Growing tips
When you’re choosing a site, remember apples need a certain amount of cold each winter to set the next season’s fruit, but few appreciate frost pockets. They also hate being waterlogged. Dig a hole large enough to take the entire root, adding a little mycorrhizal fungi to the roots to encourage them to flourish.
Making sure the graft itself is well above the ground, gradually backfill with the original soil (no need to add fertiliser; the tree can find its own nourishment). Ensure all the crevices are filled by lightly shaking the tree as you go, firm down gently, and give it a nice long drink. It’s always a good idea to stake young trees and to water them in dry weather until they’re established. If you don’t allow them to fruit in their first year they can concentrate on growing strongly.
Apples are best pruned in the winter. Clear out old and crossing branches, to keep the tree airy and, if it’s ‘tip bearing’ (producing apples on the ends of branches), cut back to a strong, young shoot near the trunk to prevent branches getting too long. With spurbearing varieties (fruits are produced along the branch) leave the stubby ‘laterals’ unpruned; they’ll develop fruit buds next year. Summer pruning is best for cordon and fancily-shaped trees, as regrowth is less vigorous.
By all means thin budding apples in early summer to prevent branches breaking, but it’s not necessary to thin cider apples as ruthlessly as eaters – they’re all going to be crushed!