Apple trees bear a lot of fruit after a few years, which ripen at different times depending on the variety. In this article we will show you when you can expect fruit from your own garden and when the right harvest time is.
When does an apple tree bear fruit?
This isdepending on the apple varietyyou are cultivating. Summer apples ripen in August. Late varieties, which usually store better, taste wonderfully aromatic from October onwards. However, it can take ten years for a home-grown apple tree to bear fruit for the first time.
When does an apple tree begin to bear fruit?
Apple trees beginafter three to five years to bloom and produce the first apples. You can expect the highest yield when the tree is ten to thirty years old. Provided the apple tree has been pruned regularly, it also produces lots of very tasty fruit.
When is the harvest time for the different apple varieties?
Depending on the weather and the variety, the apple harvest beginsat the end of Julyand continuesuntil October.
Examples of varieties that ripen in August are:
- Alkmene,
- Gold Parma,
- Grafensteiner,
- Holsteiner Cox,
- Piros.
In September you can pick the following varieties:
- Cox Orange,
- Elstar,
- Gala,
- Jonagold,
- Santana.
The varieties that are not ready to harvest until October include:
- Gloster,
- Golden Delicious,
- Pinova,
- Boskoop,
- Topaz.
Tip
How to correctly assess the ripeness of an apple
To determine whether an apple is really ripe, you should carry out the tilt test: If the stem detaches easily from the branch and not from the apple when it is bent by 90 degrees, you can start harvesting. But don't leave the fruit on the tree for too long, because if the fruit is overripe, its shelf life will suffer.