Growing Apple Trees (Malus): Complete Guide from Planting to Harvest

Growing Apple Trees (Malus)

Growing your own fruit is much like growing vegetables or flowers. Choose a sunny site with good, rich, well-drained soil, and nurture until established—primarily with sufficient water. A soil test is always wise, even in fertile soil, to correct deficiencies and avoid excess fertilizer runoff.

Care on Arrival

Trees shipped dormant and bareroot. Keep roots from drying out. Remove from box, check packing material—should be damp, not soggy. If dry, moisten and drain excess. Plant within a week. If delayed, store in cool, dark place (garage/basement) in original packing, keeping it damp. If longer delay, heel in: dig shallow trench, spread roots, cover with soil, water, mulch with straw or leaf mold.

Planting Fruit Trees

Siting and Spacing

Choose fertile, well-drained, slightly acid soil (pH 6.5–6.8) with full sun. Test soil via county USDA Cooperative Extension. Semidwarf trees: 15–20 feet apart; mature canopy 10–15 feet.

Planting

Soak roots 1 hour before planting. Dig holes wide enough for roots without bending; in unimproved soil, make hole twice root span diameter. Scar hole sides and bottom to eliminate glazing. Form a gentle cone of topsoil at center. Place tree on cone, spread roots, cut broken roots. Ensure graft union (swollen bump near base) sits 2–3 inches above soil after backfilling. If windy, tilt slightly into prevailing wind. Backfill halfway, water to settle, finish backfilling, tamp, build donut ring to catch water, water again. Mulch 4 inches thick (straw, wood chips, etc.) keeping away from trunk. Add nitrogen if using wood chips/sawdust.

Watering

New trees need at least 1 inch (5–8 gallons) per week. Drip irrigation best; otherwise soak weekly. Check soil at 1 inch depth; if dry, water. Mulch to drip line for first few years to reduce competition.

Fertilizing

Feed young trees in late winter/early spring while dormant. Use complete fertilizer.

Training, Pruning, and Winter Protection

Read Stella Otto’s The BackYard Orchardist for in-depth understanding. Pruning has three phases: planting (remove top growth to balance roots), nonbearing years (establish scaffold branches), bearing years (maintain structure, remove diseased wood). At planting, cut leader to 3 feet above a plump bud; remove side branches. Paint trunk with white latex paint or wrap with burlap to prevent sunscald. Wrap with ¼-inch hardware cloth to deter rodents.

In late winter of second year, establish framework: modified central leader or open center. Select well-spaced, near-horizontal branches. Remove extras; keep those with best angles. Use spreaders (Popsicle sticks, twine) to train branches horizontal. Continue for several years until top scaffold at ~6 feet. Then remove further trunk branches, especially competing leaders. Manage secondary branching for spacing and light penetration.

Columnar Apple Trees in Containers

Plant in 16–20 inch diameter container with quality potting soil. Graft union no more than 1 inch above soil. Full sun outdoors. Water regularly (containers dry faster). Fertilize year after planting with light 5-10-10 monthly April–August. In mid-late summer, cut branches back ⅓–½ to encourage branching; don’t remove set fruit. In Zone 5, overwinter in unheated garage/shed after leaf drop; in freeze-thaw areas, protected porch; where no freezing, leave outdoors.

Recommended Reading

• The Apple Grower by Michael Phillips
• The BackYard Orchardist by Stella Otto
• The Pruning Book by Lee Reich
• Fruits and Berries for the Home Garden by Lewis Hill
• Fruit Trees for the Home Gardener by Allan A. Swenson
• Taylor's Guide to Fruits and Berries edited by Roger Holmes