apple tree

[rita1]

hello all

i was wondering what is the best apple tree to buy, i want a grafted apple tree that will grow to 5 feet, i like my apples sweet, juicy and hard, which would be the best one to buy. also i have a couple of fruit trees when should i trim them back as they have grown very well for there first year.

[orangepippin]

In order to keep the height to around 5ft you will need to choose the M27 rootstock for your tree.

Some varieties to consider that meet your criteria: Christmas Pippin, Fiesta, Jupiter, Winter Gem. (Although all these have a bit of a tang to them now I think about it, but still pretty sweet).

[Penellype]

James Grieve is a nice variety that is self fertile and widely available on M27 rootstock.

What fruit are the trees you want to prune? Different sorts of fruit require very different pruning methods.

[boundtothesoil]

i like my apples sweet, juicy and hard, which would be the best one to buy.

Two additional points you might want to consider. Firstly, do you want it to be ready to harvest,early, mid or late season? Secondly, do you want a variety that you pick in one go, or one that has an extended picking season (i.e. several weeks). Lord Lambourne is a good quality and reliable mid season variety, which can be left on the tree and picked over for several weeks. Discovery is an equally good earlyish variety. Both are relatively disease free where I live in West Wales. There must be several others that can be picked over several times. In my experience, the later the variety the more likely it is to suffer bird damage in a garden situation.

[TrialAndError]

also i have a couple of fruit trees when should i trim them back as they have grown very well for there first year.

Prune them when they are dormant, early January to mid-February.