There are three main points to consider when choosing an apple tree:
Type of Apple
eater, cooker or ornamental
Apple Varieties
Flavour, yield, ease of pollination, resistance to pest and disease and how long will it last after being picked
Tree Size
The size of the apple tree and how quickly it comes into fruiting is determined by the rootstock on which it is grown. This enables a tree to be grown in a pot, small garden, large garden and orchards. It allows for the trees to be grown in different ways depending on how it is trained.
Apple Varieties
There are many apple varieties to choose from and it is easy to be overwhelmed by the lists that can be found on a tree nursery website. After all, we only ever see a few varieties in our food shops.
An apple tree lasts for many years so it is worth taking your time over choosing the correct variety:
- Eater or cooker (dessert or culinary), maybe dual purpose or for appearance.
- Shelf-life – How long will they last after picking? Early season varieties – need eating almost straight away after picking but some varieties will keep for up to 2-3 weeks. Mid-late season varieties will last for up to 2-3 months if picked at the correct time and stored correctly.
- Resistance to diseases or pests. For instance, apple scab can be an immense problem with some varieties especially in wet summers, such as Cox and Egremont Russet. Unfortunately, there are not the fungicides available for the gardener in the UK that there used to be that would control the diseases.
- Where do you live? The weather in your area, such as how wet or cold the growing season is will determine the varieties you can grow. Your soil type will also have an influence on your choice.
- How big you want the tree to grow and how you want to train it will determine which rootstock you need to use. Rootstocks will be discussed in a separate section.
- Pollination – Apples require cross-pollination from other varieties with a similar flowering period. This can be recognised in the catalogues by a number from 1 to 4 next to the variety. Varieties with the same number will pollinate each other. In most situations, you need a minimum of 2 varieties. If the variety also has triploid next to it then 3 varieties of the same flowering period will be required. This is because the triploid variety cannot fertilise another variety, therefore to ensure full fertilisation of all the trees you need three different varieties. I know it sounds complicated but the advantage of some of the triploid varieties is that they have more disease resistance. In urban areas where there may well be sufficient crab apples that will pollinate your apples.
Below are some varieties that a colleague and I have put together that you might wish to consider with an explanation of why we think they are good:
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Discovery
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Grenadier
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Katy Early-mid
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Scrumptious*
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Greensleeves
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Red Windsor
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Red Falstaff*
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Ribston Pippin
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Spartan
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Bramley's Seedling
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Bramley 20
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Egremont Russet
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Fiesta
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Hereford Russet*
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Suppliers of Apple Trees
There are many good growers of fruit trees and one of the well-known growers and suppliers to both the commercial growers and to the retail trade is F P Mathews who grow over half a million fruit and ornamental trees a year. They do not supply direct to a gardener but if you look on their website you can find out where you can buy their product. Just go to www.frankpmatthews.com for your nearest stockist in the garden centre or nursery plus a list of online stores.
There are many other good growers such as Blackmoor Nursery who grow fruit trees and soft fruit. They also have commercial orchards.
Wherever you buy from ensure they have a guarantee.
Rootstocks
When purchasing a tree make sure it is on a rootstock suitable for your garden and situation. Rootstocks have been developed so that the apple tree will grow to the requirements of the grower and gardener. See Rootstock section below to give you an idea of what to look for.
Planting
FP Matthews has an extremely good section on how to plant a tree in the ground or container. How to plant
I would also recommend adding Rootgrow into the planting hole. Rootgrow contains mycorrhizal fungi which help root development. Rootgrow can be purchased from our shop.
Rootstocks
Traditionally before there were rootstocks the apple trees would grow to an extremely large size. Apple rootstocks were developed so that trees could be grown for all different situations Apple rootstocks are important as they determine the size of the tree. The young wood of the cropping apple is grafted onto the rootstock, usually just above the ground level, in the tree nursery.
Crab apples are sometimes grown on malus seedlings whereby very large trees are required such as in parks, but generally, they are not suitable for gardens, therefore ensure they are grown on a rootstock as for other apple trees.
In some situations, it may be desirable to keep the roots from spreading and Rootex bags are very effective means of control. See Root control with Rootex
When buying an apple tree it will always tell you which rootstock it is grown on. Below are the most common ones to consider and where they might be used:
M27 - Very DwarfMature Height: 1.5 -2m (5-6ft) Spread/spacing: 1.2m (4ft) Tree form: Small centre leader in a pyramid shape. Where to grow: Ideal for patio containers or in the ground in small gardens and allotments Soil conditions: Suitable in most free draining soils. Does not like wet soils. First crop: 2-3 years Full size: 2-3 years. After Care: Requires permanent staking in the ground. If planted in a container then shelter from winds |
M9 - DwarfMature Height: 1.8-2.5m (6-8ft) Spread/spacing: 2.5m (8ft) Tree form: Small centre leader as a spindle bush. Cordons Where to grow: Ideal in the ground for small to medium gardens and allotments. Great to use when planting several varieties in a confined area. Suitable for most areas of the UK and is widely used in orchards. Soil conditions: Suitable in most free draining soils. Does not like wet soils First crop: 2-3 years. Produces good yield and fruit size. Full size: 5 years After Care: Staking required until mature. |
M26 - Semi DwarfMature Height: 2.2-3m (7-9ft) Spread/spacing: 3m (9ft) Tree form: Good for bush and cordons Where to grow: medium size gardens Soil conditions: Suitable in most free draining soils. Not suitable for wet soils may be susceptible to disease such as collar rot. Can be susceptible to woolly aphid. First crop: 3-4 years Full size: 8-9 years After Care: Requires staking until maturity |
MM116 - Medium VigourMature Height: 2.5-4m (8-12ft) Spread/spacing: 4m (12ft) Tree form: Tree bush. Less vigour than M106 but gives a good crop Where to grow: For large gardens and small orchards. Newish to the market. Resistant to replant disease. Soil conditions: Suitable for most soils. Has the benefit of being resistant to collar rot and woolly aphid. First crop: 3-4 years Full size: 6-7 years After Care: Stake until established |
MM106 - Semi-VigorousMature Height: 2.5-4m (8-12ft) Spread/spacing: 4m (12ft) Tree form: Bush Where to grow: Large gardens/orchards where you just want to leave it. Height may make it difficult to harvest fruit Soil conditions: Suitable in most free draining soils. Susceptible to collar rot on wet sites but resistant to woolly aphid First crop: 3-4 years Full size: 8-9 years After Care: Needs staking for up to 4 -5 years |
MM111 & M25 - Very LargeMature Height: 4-6 (12-18ft) Spread/spacing: 5m (16ft) Tree form: Usually allowed to grow to natural size as a fully formed tree. Where to grow: Not suitable for gardens. Not really grown very much as the tree becomes too large for most situations. Suitable for parks and other large areas Soil conditions: Most soils but not waterlogged First crop: 8-9years Full size: 15 years After Care: Benefits from staking for up to 4 years |