Which apple tree for my garden?

[BeatTheSeasons]

I would like to plant just one apple tree in the lawned end of my garden so that we can sit in the shade when we need to during the summer.

I guess that means I need a tree that will grow to about 3 metres high with enough of a canopy for a few people to sit underneath.

Can anybody recommend a good all-round eating apple and the best rootstock for this size? We garden organically and so we need good disease resistance.

I'm not sure how many apples we are likely to get off a 3 metre tree, but if it's a lot then it would be better if they could be stored for a few months.

There are a few other apple trees in nearby gardens. I think they are mostly quite early varieties (ready from mid-Aug to mid-Sep).

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

[FB.]

Based on my observations (I used to live in Cambridge, have friends in Cambridge and I now live a few miles out of Cambridge), the soil is below average - quite shallow and quite dry as a result of either gravel or chalky subsoil and the fact that Cambridge is the lowest rainfall city in Britain.

In my experience, this can mean that apple trees grow much smaller (more precisely; they grow more slowly). If you plan to grow the tree in a lawn, the competition from grass will also reduce growth rate by competing for water and nutrients.

If you have soil like myself, my friends or like my old addresses, then you may as well throw away all the text books that tell you how big your tree will get as many of the published figures are for trees in fairly good soil, that are sprayed to prevent pests or diseases.
Pests (ranging from aphids to caterpillars) will either suck the nutrients out of the tree, or eat the light-gathering leaves. Both actions slow down the growth.
Diseases, such as scab or mildew, will damage some of the leaves, again reducing the light-gathering ability of the tree.
Throw in a below-average soil and lack of penetrating rainfall and you'll soon find that "dwarf" or "semi-dwarf" rootstocks have no vigour once the pests and diseases have taken their toll.
Additionally, most apple books don't mention much about "powdery mildew", but I can assure you that in this area, it is a crippling disease and varieties without some natural resistance will be a lost cause unless you plan to spray.

If the grass remains green for most of the summer, then I'd suggest MM106 rootstock wuld be OK.
If your grass is prone to dying off for most of the summer, then you may want a slightly stronger rootstock, such as MM111 or possibly M25.

There is a well-stocked and very competitively priced fruit tree nursery near to Fordham, called "Simpsons".
42 Station Road, Fordham, Ely, Cambs - CB7 5LW, tel 01638 720194
Note that there are two different nurseries within a mile of each other, so make sure you get the correct one with the big stock of fruit trees!
I think that Simpson's may have connections with, or be the same company as this one:
> Website link here <

The largest rootstock that you'll normally encounter is MM106, which has the benefit of being fairly resistant to woolly aphids, which, in this area, are a serious and disfiguring pest that make the branches twisted, knobbly and split.

Simpson's stock a good range of trees, including many "bush" trees, a few half-standards and the occasional "standard".
Remember that once the nursery has "stopped" the tree to cause side branching, the trunk height is locked-in unless you gradually prune off lower branches as the tree grows.

I don't think that pollination would be a problem, since there are plenty of apples or crab apples around that should pollinate your tree. If, after a few years, the flowers are still not turning into fruits, then you could consider a cordon to act as pollinator, but I really don't think that you'll have a problem with pollination.

While I can't remember which varieties you may find, I'd suggest that if you go for MM106 rootstock, that you choose quite a vigorous variety to ensure adequate strength to compete with the grass.

As for varieties.....
I'd go for something quite vigorous and with at least average resistance to disease.
Varieties that I'd choose to reach 3-4m for rootstock MM106 in the "typical" conditions of this area (your conditions may not be typical!): in alphabet order:

Howgate Wonder
Jupiter
Tydeman's Late Orange
Winter Gem


You may find this tree size estimator to be of value for rootstock/variety/soil/size estimation:

Fruit tree mature height calculator

It is also easier to reduce the vigour of a slightly-too-strong tree than it is to increase the vigour of a tree that is too small/slow-growing.

I apologise if I am breaking forum rules by posting the link.

[BeatTheSeasons]

Thanks for that really helpful and comprehensive reply, FB. I've started looking into the varieties you recommend, and I'll get myself along to the nursery.

Do you think planting an apple tree for shade is sensible in itself? Would I need to prune it to a 'standard' shape to achieve this?

[FB.]

Thanks for that really helpful and comprehensive reply, FB. I've started looking into the varieties you recommend, and I'll get myself along to the nursery.

Do you think planting an apple tree for shade is sensible in itself? Would I need to prune it to a 'standard' shape to achieve this?

I find that it in this area, it is too hot, dry and sunny, and that gardens actually do better with partial shade. My best-growing apple trees/bushes are the ones planted where walls or fences give partial shade, which keeps the ground cooler and more moist. Lack of moisture retention in the soil is a big problem in this area and is made worse by low rainfall, relatively high amounts of sunshine and the drying effect of the strong breeze blowing across the very flat landscape.

Much is said about how apple trees need to be pruned, but, in fact, if you plant a newly-grafted "maiden" tree of a moderate vigour variety, it will usually grow into quite a nice bush-tree (3-4m size) without any pruning at all. It will even form branches as close as 1-2ft from the ground, but they can be pruned off up the trunk to create a clear stem.

I say "moderate" vigour because they tend to branch and form fruit spurs quite easily. The more vigorous varieties tend to like to have their branches more widely spaced and are slower to form spurs. I think that it's referred to as "inter-node" distance - the preferred distance at which that tree would normally form branches if left to its own devices.

Unfortunately, I doubt that the widely-available MM106 rootstock will have enough vigour in the typical soil of Cambridge, unless the roots are planted in partial shade, where the ground remains moist for longer. That is why I suggested a fairly vigorous variety, but many of them will need pruning to encourage branching. The Tydeman's Late Orange or Winter Gem branch quite readily without much pruning, but Howgate Wonder and Jupiter just want to go straight up.
I've also found "Jumbo" to be quite vigorous and have excellent natural branching tendency. I had a Jumbo because of its nice branching, but the MM106 rootstock it was grafted onto died from canker/crown rot earlier this year. The tree had above-average resistance to scab, slight resistance to mildew and about average resistance to canker.