December Plant of the month…..Apple

Although apple trees are found in gardens all over the UK and some counties are renowned for their apples (think Somerset and cider), apple trees originated in the wild in central Asia.

There are many different varieties available, to suit gardens of any size. If space is limited, you can grow apple cordons, espaliers or fans against a wall or fence or grow dwarf apples tree in containers.

Apple trees tend to come as either eating apples or cooking apples, although dual-purpose apples are also available. Some varieties are self-fertile, so you only need one tree to produce apples, while others are self-sterile, so need to be cross-pollinated with other trees nearby.

Whether self-fertile or not, for good crops, grow two or more apple trees near each other that flower at similar times so they cross-pollinate.

Gardener’s World suggest growing some of these:

• ‘Arthur Turner’ – an early maturing cooker with yellow skin and a lovely sharp tang

• ‘Benenden Early’ – a large dessert, ready from August to September

• ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ – the classic cooker, green with a red blush. It stores well

• ‘Egremont Russet’ – popular for its distinct flavour. Late ripening, it will keep until Christmas

• ‘Ellison’s Orange’ – aromatic flavour, best eaten fresh in September/October

• ‘James Grieve’ – dessert/cooker, giving heavy crops of juicy, red-flushed fruit

• ‘Spartan’ – crisp, delicious and juicy, with red skin and pure white fresh

Apples are the plant of the month for December because this is a great time to either plant or prune your standard apple trees. Crossing, dead or diseased branches need to be removed and you can shorten the previous year’s growth by a third. The aim is to create an open structure to create good air circulation.