Planting Apple Trees | Growing Apples

How to Plant An Apple Tree

Overview: There is nothing like picking your own apples from your own apple trees. Planting apple trees is quite easy and will provide beauty when they blossom in the spring, give you a great apple crop in the fall and provide great shade trees.

Pick the location where you want to plant your apple trees carefully.  Apple trees need at least six to eight hours of sunlight a day for the best fruit production. They will grow in a wide range of soil types, but you should avoid poorly drained sites. For this reason, and others regarding frost, it is wise to select raised sites. I recommend planting dwarf apple trees because they do not occupy much space and are easier to maintain.

Plant apple trees in early to mid spring. Dig a hole to the same depth and width as the root ball. Place the tree in the planting hole; position the tree so that the point where the roots begin to spread out from the trunk is slightly above the soil line. Fill the hole to three-quarters full with soil and water well. Finish filling hole with soil and water again. Add a generous layer of mulch around the base of the tree.

Apple trees need water and nutrients. Young trees require 1" to 2" of water a week for the first two years. One month after planting, apply a half-pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer around the base of each tree. For established trees, a pound of fertilizer per year may be needed. Prune in winter to allow for good air circulation and light penetration. If symptoms of fire blight appear, prune out and destroy the infected branches.

For the first two years after planting the immature fruit should be removed. This allows the tree’s energy to go toward establishing a strong root and branch structure. Starting in year three and thereafter, young fruits should be thinned to one apple every 4" or 6" on the branch. This produces fewer but better and larger fruits.

Apples are best harvested when they are sweet or tart, depending on the variety of tree. They should be juicy and crunchy. If they're starchy and dry, they need some more time on the tree to ripen. To determine if the apples are mature, cut one open and look at its seeds. They should be very dark brown or black. Remove the fruit from the tree by pulling upward and outward while twisting slightly.