Apple Tree: Planting, Pruning and Care

Description and botany

The Apple tree is a fruit tree widely domesticated for centuries, so much so that its scientific name Malus domestica, due to the unknown ancestry of cultivars, simply designates the apple, Malus in Latin, with the qualifier “domestic” referring to plants cultivated near dwellings. The wild nature counts nearly 60 species of Malus, both ornamental and fruiting, with the domestica species applying to all varieties of edible apples resulting from numerous cross-breedings over the centuries. The tree originates from temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. The apple tree is a pome fruit tree belonging to the Rosaceae family, like most fruit trees in our regions, including Pears, Quinces as well as stone fruit trees like Plums, Peaches, Cherries and Apricots.

These trees, sometimes reaching 10 m in height with a 4.5 m spread, nevertheless remain modest in size. They display an elegant, perfectly balanced habit, most often with a rounded crown supported by a straight and sturdy trunk. There are varieties with an upright habit or even reduced to a column just 1 m wide, occupying minimal ground space. The apple tree’s bark, smooth at first, becomes scaly with a brown-grey hue, while the shoots are grey to reddish. Unlike the wild apple Malus sylvestris, the shoots are downy and the leaves are rather rounded.

The apple tree’s leaves are single and dentate, borne on short petioles and of modest size (5-6 cm long by 3-4 cm wide). They are deciduous, tinged with a rather dark green and often pubescent underneath. Their arrangement is alternate on the branch (not symmetrical but offset) or in whorls (several leaves at the same height around the branch) at the level of spurs (very short shoots).

Malus domestica – botanical illustration

The flowers appear in clusters of 5 to 10 corollas, during spring, in April-May, at the same time as the leaves emerge. The corolla consists of 5 rounded petals, white tinged with pink, while the calyx is formed of 5 triangular sepals. Numerous stamens surrounding the pistil make the centre of the flower sparkle, attracting many pollinating insects. Fertilisation is better when two compatible varieties can pollinate each other. If you don’t know your variety’s name, plant a flowering variety like Malus Evereste® or Golden Hornet or the excellent and robust timeless variety Reine des Reinettes, whose flowering period ensures the pollination of all your apple varieties.

Apple trees are more or less susceptible to biennial bearing, which results in a profusion of apples every other year. This phenomenon can be mitigated by thinning the tree after the natural drop of some young fruits in June. It involves removing a certain number of fruits so as not to exhaust the tree, which would otherwise compensate the following year with a poor harvest. This results in larger, better-tasting apples.

Apples are berries classified as pseudocarps because they develop from the thickening of the flower’s receptacle which comes to enclose the 5 fused carpels (base of the pistil), forming the core. This is why the dried remains of the sepals are found at the top of the fruit, as with pears. The fleshy part of the apple is juicy and becomes more or less firm and sweet when ripe, endowed with nearly 350 olfactory components giving it infinite aromatic nuances (500 for roses and 250 for jasmine).

There are nearly 6000 varieties of apples, often regionally cultivated in the past. Today only about a dozen varieties are commercially grown worldwide, including Gala, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Fuji, Granny Smith and Cripps Pink. Fortunately, nurseries and fruit conservatories strive to propagate heritage varieties often well-adapted to a region’s climate, also to preserve their genes, while new very tasty and generally disease-resistant varieties regularly emerge.

The main varieties of apple trees

Classic Varieties, the Safe Bets

Heritage or Unusual Varieties

Spindle Varieties for Terraces and Small Gardens

Apple Tree Royal Gala - Malus domestica

Fairly vigorous variety, quick to fruit and very productive. Medium-sized apple, slightly striated red, with firm, very crunchy, fragrant, sweet, and slightly tangy flesh. Harvest in early September. Stores for 3 months.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 4 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Belle de Boskoop - Malus domestica

Vigorous and productive variety with large bicoloured fruits. The granular flesh is semi-crunchy, juicy, and tangy. Harvest late October-November. Stores until March. Resistant to canker, scab, and cold.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Malus domestica Golden Delicious - Golden Delicious Apple

Originating from a spontaneous seedling discovered in 1890 in the USA, this is the most widely produced apple in France. Easy to grow, early to fruit, it can be pollinated by Reine des Reinettes or Delbard Jubilé®. Juicy, firm, sweet, slightly tangy, and fragrant flesh when harvested at peak ripeness in late September. Long storage until late April. Good pollinator.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 4,50 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Reine des Reinettes

An old variety ideal for creating a fine open-centred tree. Medium-sized apple with fairly firm, fine, juicy, slightly tangy flesh, very pleasant to eat fresh or cooked. Self-fertile, it also pollinates many other varieties. Prone to biennial bearing (good one year, poor the next!) and aphids. Harvested in September, the apples store well until December.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Choupette - Malus domestica

A new variety, resistant to scab and powdery mildew, with the delicious taste of heritage apples, suitable for eating fresh or cooking. Deep violet-red fruits speckled with white, firm flesh that softens over time, juicy, slightly tangy, and sweet. Harvest in October with long storage potential.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 4 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Ariane - Malus domestica

An excellent recent apple variety, resistant to scab. Late and abundant harvest at the end of September. Fairly vigorous tree. Fruits are a beautiful shiny red washed with yellow, with firm, crunchy, and juicy flesh, sweet and tangy, with a fizzy mouthfeel. Stores well until April.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Delbard Jubilee - Malus domestica

A renowned, productive variety, highly prized for its yellow fruits striated with red, sweet and fragrant. The gourmet's apple!

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Apple Tree Maggy - Malus domestica

A recent variety of medium vigour and very good productivity. Medium-sized blood-red fruits with red flesh veined with white, fine, crunchy, and sweet-tangy.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 5 m

See the product sheet

Columnar Apple Tree Ballerina Polka - Malus domestica

A vigorous columnar apple variety, very space-efficient with exceptional flowering. Large, flared red or orange fruits. Sweet, juicy, and slightly tangy flesh. Harvest mid-September. Stores until November.

• Flowering time April
• Height at maturity 3 m

See the product sheet

Columnar Apple Tree Villandry - Georges Delbard

Very narrow habit, just 60 cm wide, perfectly suited to small gardens and growing in large pots on terraces. Highly productive, fast-growing, it fruits quickly and offers medium-sized, red apples speckled with grey. Firm, crunchy, and fragrant flesh.

• Flowering time May
• Height at maturity 2 m

See the product sheet

Columnar Apple Tree Rhapsodie - Malus domestica

Scab-resistant apple with late flowering. Harvest from late September. Yellow fruits flushed with red-orange as they ripen. Excellent eating apple, crunchy and juicy with a slightly tangy and sufficiently sweet flavour, also suitable for cooking.

• Flowering time April
• Height at maturity 3 m

See the product sheet

Planting

Where to Plant the Apple Tree?

• Apple trees grow throughout France, but many varieties developed in a particular region show better adaptation to that area. Take their preferences into account, especially if you live in a high-altitude zone (choose late-flowering varieties in May). In lowland areas with a humid and misty climate (opt for varieties resistant to Scab), and in warm, relatively dry climates (prefer varieties grafted onto M7, M109 or M111). Note that spindle or dwarf forms specifically designed for container cultivation are more sensitive to cold.
• The apple tree tolerates north-facing exposure well, particularly in the southern half of France. However, espalier forms prefer a south-east or south-west orientation.
• These fruit trees thrive in substantial, clayey, rich and moist but well-drained soil. Choosing an appropriate rootstock allows planting in more or less chalky soil.
• In humid climates, prefer varieties resistant to Scab.

When to Plant?

Prefer planting in autumn-winter, especially if the young plant is sold bare-rooted and during frost-free periods.

How to Plant?

If installing a trained form, remember to set up a sturdy support framework for training and staking before planting (end post with a brace, wire, intermediate posts, etc.).

This tree is easy to cultivate.

• For a potted young plant, soak the root ball in a bucket of water to moisten it thoroughly, or if it’s a maiden bare-rooted, trim damaged roots cleanly, then coat them with slurry, or failing that, mud.
• Prepare the soil by removing stones and weeds,
• Using a spade, dig a hole 50 to 60 cm in all directions, avoiding smoothing the walls. Be sure to keep the subsoil and topsoil separate.
• To enrich the soil, mix in ground horn (rich in nitrogen), possibly base fertiliser (rich in phosphorus and potassium) and organic matter (compost, manure…) with the subsoil and place this mixture at the bottom of the planting hole.
• If planting a standard or goblet-shaped tree, drive 1 to 3 stakes slightly away from the root ball’s position.
• Position the young plant at the correct level so the collar is flush with the soil surface, then backfill with topsoil, forming a shallow basin.
• Pour a full watering can to settle the soil and remove air pockets.
• Secure the stake to the trunk, crossing the tie in a figure-eight shape, without touching the trunk.

Pruning, maintenance

• Remember to water regularly during the first years after planting and during periods of intense heat.
• Maintain a mulch of dead leaves, straw, wood chips or partially decomposed compost to prevent weed competition.
• Apply compost at the drip line of the crown each autumn to maintain soil fertility. You may also add a small spadeful of wood ash in winter, rich in potassium, to improve fruiting.
• In June, when the apples are forming, carry out thinning: keep only 1 to 2 fruits per cluster, favouring the largest apples located at the centre of the cluster. Learn more in our tutorial Why and how to thin fruit trees?

Apple trees are susceptible to fungal diseases such as Scab and Brown Rot in humid climates, and Powdery Mildew in drier climates. Treat with a fungicidal spray such as horsetail or nettle manure, or a copper-based product to limit diseases. The Codling Moth is a butterfly that lays its eggs and causes wormy apples. Pheromone traps installed in late May or corrugated cardboard wrapped around the trunk in mid-June (removed and burned in November) help reduce caterpillar numbers. Applying sticky bands around the trunk in early spring helps control Aphid infestations by trapping ant colonies that farm them. Apply a winter treatment of rapeseed oil to bare shoots and/or paint the trunk with lime in autumn to eliminate overwintering pests.

→ Learn more in our guide: Apple tree diseases and pests.

Pruning apple trees

Apple trees take time to establish, which is why you should wait at least 3 years on weak rootstocks and often 7-8 years on vigorous rootstocks before harvesting fruit. However, production can last over 80 years!

• When training an apple tree as a bush or standard, ensure good distribution of scaffold branches around the trunk and balance their length.
• Remove branches that cross or grow inward into the crown.

Trained forms (espaliers) require the most pruning to maintain their structure, whether U-shaped, double U, palmette or cordon. Prune in March and apply the three-bud pruning method, leaving 3 buds on each wood shoot to convert them into fruiting spurs. However, pre-trained trees already have fruit buds (plump, rounded buds) that simply need preserving in sufficient quantity during pruning. Summer pruning (pinching) in July complements winter pruning and corrects mistakes: leave 7 leaves after a fruit and remove non-fruiting shoots to allow sunlight to ripen the fruit.

→ Read also: How to train an apple tree as a cordon?

Natural forms like spindles or very trailing varieties such as Granny Smith or Spur types require little to no pruning for good fruiting.

For other cases (free-standing trees, etc.), don’t worry – you can simply prune every 2 or 3 years between November and March:

• Remove any suckers growing at the base of the tree and water shoots developing on the trunk.
• Cut out dead or broken branches, as well as those that cross.
• Trim twigs and some inward-growing branches to allow air and light into the centre.
• Optionally prune branch tips above an outward-facing bud, otherwise allow an apple to form at the tip to weigh down the branch and encourage new fruit buds.

Propagation

The most commonly used propagation method is grafting onto a rootstock grown from sowing. The most frequent technique is shield budding with a growing eye or a dormant eye, but this propagation method remains the domain of professionals and experienced gardeners.

Sowing apple pips

This technique is uncertain in its results, and the resulting apple tree will bear fruit after a minimum of 10 years—or perhaps never. This is how new varieties are obtained, but amateur sowing is a lottery that more often produces cider apples than an unprecedented marvel.

• Remove the pips from a ripe apple, rinse them under cold water, and dry them in a cloth.
• Let them dry for 2-3 days at less than 15°C, stirring occasionally.
• Then stratify the pips in a pot by placing them between two layers of moistened sand for 3 months.

Uses and Associations

Apple trees planted as single specimens or spaced 5 to 7 metres apart make excellent small trees that are both utilitarian and ornamental in terms of their habit, flowering and fruiting. They can be used to create shade for a garden seating area, though you may find it difficult to eat beneath their crown due to the branches that tend to droop over time. You can also incorporate them into a mixed hedge of deciduous trees and bushes, adapting their training (upright habit) and ensuring they are not overshadowed by larger trees.

Espalier apple tree and columnar apple tree

They can be paired with flowering and fruiting bushes in a large border, such as raspberries, currants, blueberries, serviceberries, or flowering plums (Prunus triloba)…

A row of spindle-trained apple trees like Rhapsody or Villandry, or dwarf fruit trees such as Garden Sun Red®, suitable for container growing, have the advantage of offering spectacular spring flowering followed by normal-sized fruits that are both delicious and decorative. These trees require no pruning and simply need a specific fertiliser if grown in containers to help fruit development. Plant them in large terracotta or resin pots and consider installing an automatic watering system to prevent any lack of water.

Create a rustic, pastoral scene on a terrace or balcony by pairing your spindle-trained apple trees with strawberry “columns” or hanging baskets, or with square or rectangular planters filled with vegetable plants.