Autumn recipe - Apple Growing Tips
Apples on the tree
Seasonal growing tips from Le Manoir's head gardener, Jonathan Keyte
There are three main things to consider when growing apple trees.
- Variety of apple
- Size of apple tree once it has grown to is full size
- Where you will plant the tree
Apple variety
There are hundreds of apple verities you can choose from. Adam's Pearmain to Zabergau Renette. Some lend themselves to garden growing conditions better than others.
A few to consider:
Dessert (eating apples)
- Discovery
- Egremont Russet
- Lord Lambourne
- Sunset
- Kids Orange Red
- Falstaff
- Pixe
Culinary (cooking apples)
- Golden Noble
- Blenheim Orange
- Lane's Prince Albert
- Edward VII
Tree size
The final height and spread of your apple tree is down to the rootstock you choose. It is essential that you choose the rootstock that's right for the space you have. The rootstock is an apple variety that is grown not for the apples but for the size of tree it makes. By grafting other varieties of apple onto it, it influences the final tree size and spread.
- M27 (very dwarfing) gives you a tree of 1.2 -1.8m
- M9 (dwarfing) a tree of 1.8-2.5m
- M26 (semi-dwarfing) 2.4-3.6m
- MM106 (semi-vigorous) 3.6-5.5m
- M25 (vigorous or standard) 6-9m
You will need a ladder to pick and prune the tree grown on MM106 and M25. M26 is, in my opinion, the best rootstock for most gardens.
Location of tree
Finding the best place for an apple tree to grow is the most important factor in growing apples successfully. It needs to be grown in a sunny site not in the shade of another tree. The soil needs to be free draining as the tree can suffer from canker or even die if the soil stays waterlogged for long periods at a time. Frost can play a major part in finding a suitable site for a tree. If the temperature falls below -2°C when the tree is in blossom, the flowers will be damaged and fruit will not develop that summer.
The best time to plant a tree is when the tree is dormant (when the leaves are off). You can buy container grown trees but the best, and cheapest, way is to buy bare-rooted trees. This is where the treehas not been grown in a pot or container.
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