Time to plant apple trees

You can even grow them in containers. They do take a few years to crop, but once they start, they will do so for many years to come so are well worth the investment.

Jim Arbury, fruit specialist at RHS Garden Wisley, says: "Growing apples is really satisfying and by choosing suitable cultivars with correct cultivation, it is

not difficult.

"There is a huge range of varieties from which to choose, which you will seldom find in shops."

Apples can be grown in a range of forms, including traditional open-centred trees, cordons (single stem with short side-shoots) and espaliers (trained to grow on a flat plane, often symmetrical and against a wall or fence), meaning you can choose your tree according to the space that you have available.

There is also a wide range of rootstocks – from dwarfing to vigorous, but for a medium-sized bush tree or a cordon, choose the semi-dwarfing M26.

To crop well, apple trees also need pollination from another tree, so be sure to choose varieties from the same or adjacent pollination group.

Apple trees in containers can be planted at any time of year, but for bare-root trees, plant when dormant from late autumn until early spring.

Apples thrive in a well-drained soil, at least 2ft deep.

Add well-rotted organic matter before planting and mulch and water through the growing season until your tree is growing well.

Apples prefer a sheltered, frost-free position in full sun, though providing they receive half a day's sunshine in the growing season they will tolerate some shade.

Once established, your apple tree will need very little care throughout the year, but a little love will go a long way to keeping it healthy.

Your tree should be kept weed free, and if grown in grass there should be a grass-free area around the base of at least 60cm radius. Be sure to water your tree during dry spells and when the fruit starts to swell, particularly if it is newly planted or in a container.

And in early spring sprinkle a balanced general fertiliser (such as Growmore) around its base.

To get the very best crop, you should prune your tree every year – how and when to do this depends on the variety of apple tree that you are growing.

Most apples will be ready to pick sometime between August and October, depending on the variety.

As with most fruit, the obvious way of testing if an apple is ready for picking is to taste it. The other tell-tale sign is if there are a few lying on the ground around the tree (called windfalls). The fruit should have swelled up to a good size and started to colour up.

To pick an apple, cup it in your hand, lift gently and give a slight twist. It should come off easily with the stalk intact. If it doesn't, then it's not ready for picking.

Late-ripening apples will need storing after picking to reach their full flavour. Store somewhere cool, dark, and

frost-free.

RHS pick of the crop...

There is a huge choice of apple trees out there, but here are some favourite varieties for great apples from the garden.

'Blenheim Orange' AGM

Perhaps the finest dual-purpose apple, it has a characteristic nutty flavour. Use early for cooking. It is very vigorous and so best grown on a dwarfing rootstock.

Season: Late Sept/Oct-Dec/Jan

'Discovery' AGM

This flushed-red dessert apple is probably the tastiest and juiciest of all the early-ripening apples with good, firm flesh. It has good resistance to disease.

Season: Aug-Sept

'Ergremont Russet' AGM

A dessert apple, its intriguing flavour combines honey and nuts. The fruit is small and golden with large patches of russeting and a rough skin. Reliable and good for storage. Season: Oct-Dec

'Kidd's Orange Red' AGM

Very attractive with a rich, aromatic Cox's style apple. Crops regularly and well. Season: Nov-Jan

'Lane's Prince Albert' AGM

A good large cooking apple, which stores well. The tree is hardy, compact and heavy cropping.

Season: Nov-March

'Pixie' AGM

This Cox's type dessert apple produces small, juicy apples, ideal for children. Very reliable and easy to grow with high yields. Good to store for late winter.

Season: Dec-March

'Red Falstaff' AGM

A crisp juicy apple and a good pollinator with frost-resistant blossom. Crops regularly and stores well.

Season: Oct-Dec

Any questions?

For full details on how to grow your own apple tree, visit www.rhs.org.uk/Gardening/Grow-Your-Own/Fruit-A-to-Z/Apples

YP MAG 6/11/10