By Garry 
Apple: sowing, planting, growing and harvesting
Learn when to sow, plant, care for and harvest apple in your garden.
🌱 Apple : key growing facts
📅 Growing calendar
Indicative Northern Hemisphere temperate-climate calendar only. Adjust to local frost dates, climate, variety and growing conditions. In the Southern Hemisphere, seasons are approximately six months later.
🔎 Growing specifications
🧺 Harvest readiness & expected yield
When to pick
Lift and twist gently; a mature apple detaches readily and has developed the cultivar’s typical colour and flavour.
What to expect
Varies greatly with plant age and cultivar
Indicative only; variety, climate and care affect harvests.🌿 How to grow successfully
🤝 Companion planting
Maintain pollinator-friendly flowering plants nearby, while allowing room for pruning and picking.
↔️ What to avoid
Avoid planting fruit trees or bushes too deeply and neglecting mature plant size.
🐛 Pests and diseases
Check regularly for aphids, slugs and fungal disease.
🧤 Ongoing care
Mulch, prune appropriately and protect ripening fruit.
🧺 Harvest and storage
Pick at species-specific ripeness and cool or process promptly.
🧑🌾 From sowing to harvest
Prepare the soil
Improve drainage and remove weeds across a wide planting area; do not bury the graft union.
Sow or transplant
Plant healthy nursery stock in a suitable season; water thoroughly and mulch without covering the stem.
What to monitor
Monitor blossom frost, pests, water stress and ripening fruit; net crops where birds cause losses.
When and how to harvest
Lift and twist gently; a mature apple detaches readily and has developed the cultivar’s typical colour and flavour.