How to Grow Apple
Apple At a Glance
Difficulty
Moderate
Category
Tree Fruit
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Hardy
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -34°C
Plant Family
Rosaceae
Growing Season
Cool Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Buy a young grafted tree (a named apple joined onto roots that set its size) and plant it in early spring while it is still bare and leafless, about 4 weeks before your last frost. Soak bare roots in a bucket of water for a few hours, then plant so the bump where the graft joins sits above the soil. Space dwarf trees about 3 m apart and water deeply.
Apples do not come true from seed, so trees are always grafted, and the roots decide the size: dwarf trees stay small enough for pots and small spaces. Most apples need a different apple or crabapple flowering nearby to set fruit, so plant two kinds or check that a neighbour has one. Expect your first apples about 3 years after planting.
When To Start
Apple likes cool weather. Sow it in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Apple?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Apple Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Apple Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Plant your apple tree while it is still bare and leafless
30 days before your last frost· every year
Prune your apple tree while it is still bare
45 days before your last frost· every year
Pick apples that lift off with a gentle twist
30 days before your first frost· every year· optional
Water your new apple plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
Checking in on your apple tree! Water deeply about once a week this first season, more in hot, dry spells.
About 30 days after you plant it
Your apple tree is settling in. Keep grass and weeds pulled back from the trunk so the young roots get all the water.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Apple's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Plant apples in full sun, at least 6 to 8 hours a day, and choose a variety bred for cold winters where you live.
- 2Mix compost into the planting hole and spread a layer of mulch around the tree, keeping it a hand's width away from the trunk.
- 3Water deeply once a week for the first 2 years, and during dry spells after that.
- 4Feed with a layer of compost each spring.
- 5Prune in late winter while the tree is bare, cutting out dead, crossing and inward-growing branches, and thin the tiny fruits to one per cluster for bigger apples.
- 6Pick up fallen apples quickly to break the cycle of the worms that tunnel into them, and keep pets from chewing the seeds, leaves and stems, which are toxic to them.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
400 cm
Mature Height
300 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
30 days
When to Pick
2 to 4 years to first fruit on a grafted dwarf; pick late summer to fall when fruit lifts off with a gentle twist
How to Harvest
- 1Apples are ready when the skin under the red or green colour turns from green to yellow and the seeds inside are brown.
- 2Cup an apple in your hand and lift it with a gentle upward twist: a ripe one comes away easily with its stem.
- 3Pick over several visits, since apples on one tree ripen at different times.
- 4Handle them gently, because bruised apples rot quickly and spoil the ones beside them.
- 5Keep the best ones in the fridge or a cold room, and use bruised ones for sauce or baking right away.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
Still have a question?
Ask your coach about your apple.
This page covers what we thought to write down. Your apple will do something it never mentions, and that is the day a coach beats a guide. Ask Coach Lumen one question right now, free, no account.
