Landscaping Idea - How To Grow Apples

How To Grow Apples

The first thing you need to grow apples is a long-term commitment. Growing apples takes considerable time and quite a bit of work. Still, if one of your fondest childhood memories is the apple tree in your backyard, producing your own apples is a satisfying part of gardening.

Site Selection

Before you begin growing apples, make sure you have room for at least two trees. Typically, two apple trees bear enough fruit to keep a family of four in good supply. Apple trees need to grow in full sun, which means they need at least six hours of sunlight each day. Even dwarf varieties need to be spaced at least 8-feet apart. It is also essential to provide your trees with good drainage. Although apple trees tolerate a variety of soil types, they prefer sandy loam to sandy clay loam with a pH of about 6.5.

Choosing cultivars

You probably wonder why you need two trees to grow apples. Apple trees are self-incompatible. Simply put, this means that even the most industrious bee (bees are the chief pollinators of apple trees) can't persuade two trees of the same variety to bear fruit. So, to grow apples you usually need two trees of different varieties. Some nurseries offer apple trees that have two or more compatible cultivars grafted on the same tree; but to be on the safe side (and to get enough apples for a family of four) you still need two trees. A flowering crab will also pollinate your fruit-bearing apple tree and is useful in pest deterrence, as you'll see later in this article.

Although apples trees grow from seed, it takes several years and a significant amount of nurturing to produce an apple harvest from seed. The easiest way to begin growing apples is to purchase either bare root or container grown trees from your favorite garden nursery.

In addition to fruit size, taste, and color, your nursery professional can recommend trees that are cold hardy for your area, bloom at approximately the same time, are pollination compatible, and are disease resistant. You'll find that purchasing disease resistant cultivars makes a generous cut in your apple tree maintenance time!

When selecting trees from a catalog or Internet site, you need to make these comparisons between cultivars. Look for catalogs and sites that list compatible cultivars for you.

How high your tree grows also depends on the type of tree you plant. Dwarf varieties reach 8 to 10-feet in height, semi-dwarf trees grow 10 to 15-feet tall, and standard trees may reach heights of 20-feet or more.

Although their yield is less, dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstock typically bears the same size fruit as standard size trees and is overall easier to manage.

Linda is an author of Gardening Tips Tricks and Howto's. The next part of this article is available at our site Gardening-Guides.com, where you can also download the whole series as a free full color e-book. Just follow the links.

Car Insurance Rates | Dental Insurance | Health Insurance | Home Owner Insurance | Life Insurance Quote

| 1 | 2 |

How To Create A Wildflower Garden
In today's gardens often populated by geraniums, roses, and zinnias, wildflowers can provide a simple and graceful flair. Almost any garden or ...(related: Landscaping Idea)

How To Grow Chocolate Cosmos
Chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguinea) is both nose and eye candy for your garden. When it's in full bloom, mature blossoms on long, slender stems look like candy kisses on a stick and fill the late afternoon with the sweet scent of vanilla tinged chocolate. New blossoms hug the foliage of the plant, nearly concealing it with their numbers! Add to that the sweet chocolate fragrance and you end up with something very special.Although chocolate cosmos is endangered in the wild, transplants are easily found at most nurseries and garden centers in the spring. However, gardeners who are inexperienced in how to grow chocolate cosmos may overlook what seem to be...(related: Landscaping Idea)

Rosemary: The Herb Of Remembrance And Friendship
Rosmarinus officinalis, commonly called rosemary is an aromatic herb indigenous to the Mediterranean area. Rosemary is traditionally known as the herb of remembrance and friendship. Also known as Mary's mantle and compass weed, rosemary is a lovely, sweet scented, shrubby perennial in Mediterranean countries that can be grown as an annual in Northern climates or as an indoor potted plant. Rosemary has needlelike leaves and delicate light blue flowers. Mature plants can live for over 30 years.Rosemary grows best in full sun but will tolerate semi-shade. This plant grows best in light, well-drained soil. Let rosemary become moderately dry betwe...(related: Landscaping Idea)

Mint: The Herb Of Hospitality
The Mentha species or mints as they are commonly called include many varieties that flavour everything from appetizers to desserts. The best-known species in North American are peppermint (M. x piperita) and spearmint (M. spicata), which are highly valued for commercial use. Mint symbolises "hospitality" and can be grown in pots and containers indoors and out. In the garden, mint should be grown with a barrier around the roots, as it can be extremely invasive. Most mints do not come true from see...(related: Landscaping Idea)

Poly Tarps: More Than Meets The Eye
To many people, "tarp" conjures an image of a crumpled canvas in the corner of the garage, or maybe that shiny blue plastic sheet in the hardware store.But tarps are the beneficiary of some of the best technology in textile and chemical treatments. And so they have been adapted to many uses, whether at home, in the garden, on a camping trip, in the workshop, in the industrial yard, or on the construction site.The workhorse of all tarpaulins, there are more color, material, construction, and size combinations in poly tarps than for any other. Th...(related: Landscaping Idea)

High Intensity Discharge Grow Light (generic)
HID lamps are categorized in three groups :Mercury Vapor , Metal Halide, and Pressurized Sodium. For plant cultivation, Metal Halide (MH) or Pressurized Sodium (HPS and LPS) are the ones commonly used in grow rooms.Mercury Vapor - Mercury Vapor lamps are common, but they are not the most energy efficient for lighting plants or anything else. Mercury Vapor lamps have an averag...(related: Landscaping Idea)

Basic Lawn Care - Mowing, Scarifiers, Aeration, And Watering Tips
The arrival of summer heralds a time of increased wear and tear for the average garden lawn. Children's yard games, barbecue parties, outdoor sports and generally more activity in the garden means your lawn is set to come in fo...(related: Landscaping Idea)

Rose - The Flower Of Love And Romance
What is the flower that everyone visualizes and associates with love or romance? ‘Rose’ is the instant answer by anyone. The rose is placed on a high pedestal by almost all the ancient civilizations which is indicated by the fact that the flower has been associated with numerous myths and legends. Numerous instances abound in the Greek, Roman, Hindu, Jew and Egyptian mythologies and legends. No wonder, the flower is a delight to the viewer and has made inroads into our everyday lives and true to its importance the rose has been acclaimed as the ‘queen of flowers’.No occasion is c...(related: Landscaping Idea)

Letting Nature Grow Your Garden
It is wisest to let Nature have Her way. Nature has her own agenda, and your life as a gardener will be easier if you bow to Her desires. Better to dance with the fairies than struggle with eliminating "weeds". What herbs already grow around you that you can use as teas and seasonings? Most areas are rich in such plants, both native and introduced. Many of them will be happy to grace your garden with very little effort on your part. Some will appear; others may want to be transplanted. Still others are simply there, waiting for you to notice.For instance, pine trees. Pine needle vinegar is an exquisite treat that is easy to make. I call it homemade "balsamic" vinegar. Fill a jar with pine needles. (I prefer white pine, and pinyon pine is even better, but the needles of any pine are fine.) Cover needles completely w...(related: Landscaping Idea)