Dwarf Apple Tree Fruit Me Apple Me Elstar

The Fruit Me Apple Me Elstar Apple Tree is an interesting fruit tree for its compact growth, perfectly suited for container cultivation. This does not prevent the plant from producing genuine Elstar apples, of the same size and value as those of a classic Elstar apple tree, and this from the first years of cultivation. A star among eating apples, this fruit is adorned with an attractive yellow skin striped with red, which protects a light yellow flesh that is both fine, crisp, sweet, and pleasantly refreshing. Not very self-fertile, it will be pollinated by the dwarf Fruit Me Apple me Yellow Golden apple tree.

The apple tree or Malus pumila var. domestica Fruit Me Apple Me Elstar is part of a series of semi-dwarf fruit trees that are quite revolutionary, recently developed in Spain. All the fruit trees in this range are grafted using a special technique onto a state-of-the-art rootstock that adapts to the available soil volume while allowing for quality fruiting from the first years of cultivation. The Fruit me range of fruit trees is also easy to grow, hardy, reliable, and less susceptible to diseases.

The 'Elstar' variety is the result of a cross between 'Golden Delicious' and 'Ingrid Marie' carried out in the Netherlands in 1955. It was named in 1972 and became popular among producers and the general public in the late 1970s. Its fruits, which ripen among the first, depending on the year and the regions, are harvested between early and mid-September. Highly aromatic, the fruits are pleasantly crisp and have a sweet and tangy flavour that is highly appreciated. Their yellow skin, striped and speckled with orange-red when fully ripe, is thin and digestible. Medium-sized and regular, it is a very good eating apple, which means it can be eaten raw without any preparation, but it is also delicious in compotes and jellies. The fruits can be stored for a good part of the winter.

In the ground, the Fruit Me Apple Me 'Elstar' Apple Tree develops a rounded, semi-upright habit with well-branched, airy growth and reaches a height of about 2.50 metres (8 feet) and a spread of 2 metres (7 feet) at maturity. In a pot, it will not exceed 1.50 metres (5 feet) in height and 80-90 cm (32-35in) in width. It is vigorous and resistant to cold. However, it is quite susceptible to common apple pests and diseases.  It is a tree that produces large quantities of fruit. However, it may show a tendency to alternate bearing, meaning that a year of high productivity may be followed by a year of low harvest.

The flowering takes place in April, at the same time or a few days before 'Golden'. Thanks to its qualities as a pollinator, the Malus domestica Elstar helps to fruit other apple trees of different varieties in the vicinity. For its own fruiting, it requires the proximity of another pollinating apple tree variety such as Gala, Golden Delicious, Cox Orange, Reine des Reinettes, Granny Smith, Belchard, or Melrose. Indeed, like many apple trees, it is not very self-fertile.

The apple tree is a fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family. It is cultivated almost everywhere in the world and includes countless varieties, both old and modern, that produce apples of varying sizes and degrees of sweetness or tartness. They are native trees in Europe, where their presence has been documented since antiquity. Hardy, sometimes down to -30°C (-22°F) for the most resistant varieties, they can be grown throughout France.

The leaves of the apple tree are deciduous in winter and are arranged alternately on the branches. Their lamina is oval and toothed. They have a dark green upper surface and a whitish lower surface, slightly fuzzy. In spring, the apple tree bears white or pinkish-white flowers grouped in corymbs. The apple blossoms have 5 petals, and these white flowers surround a core composed of about 20 stamens. They give rise to fleshy, spherical fruits filled with seeds: apples. Their colour, size, flavour, and storage duration vary depending on the variety. Rarely self-fertile, the apple tree is a fruit tree that requires the presence of other apple trees flowering at the same time and in close proximity to bear fruit. The apples are harvested in late summer and autumn and, depending on the variety, can be stored for a long period in a cellar and consumed until early spring. Apples lend themselves to a wide range of culinary preparations (compotes, pies, jellies), but they can also be used to make apple juice or cider.