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Grow Succulent Apples

© Geoffrey Ian Miller

Evidence suggests modern apple varieties began as hybrids of wild western Asian native species. Ancient Greece grew apples in 600 BC. Europeans introduced apples to countries like the US and Australia. Most apple varieties require 1000 to 1200 hours of chilling for about two months, followed with a mild summer. New varieties have a lower chilling requirement enabling them to be grown in certain warmer regions.

Grafting produces the best fruit bearing trees on to suitable rootstocks. Seek advice on which varieties suit your local area. Just one apple tree alone will produce fruit, but cross-pollination from other trees sets the best fruit. Purchase one or two years old trees and plant about mid to late fall. Apples will respond better to transplanting whilst in their dormant period. Plant trees of different varieties 10metres apart.

Apples are tolerant of a broad range of soils, but consider clay loam the best. Test the pH of your soil. An acid soil requires 500 grams of lime and 250 grams of rock phosphate over each planting area. Dig planting holes just large enough for the root system. Plant the tree 10cms lower than the container's level.

Supply enough organic mulch like hay or grass clippings for the soil to retain moisture and limit weed growth. Incorporate 500 grams of chicken manure to the mulch for every tree. Apply mulch at regular intervals as the old mulch gradually breaks down and the trees grow.

Some apple varieties only bear well every second year, with light crops every other year. Prevent this by thinning excess fruit in good years to give the tree strength for the following year.

Flower buds and fruit develop on the tips of the branches, or on short two years old spurs along the branches. Train apples to a central leader to develop a strong trunk with several well-spaced lateral branches to form the tree. As trees mature, pruning mainly involves removing crowded branches. Annual apple tree pruning encourages new growth shoots and continual fruiting spur development. Large vegetative growth may indicate too heavy pruning. A large crop of small fruit indicates too little pruning.

Keep trees well watered in dry climates.

Every spring feed each tree with 500grams of chicken manure, 100 grams of rock phosphate and 25 grams of mineral fertiliser. Supplement this with a bucket of compost evenly distributed under the mulch. As trees reach maturity increase this to a kilo of chicken manure, 150 grams of rock phosphate and two buckets filled with compost. Increase the thickness of mulch to 25cm.

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