Question

Growing Apples

Answer 1

The first thing you need to grow apples is a long-term commitment. Growing apples takes considerable time and quite a bit of work. Still, if one of your fondest childhood memories is the apple tree in your backyard, producing your own apples is a satisfying part of gardening.
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Before you begin growing apples, make sure you have room for at least two trees. Typically, two apple trees bear enough fruit to keep a family of four in good supply. Apple trees need to grow in full sun, which means they need at least six hours of sunlight each day. Even dwarf varieties need to be spaced at least 8-feet apart. It is also essential to provide your trees with good drainage. Although apple trees tolerate a variety of soil types, they prefer sandy loam to sandy clay loam with a pH of about 6.5.

Gurneys has a great variety of fruit trees of amazing quality. The can also supply you with most of your small fruit garden needs.

Choosing cultivars
You probably wonder why you need two trees to grow apples. Apple trees are self-incompatible. Simply put, this means that even the most industrious bee (bees are the chief pollinators of apple trees) can't persuade two trees of the same variety to bear fruit. So, to grow apples you usually need two trees of different varieties.


 
Some nurseries offer apple trees that have two or more compatible cultivars grafted on the same tree; but to be on the safe side (and to get enough apples for a family of four) you still need two trees. A flowering crab will also pollinate your fruit-bearing apple tree and is useful in pest deterrence, as you'll see later in this article.

Although apples trees grow from seed, it takes several years and a significant amount of nurturing to produce an apple harvest from seed. The easiest way to begin growing apples is to purchase either bare root or container grown trees from your favorite garden nursery.

In addition to fruit size, taste, and color, your nursery professional can recommend trees that are cold hardy for your area, bloom at approximately the same time, are pollination compatible, and are disease resistant. You'll find that purchasing disease resistant cultivars makes a generous cut in your apple tree maintenance time!

When selecting trees from a catalog or Internet site, you need to make these comparisons between cultivars. Look for catalogs and sites that list compatible cultivars for you.

How high your tree grows also depends on the type of tree you plant. Dwarf varieties reach 8 to 10-feet in height, semi-dwarf trees grow 10 to 15-feet tall, and standard trees may reach heights of 20-feet or more. Although their yield is less, dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstock typically bears the same size fruit as a standard size tree and is overall easier to manage.

Answer 2

Planting Apple Trees
Although fall is the best time to plant apple trees, bare root trees are difficult to find during autumn. If you plan to plant bare root trees, early spring when the soil is workable but temperatures are still cool is the best time. Container grown trees can be planted any time during the growing season if you provide them with sufficient water.

Bare Root vs. Container Grown Apple Trees

 
When planting bare root trees, hydrate the roots by soaking them in a pail of water for about an hour before planting. Using a sharp pruning shears, trim any broken or crossed roots and shorten all roots to about 18-inches long. Dig a deep hole, two to three times the size of the root ball. Mix some of the soil with well-decomposed compost and add it to the hole. Gently spread the roots in the hole. Hold the tree in place, keeping the graft union 2 to 3-inches above ground. Otherwise, your dwarf or semi-dwarf will grow to standard size! Starting with the top soil, refill the hole with the soil you have extracted, removing air pockets as you fill by tamping the soil with your feet.

Bury a container-grown tree at the same level it occupied in the pot.

Give Your New Apple Trees a Good Start
Hydrate your planting with one to gallons of water. Add additional soil to maintain the soil at theApple Trees bearing Fruit same level as that surrounding the hole. To help control weeds and conserve moisture, extend the diameter of your planting with a two to three inch layer of mulch applied about a foot from the tree trunk.

Gurneys has a great variety of fruit trees of amazing quality. The can also supply you with most of your small fruit garden needs.

Trees generally need to be spaced as far apart as they will reach in height at maturity. In other words, dwarf trees need to be 8 to 10-feet apart and semi-dwarf trees need to be spaced 10 to 15 feet.

Stake new trees during the first year to prevent strong winds from dislocating them and causing them to grow at an angle. Dwarf apple trees have a weaker root system and may need staking for the life of the tree. Secure stakes to your trees with heavy 9-gauge wire, enclosing it with a piece of garden hose or other wrap to keep the wire from damaging the trunk.

Young trees are a favorite food of many small animals like rabbits and field mice. Protect your newly planted apple trees with a 15 to 18-inch piece of hardware cloth placed around the trunk. Push the hardware cloth about four inches down into the soil. As the tree matures, remember to remove it so that it doesn't girdle the tree.