Apples are some of the easiest and most rewarding fruits to grow in the UK. With an established tree, you can enjoy delicious fruits for many years, as well as beautiful blossom each spring. There are many varieties to choose from that are suited to even the smallest of gardens, and they can even be grown in pots.
In this blog post, we cover everything you need to know about growing your own apple tree, from pollination to rootstocks and planting to aftercare. If you’re new to apple trees or are considering growing your own, you’re in the right place!
What's in this guide
Choosing your apple tree
Eaters vs Cookers
When choosing your apple tree, one of the first things you’ll need to decide is whether you want to grow eating (dessert) apples, cooking apples, or dual-purpose apples.
Eating apples tend to be smaller and sweeter with a crisp or soft flesh, and are best enjoyed raw or as a snack.
Discovery Apple Tree (Eating Variety)
Bramley Seedling Apple Tree (Cooking Variety)
James Grieve Apple Tree (Dual-Purpose Variety)
Cooking apples tend to be larger and more tart and are best enjoyed when cooked into pies, crumbles, and other dishes. Depending on the variety, some cooking apples retain their shape when cooked, others lose their shape, and others dissolve into a puree.
If you can’t decide between an eater or a cooker, you can choose a dual-purpose apple, which are suited to both cooking and eating raw.
Dabinett Apple Tree (Cider Variety)
Tickled Pink Apple Tree (Dual-Purpose Variety)
Golden Delicious Apple Tree (Eating Variety)
Some apples are also particularly well suited to juicing or pressing because of their high juice content, ideal if you’re looking to make your own apple juice or cider.
Rootstocks
Next, you’ll need to choose which rootstock your tree is grown on. Rootstocks are less complicated than they seem. They simply determine how vigorous a fruit tree is, and therefore how big it will get. A more vigorous rootstock is ideal if you have more space and would like a large apple tree. A semi-vigorous rootstock or a dwarf rootstock help keep the tree to a smaller, more manageable size, so are best for smaller gardens and growing in pots.
When planting multiple apple trees together, they should be spaced according to their rootstock, outlined in the table below.
| Rootstock | Ultimate Height (approx.) | Spacing (approx.) |
| M27 (Patio very dwarf) | 1.5 x 1.5 metres | 1.5 metres |
| M9 (Dwarf) | 2 x 2.5 metres | 2.5 metres |
| M26 (Semi-dwarf) | 2.5 x 3 metres | 3.5 metres |
| MM106 (Semi-vigorous) | 3.5 x 4 metres | 4.5 metres |
| MM111 (Vigorous) | 4.5 x 5 metres | 5 metres |
| M25 (Very vigorous) | 5 x 6 metres | 6 metres |
Climate
Apple trees are hardy and cope well in most UK climates, so this is generally not an issue. However, if you live in a Northern climate such as Scotland, you may want to consider an extra hardy variety, or a variety with frost-tolerant flowers such as Worcester Pearmain, Spartan or Laxton's Superb.
Pollination and pollination groups
When choosing your apple tree, you’ll also need to consider how your tree will be pollinated.
Most apple trees need to have their flowers pollinated (i.e. receive pollen from a different flower) in order to successfully produce fruit. This is usually done by flying insects such as bees, beetles and wasps. To successfully produce fruit, the pollen needs to come from another tree of the same species, but of a different variety. For instance, a Discovery apple tree can be pollinated by a Cox’s Orange Pippin apple tree, and vice versa, but a Discovery apple tree can’t be pollinated by another Discovery apple tree. Therefore, to ensure your apple tree successfully produces fruit, it should be in the vicinity of another apple tree, and both should be flowering at around the same time. This is where pollination groups come in.
Pollination groups are essentially pollination dates, and show which apples are in flower at which time. To ensure a good crop, grow two or more different apple trees from the same pollination group, or adjacent pollination group. So, an apple in group C can pollinate and be pollinated by apples in either group B, C or D, but not A, E or F, etc. In the above example, both Discovery and Cox’s Orange Pippin belong in group C, so will be in flower at the same time.
Click the link below to find out which apple trees fall into which pollination group.
That being said, pollinating bees can travel up to 2 miles, so if you live in a built-up area, you may only need one apple tree, as chances are there will be at least one other apple tree in an eligible pollination group growing nearby. However, the RHS recommends that for cross-pollination to be most effective, the trees should be within 18 metres of each other.
Some apple trees are what is referred to as “triploid”. Triploid apple trees have sterile pollen, meaning that they cannot pollinate another apple tree. They can however be pollinated. Bramley Seedling is an example of a triploid apple tree and belongs in group C. If you choose a Bramley Seedling, you could grow it alongside Discovery. However, Discovery would not be pollinated by the sterile Bramley Seedling, so you would need a third tree, e.g. Cox’s Orange Pippin, for all trees to be sufficiently pollinated. Alternatively, you could grow Bramley Seedling alongside a self-fertile variety, which would pollinate both the Bramley Seedling and itself.
Self-fertile apple varieties are so-called because they pollinate themselves, meaning no other tree is required to produce fruit. These are a good option for beginners or those with smaller gardens. Some apples are also referred to as "partially self-fertile", meaning that they can be planted alone but will yield the best results when paired with a pollination partner.
Crab apple trees can also pollinate apple trees. Crab apples are particularly good pollinators as they tend to have long flowering periods.
Cox Self-Fertile Apple Tree (Self-Fertile Variety)
Red Falstaff Apple Tree (Self-Fertile Variety)
Red Devil Apple Tree (Self-Fertile Variety)
Planting your apple tree
Pot-grown apple trees can be planted at any time of year (provided the ground is not frozen or waterlogged), while bare roots can only be planted between November and March.
Like other fruits, apple trees prefer a warm, sheltered spot with full sun (i.e. more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day in midsummer). Choose a moist, well-draining soil, as apple trees do not like to get too wet.
The same planting advice for all trees also applies to apple trees. Remove all weeds and grass ideally within a metre of your desired planting hole, then dig a hole the same depth as the rootmass and about twice as wide. Loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole and apply Rootgrow to aid establishment. Place the tree in the hole, and backfill with a mix made up of 50% original soil and 50% compost. Fill in the hole and firm around gently, taking care not to bank soil up around the collar of the tree. Give the roots a generous soaking of water.
We also recommend installing a Stake and Tie to help the tree to anchor its roots in the ground. See our guides on How to Plant Pot-Grown Trees and How to Plant Bare Root Trees to learn more.
Make sure to keep the planting area free of competing weeds, grass and other plants for the first couple of growing seasons after planting.
If you’re looking to plant your tree into a pot, see our other blog post on Ultimate Guide to Patio Fruit | How to Grow Fruit Trees in Pots.
Aftercare for your apple tree
Watering & feeding
After planting, a good watering regime is essential, as fruit trees require extra water to produce their crop. Newly planted apple trees should be watered well and regularly throughout spring and summer for the first few growing seasons. In autumn, you will need to water less frequently. In winter, dormant trees don’t require any watering. After a few years in the ground, the tree will have a developed a larger root structure, so you won’t need to water as frequently, apart from in periods of drought. Read our guide on How to Water Trees Correctly to learn more.
To promote healthy growth and retain soil moisture, we recommend apply a fertiliser in spring (in preparation for the growing season) and mulching in late spring and autumn.
Pruning
Apple trees are generally low-maintenance, but pruning for the first few years after planting ensures a healthy, goblet-like shape. Apple trees are best pruned between November and March, during their dormant season.
Your tree should have one central leader and several side shoots. Straight after planting, you can remove the lowest laterals. Prune back other branches by between a third and half their length, just above an outward-facing, healthy bud.
In the following years, remove any shoots growing out of the trunk to maintain a clear stem. Also remove any crossing, diseased or damaged branches. If your tree is looking overcrowded, remove some of the larger branches to open up the canopy.
Trained trees including espaliers and fans have slightly different pruning periods and requirements. Read our guides on espalier training and fan training to learn more.
Thinning
Thinning is the process of removing surplus fruitlets from fruit trees in order to promote healthy growth and encourage a more consistent crop year on year. It also removes excess weight from branches that are heavily laden with fruit. This is best done around late May to early July.
Apple trees tend to produce 2 to 6 fruitlets per cluster. The aim of thinning is to keep 1 or 2 of the largest, healthiest, best-shaped fruitlets per cluster. Watch our video guide on How to Thin Apple Trees to learn more.
Pre-trained apple trees such as espalier, fan and cordon
Apple trees can also be trained, or come pre-trained, to form certain shapes. Espalier and fans are two methods of training apple trees so that they grow flat, normally against a wall or fence. Training from scratch is possible but this involves quite a lot of time and effort, so we recommend choosing one that is pre-trained to give you a significant head start. Read our guides on espalier training and fan training to learn more.
Cordon apple trees are those that form a compact, upright shape, consisting of just one main stem, so are a great space-saving option. These are traditionally grown at a 45 degree angle but can also be grown straight. Plant several in a row (at least 1.8 metres apart) and you’ve got yourself a mini orchard!
Espalier Trained James Grieve Apple Tree
Fan Trained Ellison's Orange Apple Tree
Cordon Trained Blue Moon Apple Tree
Harvesting and storing your apples
When it comes to harvesting times, your apple tree will fall into one of three categories: early-season, mid-season and late-season.
Early-season apples are ready to harvest from around early August to mid September. These tend to not store particularly well and are best eaten fresh straight from the tree.
Mid-season apples are ready to harvest from around mid September to mid October. Like early-season, these apples are best enjoyed fresh, but they can be stored for a few weeks or so.
Late-season apples are ready to harvest from around mid October to mid November. These tend to store very well and can be kept right through winter in the right storage conditions.
These harvest times will vary slightly according to factors like weather, climate and planting location.
To harvest your apple correctly, grasp the fruit and gently twist. You’ll know it’s ready for picking if it comes away easily from the tree with its stalk intact.
To store apples correctly, they should be positioned in single layers (ideally not touching each other) in a cool, dark place such as a cellar or an unheated garage, away from other fruits. You can also store them in your fridge’s crisper drawer. If you don’t have enough space to separate them out, you can wrap each individual apple in paper. Try to keep their stalks intact when harvesting as this will help prevent decaying. Avoid storing any blemished apples, such as those with holes, bruises or cuts, as these will decay more quickly and can spoil your other apples.
