Apples are one of the most important types of fruit in Central Europe and are an ingredient in many juices and baking recipes. With a little care and the right location, you can also harvest juicy apples in your garden
How to plant an apple tree correctly?
When planting apple trees, you should choose a suitable, regional variety, choose a location with enough sun and loose, humus-rich soil, dig the planting hole larger, line it with compost and plant it in autumn. Sufficient distance from other trees or house walls is important.
What should you pay particular attention to when planting an apple tree?
First, you should pay attention to choosing the right variety for your location. The varieties offered in supermarkets are appreciated for their taste, but their needs often do not necessarily fit optimally with Central Europe. It is better to ask your garden neighbors or the regional fruit and horticultural association which varieties have proven themselves regionally and deliver good yields. These usually include classics such as the following varieties:
- Beautiful from Boskoop
- Cox Orange
- White Clear Apple
The planting hole should be dug a little larger before planting and lined with some seasoned compost. Gentle fertilization for the first growth phase is already done.
Where can you plant an apple tree?
Apple trees are extremely versatile when it comes to choosing their location compared to other types of fruit. They generally tolerate locations in full sun just as well as the partial shade or shade of neighboring trees and buildings. However, care should be taken to ensure that the apple tree is not in the shade and in the lee of a high hedge at the same time. Otherwise, despite regular tree pruning, there may be excessive moisture on the leaves and thus an outbreak of fungal diseases. In addition, apple trees should not be planted in depressions in locations with loamy and heavy soils, as they tolerate waterlogging poorly.
Where do you get a suitable apple tree?
Apple trees can now be ordered not only from the local tree nursery, but also via online shipping. Special suppliers for old apple varieties can often procure valuables, but the gardener in the tree nursery around the corner usually knows better which variety suits the respective microclimate at the location. If you have a little patience and are willing to experiment, you can grow an apple tree in a pot yourself from a core and refine it with a scion after a few years.
How can you propagate apple trees yourself?
Growing cuttings or cuttings is generally not common practice for apple trees. Seedlings are grown from seeds and later grafted with the scion of a productive variety. However, in yield cultivation, rootstocks such as the slow-growing M-9 are usually used for grafting.
What is the best time of year to plant or transplant apple trees?
The best season for planting a young apple tree is autumn. Although older trees can still be transplanted in autumn, with each year of life not only does the effort involved in transplanting increase, but also the risk of the plant dying.
When does an apple tree bloom and when are its fruits ripe?
The apple blossom usually begins in May in Central Europe and marks the beginning of the so-called full spring for meteorologists. With sufficient pollination by insects, small green fruits form from June onwards and ripen between August and November, depending on the variety.
What should the soil be like for an apple tree?
Apple trees have relatively fine and sensitive roots, which is why they tolerate locations with waterlogging very poorly. Good conditions for apple trees are provided by loose and humus-rich soil, which is supplied with nutrients through regular fertilizer applications.
How much distance do you have to keep from other trees or house walls?
The required distance between an apple tree and other trees or a house wall does not depend solely on the apple variety selected. Apple trees are grafted on various rootstocks as bushes, half-stems or standard trees. The space required depends on the tree's typology. Roughly speaking, it is assumed that the roots of a fully grown apple tree take up approximately the same space as the tree crown. However, since this is often kept artificially small through regular cutting, the roots can sometimes be expected to be larger. It is therefore important to maintain a distance of several meters from cellar walls and other fruit trees. Espalier trees have relatively weak growth and can be planted up to one meter from walls for an earlier harvest.
Tips & Tricks
Autumn is the best time of year to plant an apple tree if you want it to bloom and bear fruit the following year. From the second year onwards, winter pruning should be part of the apple tree's regular care program if it is to remain permanently he althy.
