Apple tree: planting, pruning and care

Description and botany

Le Apple tree is a fruit tree widely domesticated for centuries, so that its scientific name Malus domestica, for lack of knowledge of the ancestors of cultivars, simply designates the apple, Malus in Latin, with the epithet “domestica” indicating plants cultivated near habitations. Wild nature includes nearly 60 species of Malus, ornamental and fruit-bearing, the species domestica being applied to all consumed apple varieties resulting from numerous cross-breeding over the centuries. Tree is native to temperate zones of Northern Hemisphere. Apple tree is a pome fruit tree with pips of the Rosaceae family, like most fruit trees in our regions: pear trees, quince trees, as well as stone-fruit trees such as plum, peach, cherry and apricot trees.

These trees, sometimes reaching 10 m in height with a 4.5 m spread, remain modest in size. They display an elegant, perfectly balanced habit, with a crown most often rounded, borne on a straight, stocky trunk. Some varieties have an upright habit or are even reduced to a column 1 m wide, allowing them to occupy little ground space. Apple tree bark, smooth at first, becomes scaly with brown‑grey hues, while shoots are grey to reddish. Unlike wild apple Malus sylvestris, shoots are downy and leaves fairly rounded.

Apple tree leaves are single and dentate, borne on a short petiole and of modest size (5–6 cm long by 3–4 cm wide). They are deciduous, rather dark green and often pubescent beneath. Their arrangement is alternate on the shoot (not symmetrical but staggered) or in whorls (several leaves at the same height around the shoot) on spurs (very short shoots).

Malus domestica – botanical illustration

Flowers appear in clusters of 5 to 10 corollas, in spring, in April–May, at the same time leaves emerge. The corolla comprises 5 rounded petals, white tinged with pink, while the calyx is formed of 5 triangular sepals. Numerous stamens surrounding the pistil make the flower centre sparkle, attracting many pollinating insects. Fertilization is better when two compatible varieties can pollinate each other. If you do not know the name of your variety, plant a flowering variety such as Malus Evereste® or Golden Hornet, or the excellent, robust, timeless variety Reine des Reinettes, whose flowering period ensures pollination of all your apple varieties.

Apple trees are more or less sensitive to the alternate phenomenon that causes a profusion of apples every other year. This can be remedied by thinning the tree after the natural drop of some young fruits in June. Thinning involves removing a number of fruits so as not to exhaust the tree, which otherwise will compensate the following year with a poor harvest. This produces apples of larger size and better flavour quality.

Apples are berries classified as pseudocarps because they develop from the thickening of the flower receptacle which envelops the 5 fused carpels (base of the pistil), forming the core. Thus remnants of dried sepals are found at the top of the fruit, as in the pear. The fleshy part of the apple is juicy and becomes more or less firm and sweet at ripeness, endowed with nearly 350 aromatic components that give it infinite flavour nuances (500 for rose and 250 for jasmine).

There are nearly 6,000 apple varieties, often regionally cultivated in the past. Today only about ten varieties are marketed worldwide, including Gala, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith and Cripps Pink. Fortunately nurseries and fruit-tree conservatories work to multiply old varieties often well adapted to a region’s climate, also to preserve their genes, and new, very tasty varieties generally resistant to disease regularly appear.

Main varieties of apple trees

Classic varieties, tried and trusted

Old or unusual varieties

Spindle varieties for terraces and small gardens

Apple Tree Royal Gala - Malus domestica

Fairly vigorous variety, early to fruit and very productive. Medium-sized apple, slightly striped red, firm flesh, very crisp, fragrant, sweet and slightly tart. Harvest early September. Keeps for 3 months.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 4 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Belle de Boskoop - Malus domestica

Good-vigour, productive variety producing large bicoloured fruits with a slightly coarse, semi-crisp flesh, juicy and tart. Harvest late October–November. Keeps until March. Resistant to canker, apple scab and frost.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Malus domestica Golden Delicious - Golden Delicious Apple

Originating from a chance seedling discovered in 1890 in the United States, this is the most widely grown apple in France. Easy to grow, early to fruit, can be pollinated by Reine des Reinettes or Delbard Jubilé®. Juicy, firm flesh, sweet, slightly tart and fragrant when picked at the right time in late September. Long keeping until the end of April. Good pollinator.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 4,50 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Reine des Reinettes

Old variety ideal for producing a fine open-grown tree. Medium-sized apple with fairly firm, fine, juicy and slightly tart flesh, very pleasant to eat raw or to cook. Self-fertile, it also pollinates many other varieties. Susceptible to biennial bearing (good one year, poor the next!) and to aphids. Harvested in September, apples keep in cool storage until December.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Choupette - Malus domestica

New variety, resistant to apple scab and powdery mildew, with the flavoursome taste of old-fashioned apples, suitable for eating raw or for cooking. Fruits deep purple-red flecked with white, firm flesh that becomes softer with time, juicy, slightly tart and sweet. Harvest in October and long keeping.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 4 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Ariane - Malus domestica

Very good recent apple variety, resistant to apple scab. Late and abundant harvest in late September. Tree fairly vigorous. Fruits a beautiful shiny red washed with yellow, with firm, crisp and juicy flesh, sweet and tart, lively on the palate. Long keeping until April.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Delbard Jubilee - Malus domestica

Renowned, productive variety, much prized for its yellow fruits streaked with red, sweet and fragrant. It's the gourmet's apple!

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Maggy - Malus domestica

Recent variety of medium vigour and very good productivity. Medium-sized fruits blood-red with flesh red-veined with white, fine, crisp and sweet–tart.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Columnar Apple Tree Ballerina Polka - Malus domestica

Vigorous columnar apple variety, very space-saving and with exceptional flowering. Large flared fruits, red or orange. Sweet, juicy and slightly tart flesh. Harvest mid-September. Keeps until November.

• Flowering time April
• Height at maturity 3 m

See the product sheet

Columnar Apple Tree Villandry - Georges Delbard

Very narrow habit, 60 cm wide, perfectly suited to small gardens and to growing in a large pot on the terrace. Very productive, fast-growing, it fruits quickly and produces medium-sized apples, red speckled with grey. Firm, crisp and fragrant flesh.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 2 m

See the product sheet

Columnar Apple Tree Rhapsodie - Malus domestica

Apple resistant to apple scab and late-flowering. Harvest from the end of September. Fruits yellow washed with red-orange as they ripen. Very good eating apple, crisp and juicy with a slightly tart yet adequately sweet flavour, also suitable for cooking.

• Flowering time April
• Height at maturity 3 m

See the product sheet

Planting

Where to plant apple trees?

• Apple trees grow throughout France but many varieties bred in a given region are better adapted to that region. Take their preferences into account, especially if you live in higher-altitude areas (choose late flowering in May). In lowland, humid and misty climates, prefer varieties resistant to apple scab, and in warm, relatively dry climates prefer varieties grafted onto M7, M109 or M111. Beware that spindle-shaped or dwarf forms designed especially for container growing are more sensitive to cold.
• Le apple tree tolerates well the north-facing exposure, particularly in southern half of France. However, espalier forms prefer a south-east or south-west orientation.
• These fruit trees like heavy, clayey, rich and cool but well-drained soils. Choosing a suitable rootstock allows planting in more or less calcareous soil.
• In humid climates, prefer varieties resistant to apple scab.

When to plant?

Prefer autumn–winter planting, especially if the young plant is sold as bare roots and during frost-free periods.

How to plant?

If installing a trained/espalier form, make sure to set up a sturdy espalier framework and staking system before planting (end post fitted with a brace, wires, intermediate posts, etc.).

This tree is easy to grow.

• For a young plant in a pot, plunge the rootball into a bucket of water to thoroughly moisten it; if it is a scion with bare roots, neatly trim damaged roots, then coat them with pralin, or failing that with mud.
• Work the soil by removing stones and unwanted weeds,
• Using a spade, dig a hole 50 to 60 cm all round, avoiding smoothing the sides. Place subsoil to one side and topsoil to the other.
• To enrich the soil, mix horn meal (rich in nitrogen), optionally a base fertiliser (rich in phosphorus and potassium) and organic matter (potting compost, compost…) with the subsoil and pour this mixture into the bottom of the planting hole.
• If planting an open-centred tree or a single-stem tree, drive 1 to 3 stakes set back from the rootball.
• Place the young plant so the collar is level with the soil, then backfill with topsoil, forming a basin.
• Pour a full watering can to settle the soil and expel air bubbles.
• Tie the stake to the trunk, crossing the tie in a figure-of-eight, without letting it touch the trunk.

Pruning, care

• Water regularly during first years after planting and in periods of high heat.
• Maintain a mulch of dead leaves, straw, B.R.F or half‑decomposed compost to prevent competition from weeds.
• Apply compost at drip line of crown each autumn to maintain soil fertility. Optionally, during winter, add a small handful of wood ash, rich in potash, to improve fruiting.
• In June, when apples are set, carry out thinning: keep only 1–2 fruits per cluster, favouring largest apples located in centre of cluster. Find out more in our tutorial Why and how to thin fruit trees?

Apple trees are susceptible to fungal diseases such as apple scab and brown rot in humid climates, and to powdery mildew in drier climates. Treat with fungicidal preparations such as horsetail or nettle manure, or with a copper‑based product to limit diseases. The codling moth is a moth that lays eggs and causes wormy apples. Pheromone traps installed at end of May or corrugated cardboard wrapped around trunk in mid‑June (removed and burned in November) reduce number of codling moth caterpillars. Installing a sticky collar around trunk in early spring helps control aphids by trapping ants that tend them. Apply a winter treatment of rapeseed oil to bare shoots and/or whitewash trunk with lime in autumn to eliminate overwintering stages of these pests.

→ Find out more in our advice sheet: Apple tree diseases and pests.

Apple tree pruning

Apple tree takes time to establish, so wait at least 3 years on weak rootstocks and often 7–8 years on vigorous rootstocks before harvesting fruit. By contrast, production can last more than 80 years!

• When forming tree as a bush or standard, ensure even distribution of scaffold branches all around trunk and balance their length.
• Remove branches that cross or grow towards centre of crown.

Espalier forms are the most demanding in pruning to maintain training shape — U, double U, palmette or cordon. Prune in March and use three‑bud pruning, which consists of leaving 3 buds on each shoot to turn them into short fruiting spurs (short pruned shoots). However, pre‑trained trees already show flower buds (large, rounded buds) that should simply be retained in sufficient number when pruning. Pinching out or green pruning in July allows completion of winter pruning and correction of mistakes: Leave 7 leaves after a fruit and remove non‑fruiting shoots to allow sun to colour the fruits.

→ Read also: How to train an apple tree as a cordon?

Natural spindle or very trailing forms, such as Granny Smith or spur types, need little or no pruning to fruit well.

For other cases (open‑grown forms, etc.), no panic — you can limit interventions to every 2 or 3 years to carry out following operations between November and March:

• Remove if necessary suckers that have grown at base of tree and water‑shoots developing on trunk.
• Remove dead or broken branches and those that cross each other.
• Cut small twigs and some branches growing into crown to let air and light circulate inside.
• Prune branch tips above an outward‑facing bud if necessary; otherwise leave terminal fruit to cause bending of shoot and thus encourage development of new buds.

Propagation

Most commonly used method of propagation is grafting onto a rootstock raised from sowing. Most common technique is shield budding with a growing eye or a dormant eye, but this method of propagation remains the preserve of professionals and experienced gardeners.

Sowing of apple pips

This technique is uncertain in its outcome and apple tree obtained will bear fruit after at least 10 years, or perhaps never. This is how new varieties are obtained, but outcome of an amateur sowing is a lottery that more often yields a cider apple than a wonderful new variety.

• Remove pips from a ripe apple, wash them under cold water and dry them in a tea towel.
• Leave them to dry for 2–3 days at below 15°C, turning occasionally.
• Then stratify the pips in a pot by placing them between two layers of damp sand for 3 months.

Uses and companion plants

Apple trees planted as isolated specimens or 5 to 7 m apart make excellent small trees, both useful and ornamental for habit, flowering and fruiting. They can provide cast shade for creating a garden seating area, although dining beneath their crown will be difficult because branches tend to droop over time. You can also insert them into a mixed hedge of trees and deciduous bushes, adapting training (upright habit) and avoiding shade from a large tree.

Espalier apple and columnar apple

They can be paired with flowering and fruiting bushes within a large border, such as raspberries, currants, blueberries, serviceberries, Prunus triloba…

Spindle apple trees such as Rhapsodie or Villandry, or dwarf fruit trees like Garden Sun Red® adapted to container growing, have the advantage of offering a spectacular spring flowering followed by production of normally sized fruit, both succulent and decorative. These trees do not need pruning and simply require a specific fertiliser feed when grown in a container to help fruits increase in size. Plant them in a large terracotta or resin pot and invest in an automatic watering system to prevent lack of water.

Create a bucolic, country scene on a terrace or balcony by pairing spindle apple trees with “columns”, hanging strawberry baskets or square or rectangular planters planted with vegetable plants.