How to plant and care for Apple (Discovery)

Malus domestica

🌳 Tree 🍓 Fruit 🔁 Perennial

The best early apple: crisp, juicy, bright-red fruit with a hint of strawberry, straight from the tree in August. Frost-hardy blossom and good disease resistance.

At a glance: harvest in August.

When to plant and care for it

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Harvest

Prune

Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.

Growing Apple (Discovery): what it needs

Light: Full sun · 6+ hours a day
Watering: Water weekly in dry spells for the first two summers
Soil: Fertile, well-drained soil · pH 6.0–7.0
Spacing: 3–4 m (M26 rootstock)
Height: 3 m
In pots: Best in the ground
Feeding: General fruit feed in late winter; mulch in spring
Hardiness: USDA zones 4–8
Difficulty: Easy

Step by step

On planting day
Plant the Tree
Plant at the same depth it grew in its pot, in a hole twice as wide as the root ball, 3–4 m (M26 rootstock) from other trees. Firm and water well.
0–1 days after “Plant the Tree”
Stake and Tie
Drive a short stake in on the windward side and fix it with a soft tree tie. Loosen the tie each spring so it never cuts into the bark.
0–2 days after “Stake and Tie”
Water In Deeply
Soak the root area with a full can, then keep the soil moist (not wet) for the first few weeks.
7–21 days after “Water In Deeply”
Mulch the Base
Spread 5–8 cm of compost or bark mulch in a 1 m circle, keeping it clear of the trunk.

Every year

January
Winter Pruning
Prune while dormant: remove dead, diseased and crossing wood and shorten the main leaders by a third to keep an open shape.
March
Spring Feed and Mulch
Scatter a fruit feed over the root area and top up the mulch.
July
Thin the Fruit
After the June drop, thin to one or two apples per cluster, 10–15 cm apart, for bigger fruit.
Starts from year 2.
August
Summer Pruning
Shorten this year's side shoots to three leaves to let light reach the fruit.
August
Harvest Apples
Pick when an apple comes away with a gentle lift and twist. Eat within a couple of weeks — early apples do not store.
Starts from year 2.
November
Clear Fallen Leaves
Rake up fallen leaves and fruit to cut down scab next year.