Planting Apple Tree: Here’s What You Need To Watch Out For

Planting your own apple tree – a dream of many garden owners. With the right location and a little care, he soon rewarded with juicy apples.

Planting an apple tree: Which variety is useful?

The Romans already cultivated six different apple varieties. Today, there are an estimated 30,000 varieties worldwide, of which around 2,000 are in Europe. Many hobby gardeners today like to reach for old varieties – because the old apple varieties are hard to come by in the supermarket.

But not every variety is suitable for the regional climate. Many old apple varieties are also susceptible to fungal diseases. You can find out which apple tree variety is best suited to your garden by asking your local fruit and gardening association. The experts usually know best which varieties produce good yields while being as disease resistant as possible.

Recommended apple varieties include:

• Retina
• Rebella
• Rewena
• Boskoop

Apple tree planting made easy

Once you’ve decided on an apple variety, it’s a good idea to research the specific planting tips. These can vary depending on the variety. In general, you should pay attention to the following when it comes to soil and location:

Find a sunny spot to plant the apple tree. Although apple trees will grow in the shade, a sunny location will produce more fruit.
The soil should be free of waterlogging, as apple trees have very fine and sensitive roots. The apple tree also dislikes heavily loamy soils. A loose humus soil is better.
The best time to plant a young apple tree is in the fall. With luck, it will bear its first apples next year.
Instructions:

• Dig the planting hole generously so that the roots have room to grow.
• Enrich the soil with some compost.
• The distance to neighboring trees or to house walls should be several meters. This will give the roots and later the crown enough space.
• Place the root ball in the planting hole.
• Fill it with soil.
• Now water vigorously.

Planting apple tree from an apple core

In principle, you can also grow an apple tree from an apple core and then plant it. However, the seeds are equipped with natural germination inhibitors to survive the cold winter. So, in order for the seeds to germinate, you need to pre-treat them first:

• Place the apple cores between two damp layers of paper in a container.
• Store the container with the seeds in the refrigerator for about three weeks.
• After three weeks, the first seedlings should become visible.
• Plant the seedlings individually in larger pots – about one centimeter deep.
• It is important in the first phase to water the seedlings abundantly. The location should be warm and bright.

Apple tree care and pruning – the right way!

After you plant the apple tree, winter pruning should become routine from the second year. Pruning back branches will provide a larger apple crop the following year. Remove primarily shoots and branches that get in each other’s way. In particular, you should cut off crossing, diseased, dead, damaged and dense branches.

Which apple variety did you choose? We look forward to your experiences in the comments!