Growing apple trees in your yard is a delicious endeavor that will yield returns year after year. Apple trees are the most commonly cultivated fruit tree in the United States and many home gardeners lovingly tend their small orchards or espaliered apple trees with great success. There is nothing better than a fresh picked apple and, if you grow your own apple tree, you can have all that fall flavor without having to drive into the country to find an orchard!
Apples are packed with health benefits, the trees produce cute spring flowers, and they help your local pollinators. Planting apple trees in your garden is a win for you and the environment. Apple trees aren’t hard to grow, but you do need to understand the care and maintenance to have success with them. Proper pruning and pest management are crucial in growing healthy apple trees.
Since apple trees are so widely cultivated, there are many different types to choose from that will suit your landscape and culinary needs. There are more than 7,500 cultivars of culinary apples worldwide. Some are better suited for snacking, others for cider productions, and still others for delicious baked goods. Even Pliny the Elder wrote about the best way to store apples in the first century. Let’s take a bite out of the venerable Malus domestica and learn how best to grow them!
Botanical Name | Malus domestica |
Plant Type | Deciduous fruit tree |
Height | 6-30 ft (2-9.14 m) depending on variety of rootstock |
Spread | 6-30 ft (2-9.14 m) depending on variety of rootstock |
Light | Full Sun to partial shade |
Soil | Well-draining soil; pH 6-7 |
Hardiness | USDA Zones 4-9, though some are more cold hardy (Not in the US? Convert your zone) |
Flowers | Spring |
Native Range | Central Asia |
Planting Apple Trees
It is important to note that an apple tree needs to be planted near another variety of apple tree in order for it to be successfully cross-pollinated and produce fruit. Even a crab apple tree in your neighborhood will work, as long as the crabapple is within 100 ft (30.5 m) of your tree. Apple trees are generally grown from bare rootstock and are best planted in the early spring or late fall. In the spring, plant them as soon as the ground can be worked. In the fall, plant them once all the leaves are gone and before the first frost.
Apple trees can be planted in almost any soil, as long as it doesn’t retain any standing water after a rain or irrigation. Spacing for apple tree planting is determined by the type of rootstock they are growing from. Scions are shoots of a tree that are grafted onto rootstock that is chosen for its mature size or disease resistance. Dwarf rootstock trees typically max out at 8-10 ft (2.4-3.1 m) tall and standard rootstock trees can grow to 25-30 ft (7.6-9.1 m). They need as much space around them as their mature height.
Soil Requirements
Apple trees require a soil pH between 6.0 and 7.0. They can thrive in just about any type of soil—loam, clay, sand—as long as it doesn’t retain any standing water after rain or irrigation. Before planting your apple trees, test your soil pH with this top-rated soil pH test kit from Amazon. You can also test your soil’s water retention by watering the planned planting area with the hose for a few minutes to simulate a heavy rainfall. If there is any water standing in the area two hours later, you should pick a better draining area to plant your apple trees.
Light Requirements
Apple trees require a good amount of sunlight per day to produce quality fruit. They do best in full sun locations. This means they receive 6-8 hours of sunlight per day. They can also do well in a dappled or partial shade area if you don’t have a spot that gets sun for a full 8 hours.
Planting Apple Trees: Step-by-Step
- Choose varieties – You will need two different cultivars of apple trees so they can be pollinated and produce fruit. They also need to have viable pollen and bloom at the same time. Choose types of apple tree that will do well in your USDA hardiness zone and that will fit in your space. Dwarf, semi-dwarf, and standard rootstock apple trees have vastly different space needs.
- Choose location – Pick a location that gets full sun and doesn’t get waterlogged after rains. A location where they receive early morning sun is best. The soil in your planting location should have a pH of between 6.0 and 7.0. You should also ensure you have proper space for apple trees. Dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstock apple trees will grow between 6-8 ft (1.8-2.4 m) and 12-15 ft (3.7-4.6 m) respectively. A standard rootstock apple tree will grow 20-25 ft (6.1-7.6 m). Your apple trees will spread about the same width as their height, so take this into consideration when you are choosing your location.
- Soak and dig – While you are digging holes for your new trees, soak their roots in a bucket of water for half an hour. Ensure that you dig holes that are deep enough and wide enough to accommodate the root structure when spread out. Place soil that you dig on a tarp so you can easily backfill later.
- Fill in the hole – Hold the tree in the hole and ensure the union of the scion and the rootstock is at least 3 in (7.6 cm) above the ground. Gently backfill your soil around the roots and add some good quality organic compost. Tamp the soil as you go to remove any pockets of air and ensure the tree is stable and standing up straight.
- Give trees a drink – After you have planted your new apple trees, water them thoroughly and tamp the soil gently to remove any other pockets of air. Add more soil as needed.
Apple Tree Care
Apple tree care is fairly straightforward and you can have great success and bountiful harvests even in your backyard. You can also get complicated and espalier fruit trees through years of pruning and training. But that is not necessary if you just want some small apple trees to add an edible element to your garden!
Watering Apple Trees
Water newly planted apple trees lightly two to three times a week for the first year. Established trees can be watered deeply once a week. Using a soaker hose irrigation system will help you water your apple trees efficiently. This soaker hose from Amazon will help to save water by targeting the roots of your apple trees and wasting less.
Fertilizing Apple Trees
Fertilize apple trees in early spring as the buds begin to come in. Using a half pound (0.2 kg) of fertilizer per year of tree age is a good guideline. So a 1 year-old tree gets a half pound of fertilizer, a 2 year-old tree gets one pound (.45 kg) of fertilizer, and so on. Use a 10-6-4 NPK fertilizer and spread the granules under the tree canopy but not right up on the trunk. This 10-6-4 fertilizer from Amazon is a good choice.
Young, non-producing apple tree branches grow 12-18 inches (31-25 cm) per year and fruit-bearing tree branches grow 8-12 inches (20-30.5 cm) per year. If your trees’ branches are growing more than that, you should not fertilize. You can also test your soil to see if there are any nutrient deficiencies with a soil test kit from Amazon.
Mulching Apple Trees
Young apple trees need mulch two to three feet (0.6-1 m) around them to help keep weeds and other competing plants at bay. Spread a layer of mulch that is 2-3 inches (5.1- 7.6 cm) deep to help retain moisture and prevent those pesky weeds. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk so that fungal growth does not become a problem.
Other Care Considerations
Applying a tree guard around the trunk of a young apple tree can help protect it from animal damage and winter damage within the first few years of its life. As the apple tree matures, it will develop flaky bark that will prevent damage. You can find these easy-to-install tree guards from Amazon.
Stake your newly planted apple trees for the first few years to ensure they grow straight and don’t get blown over by strong winds or storms. A wooden stake driven into the ground 4-6 inches (10.2-15.2 cm) away from the tree and a few feet deep should be as tall as the tree. Attach the tree to the support stake with a woven tree strap like this one from Amazon to prevent any damage to the young trunk.
Pruning Apple Trees
It is important to prune apple trees so that there is sufficient air flow and space around the fruit as they develop.
Thinning Apples
Thinning the fruit on your trees is important to the success of your future harvests. If apple trees bear too many fruit one year, they might produce less fruit the next year. When fruits are the size of a marble—usually around June or July—go through the branches and prune off excess fruits. Leave only one or two apples to develop from each cluster.
