Fruit

Growing apples

Malus domestica · Rosaceae
By Hannah Price · Updated 12 November 2026

Apples calendar

Apples sowing, planting and harvest calendar (UK)
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Plant	Plant in January	Plant in February	Plant in March								Plant in November	Plant in December
Harvest								Harvest in August	Harvest in September	Harvest in October
Prune	Prune in January	Prune in February					Prune in July	Prune in August				Prune in December

Timings suit lowland southern and central Britain and most of Ireland. In northern England and Scotland, or in a cold spot, start two to three weeks later in spring and finish earlier in autumn.

Overview

An apple tree is one of the most satisfying things you can plant, and it need not be large. Trees are sold grafted onto rootstocks that control their size, so you can grow a cordon against a fence, a patio pot tree, or a classic orchard shape. Most varieties need pollen from a different apple flowering at the same time to set fruit.

Varieties to try

'Discovery' is an early dessert apple with crisp, red-flushed fruit that keeps for only a short while. 'Sunset' gives a Cox-like flavour on a far healthier, easier tree. 'Egremont Russet' has nutty, golden-brown fruit and is a good pollinator. For cooking, 'Bramley's Seedling' is the classic but needs two other partners, while 'Katy' suits colder, wetter regions.

Soil and site

Best soil: Deep, well-drained but moisture-retentive loam; avoid waterlogged ground and frost pockets.

Choose a sunny spot sheltered from wind, as cold gusts during blossom stop bees flying. Avoid the bottom of slopes where frost settles. Rootstock M27 suits pots and tiny gardens, M9 or M26 suit cordons and small trees, and MM106 makes a medium tree for an average garden. Dwarf rootstocks need a permanent stake.

Sowing and planting

Plant bare-root trees between November and March whenever the ground is not frozen; container-grown trees can go in at other times if watered diligently. Dig a wide, shallow hole, spread the roots, and keep the knobbly graft union well above soil level. Drive in a stake on the windward side before backfilling, then tie the trunk and mulch.

Spacing: Spacing depends on rootstock: around 1.5 m for M27 dwarfs, 3–5 m for MM106 half-standards. Keep the graft union above soil.

Care

Water young trees weekly through their first two summers and keep a clear, grass-free circle around the trunk. Mulch with compost each spring. Thin fruitlets in early summer to one or two per cluster so the remaining apples size up. Prune open-grown trees in winter, removing crossing and dead wood; cut trained forms such as cordons in late summer.

Harvesting and storing

An apple is ready when it parts from the spur with a gentle lift and twist. Early varieties are best eaten straight from the tree, while late ones often improve in store. Wrap sound fruit individually in paper and keep it in a cool, dark, airy shed, checking regularly and removing any that start to rot.

Common problems

Aphids curl young leaves in spring; ladybirds and earwigs usually catch up with them. Powdery mildew whitens shoot tips on susceptible varieties, so prune out infected tips in winter. Late frosts can blacken blossom and leave russeted rings on fruit. Honey fungus occasionally kills trees, showing as white sheets of fungus under the bark at the base.

Read more on the problems that most often hit apples:

Not sure what you're looking at? Try diagnosing it by symptom.

Month-by-month reminders

Jobs for apples come round in January, February, March, July, August, September, October, November and December. Each month page lists the rest of the garden's jobs for the same weeks.

Grow alongside

Sources

Names follow Kew's Plants of the World Online; timings and spacings reflect UK growing practice and were checked against the references below. Text is our own. See our editorial policy.