfs will bear in 3 to 4 years, yielding 1 to 2 bushels per year. Standard-size trees will start to bear in 4 to 8 years, yielding 4 to 5 bushels of apples.
Preparation
• Choose a site with full sun, moderate fertility, and good air circulation and water drainage.
• Apples will tolerate a wide range of soil types.
Planting
• When planting trees on dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks, be sure the graft union stays at least 1 inch above ground.
• Space standard trees 30 to 35 feet apart, semi-dwarfs 20 to 25 feet apart, and dwarf trees 15 to 20 feet apart.
• Surround each tree with a mouse guard before filling the hole completely.
• Water, prune, and mulch young trees right after planting.
Care
• Water young trees regularly, especially those on semi-dwarfing or dwarfing rootstocks, to ensure that the root system becomes well established.
• Renew the mulch periodically, but pull it away from the tree in the fall so mice don't nest over the winter and eat the bark.
• Begin training trees to their permanent framework in the first season.
• Prune bearing trees annually.
• See our article Fruit Pests and Diseases for controls of common apple pests such as apple maggot, plum curculio, green fruitworm, codling moth, fire blight, and powdery mildew.
Harvesting
• The harvest season ranges from midsummer to late fall, depending on the variety.
• To avoid pulling out the stem when you harvest, cup the apple in your hand, tilt it upward, and twist to separate it from the spur at the point of attachment.
Planting Apple Trees
By: the Editors of National Gardening
Choose a site with full sun, moderate fertility, and good air circulation and water drainage. Apple trees will tolerate a wide range of soil conditions. While you can improve your soil with fertilizer and mulch, other factors -- full sun, good water drainage, the right varieties, and loving care -- will go a long way toward overcoming less-than-perfect soil.



Planting Particulars

In the North, plant as early in the spring as possible. In the South where fall and winter weather is moist and mild, fall planting works well; it gives the roots a good headstart on spring.

Dig a hole a foot wider and a foot deeper than the root ball, then partially fill it with topsoil or compost. Space standard trees 30 to 35 feet apart, semidwarfs 20 to 25 feet apart, and dwarfs 15 to 20 feet apart. Pound in a stake on the downwind side for support. Support is not essential for semidwarfs, but it is still a good idea for the first few years.

Place your tree in the hole and spread the roots carefully. With dwarf or semi-dwarf trees that have only one graft, make sure that the graft union (a small swelling near the base of the trunk) remains at least 1 inch above ground, or the upper variety will take root and override the desired influence of the rootstock.

Deep planting of both rootstock-dwarfed and interstem-dwarfed trees results in better tree anchorage and fewer suckers growing up from the roots. However, planting trees much deeper than they grew in the nursery can increase problems with crown rot. With interstem varieties, the interstem section should be half above and half below the ground.

Before you fill the hole, place a mouse guard around the trunk to extend about 10 inches or so above the ground. Water your fledglings thoroughly. Then mulch with clean straw or some other weed-free organic material to keep the moist and to control weeds.
Choosing Apple Varieties
By: National Gardening editors
If you were told about Johnny Appleseed as a schoolchild, you may hope to grow apples as easily as he did, dropping seeds in the ground and leaving a trail of apple-laden trees across the continent. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Apples require a fair amount of patience and planning. If you want a choice crop, you'll have to control insects, diseases, and other pests, keep an eye on the weather, and prune annually. And your first harvest will only come 3 years or more after planting. But the reward picking apples from your own garden is worth the effort.

Orchard Planning

When setting up a home orchard, you will find there are dozens of apple varieties to choose from. Talk to local nursery people, your county extension service agent, or other gardeners to help you select varieties that do well in your area. Rootstock choice determines whether a tree is a dwarf, semidwarf, or standard size. Dwarf trees grow to be 8 to 12 feet tall and just as wide; semidwarf trees grow to be 12 to 18 feet tall and wide; and standard trees grow to be 18 to 22 feet tall and wide. In general, semi-dwarfing rootstocks for apples are recommended, if space permits, as true dwarfs are somewhat less hardy and therefore less suited to the coldest parts of the country.

The same rootstock combined with different varieties will produce trees of different sizes with differing degrees of vigor. Spur-type strains of a variety (for example, 'Winespur' is a spur-type strain of 'Winesap') produce more fruit-bearing spurs and less vegetative shoots than their parent variety. Not all rootstocks, nor the apple varieties grafted onto them, will be successful in every region. Most varieties survive well in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 7; there's a smaller, but still excellent, group of cold-hardy choices for zones 2 through 4. There are several low-chill varieties for the mild-winter areas of zones 8 through 10. Check apple varieties for cold hardiness, disease-resistance, and pollination requirements before deciding on a variety.

Varieties Abound

Try to pick pairs of different early, mid-season, or late varieties to ensure that pollen of two varieties is available at the same time. Depending on your variety selection, you can have fresh apples from early July until early November in many areas. Some apple varieties are best for cooking, others are good for eating fresh, and some are delicious for both. Varieties highly rated for eating fresh are numerous, including 'McIntosh' and other "Mac" types such as 'Jonamac' and 'Jerseymac', which bear fruit earlier than 'McIntosh'. 'Prima', 'Empire', and 'Macoun' are excellent for early, mid-season, and late harvests, respectively, and are enjoying increasing popularity. If you enjoy baked apples, consider 'Cox Orange Pippin' or 'Duchess' old favorites, or more recent choices such as 'Mutsu', 'Melrose', and 'Jonagold', which are excellent for cooking as well as eating fresh.

Buy dormant, bare-root trees, at a local nursery. Get 1-year-old whips, if possible; if not, be sure the trees are not more than 3 years old. Younger trees will become established more quickly, are less costly, and allow you more control in the development of a good framework of branches.
Apple Tree Care
By: National Gardening editors
Water young trees regularly, especially those on semidwarfing or dwarfing rootstocks, to ensure that the root system becomes well established. Renew mulch periodically, but pull it away from the tree in the fall so mice don't nest over the winter and eat the bark.

Training Young Trees

Train dwarf apple trees to the central leader system. In the early years of growth, it's important to create a strong framework of scaffold branches because apples can bear heavy crops year after year. Semidwarfing trees can be trained to a central leader shape, but are more easily trained to a modified leader system. Standard trees should also be trained to a modified leader. Prune bearing trees annually. Larger trees need more pruning and you'll eventually have to use a ladder to get the job done. Spur-type apples require less pruning than other trees because they produce more fruiting spurs and less vegetative growth. Apples are often grown without any thinning other than what nature provides in the annual spring drop. However, to avoid potential disease and insect problems, you might want to thin after the natural fruit drop (about 4 to 6 weeks after bloom) to one fruit per cluster, or about 6 to 8 inches between fruit.

Potent Pests

Home gardeners who wouldn't dream of using pesticides on other crops may have to consider this option with apples. The fruit are subject to many insect and disease attacks that twist, perforate, and mangle them; most caretakers must spray to get an acceptable crop. But there are alternatives. You can avoid using fungicides by selecting disease-resistant varieties such as 'Prima', 'Priscilla', 'Liberty', and 'Freedom'. These have been field tested for many years and require no spraying for apple scab, cedar-apple rust, and other common diseases, while most other varieties require periodic spraying every spring and summer after planting.

Apple maggots, plum curculios, green fruitworms, and codling moths are pests that can trouble a crop. Annual spray programs are usually necessary. Check with your extension service to find approved pest prevention programs for your area. Other pests such as scales, mites, and aphids should be controlled by natural parasite and predator populations if you haven't used a lot of sprays. For problem areas, you can try an anti-insect oil, usually available where pesticides are sold. Spray it in the spring when your apple trees are in the tight cluster stage: after the leaves have unfolded from the fruiting cluster, but before the buds begin to show pink.

Harvesting

Most apples are ready to pick when they separate easily from the tree. With some varieties, you may notice the fruit softening a bit or apples may start dropping. Another indicator is the color of seeds in the core -- when they turn dark brown, the apples are ready. Don't yank on the apple to pick it; instead, twist the fruit upward with a rotating motion. Early-season apples tend to start bearing at a younger age; but they generally don't keep long after harvesting them. Many late-season types have good keeping qualities -- they'll keep for a few weeks in a cool place. In a good root cellar, storage apples can keep 5 months or so.