🍎 Apple

Apples are the great British fruit tree, with thousands of varieties adapted to our climate and a wide range of flavours, from crisp sweet eaters to sharp cookers. A single tree on a dwarf rootstock gives bumper crops in a small garden or a large pot.

Most apples need a pollination partner flowering at the same time, so choose compatible varieties, or take advantage of neighbours’ trees and crab apples. Trees can be trained as cordons, espaliers or fans to save space, making them suitable even for small gardens.

Varieties to try

Discovery (early, crisp, red-flushed)Egremont Russet (nutty, stores well)Cox’s Orange Pippin (classic flavour, needs care)Bramley’s Seedling (the cooking apple, self-sterile)Sunset (Cox-like, more reliable)James Grieve (dual purpose, early)

Plant bare-root trees from November to March, when the soil is not frozen or waterlogged, in a sunny, sheltered site with fertile, well-drained soil. Container-grown trees can be planted year round if watered well. Choose rootstock for the space: M27 (very dwarf, pots), M9 (dwarf), M26 (semi-dwarf), MM106 (medium).

Dig a hole wide enough to spread the roots, drive in a stake, plant so the graft union is 5 cm above ground, and firm in. Tie to the stake with a tree tie and water well. Mulch around the base, leaving the trunk clear. In grass, keep a 1 m circle weed-free.

Top tips

• Choose a rootstock to suit your space.
• Keep the graft union above soil.
• Stake the tree firmly.
• Check pollination partners.

Water newly planted trees regularly for the first two years, particularly in dry spells. Mulch each spring and feed with a general fertiliser. Prune in winter (November to March) to an open framework, removing dead, diseased or crossing branches and shortening new growth; spur-bearing types are pruned on a regular, light basis. Summer-prune trained forms in August.

Thin fruitlets in June to one per cluster, 10–15 cm apart, for larger apples and to prevent biennial cropping. Codling moth (maggots in fruit), apple scab, canker and aphids are the common problems. Pheromone traps catch codling moths, and clearing fallen leaves reduces scab.

Top tips

• Thin fruitlets in June.
• Prune in winter.
• Clear fallen leaves to reduce scab.
• Water young trees well.

Watch out for

Codling mothApple scabCankerAphidsBrown rotBirds in winter

Apples are ready when they come away easily with a gentle lift and twist; the pips turn brown and the fruit has full colour. Early varieties ripen in August and September and should be eaten soon, while late varieties are picked in October and stored. Don’t pull, as it will damage spurs.

Pick carefully to avoid bruising and handle each apple like an egg. Windfalls are good for immediate cooking but won’t store. Late-season apples often improve in flavour during storage and are best left on the tree as long as frost allows.

Top tips

• Lift and twist: ripe fruit comes away easily.
• Handle gently to avoid bruising.
• Eat early varieties quickly.
• Store late varieties.

Eat dessert apples fresh, in salads and slaws, or slice them for baking. Cookers such as Bramley collapse into a fluffy purée for pies, crumbles, sauces and chutneys. Apples can be juiced and made into cider, jelly, and dried rings. They pair well with cheese, pork, cinnamon and blackberries.

Store sound, unbruised late apples in a cool (3–5°C), dark, frost-free place such as a garage or shed, wrapped in newspaper or in trays with space between. Check weekly and remove any that rot. Many varieties keep until February to March. Cooked apple purée freezes well.

Top tips

• Wrap late apples individually for storage.
• Check stored fruit weekly.
• Freeze purée in portions.
• Juice windfalls.