BOTANICAL NAME: Malus pumila
TYPE: Deciduous tree with edible flowers and fruit
LOCATION: Full sun
PLANTING DATES: Year-round
PLANTING METHOD: Cuttings or grafts
HARVEST TIME: Summer through fall. Fruit ripens summer through fall depending on the variety
HEIGHT: 8-20 feet. Depends on the species. Some will grow even taller.
SPREAD: 15-20 feet
FINAL SPACING: 15-30 feet
GROWTH HABITS: Upright to spreading small - to medium - sized tree. Pink and white spring flowers after the new foliage has emerged. Long-lived, productive, and relatively easy fruit tree to grow in Texas.
CULTURE: Apple trees need well-drained healthy soil. Fertilize following a basic organic program and spray every two weeks during the growing season with Garrett Juice. Some commercial orchards grow the trees on trellises at very close spacing (30-48 inches on center). Fertilize three times a year with an organic fertilizer at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet in early spring, early June, and harvest in the fall.
TROUBLES AND SOLUTIONS: Cotton root rot, brown rot, aphids, and various other insect and disease pests. Fireblight is a problem on some varieties. Building beneficial life in the soil is the answer to most of these troubles. Garrett Juice plus additives helps, and cornmeal in the soil at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet is important.
HARVEST AND STORAGE: Pick and store apples in a dry, cool locations. Eat as soon as possible.
NOTES: Eat them as soon as possible. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is an important bit of advice to remember. Apple trees make excellent ornamental and small shade trees to use in the landscape. Eat the flower petals - not the entire flower.
VARIETIES: Anna early summer, but frost damage in northern part of the state. Dorsett Golden late spring, but frost damage in northern part of the state. Fuji early fall, ugly but delicious. Golden Delicious late summer. Mollie’s Delicious mid-summer. Braeburn fall. Gala - summer to fall. Granny Smith - early fall. Holland is easy to grow but the taste isn’t much.