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Fruit tree

Apple

Malus domestica

A deciduous fruit tree for crisp autumn fruit, well suited to the Adelaide Hills and cooler suburbs with summer watering. Most varieties need a pollination partner that flowers at the same time, so check before you buy or choose a self-fertile type. Plant bare-rooted in winter and mulch well.

When to plant where you live

Checking your area…

Add apple to my garden

Planting times for other areas

Varieties (4)

  • Dwarf (on dwarfing rootstock, e.g. M26)Choose dwarfing rootstock for pots and small yards; crops sooner but needs staking and steady watering
  • GalaSweet early-season apple; good for fresh eating; partners well with Granny Smith or Pink Lady
  • Granny SmithAustralian classic for cooking and eating; reliable cropper and good pollinator for other varieties
  • Pink LadyAustralian-bred, crisp and sweet-tart; late harvest, stores well; needs a pollinator such as Granny Smith

Neighbours

Grows well with

From seed to plate

  1. Plant

    400 cm apart. Full sun.

  2. Water

    Deep water in summer.

  3. Feed

    Compost and a balanced feed in spring.

  4. Pick

    Pick when fruit twists off easily.

Good to know

  • Thin fruit to one or two per cluster after fruit set for bigger apples and to stop biennial bearing
  • Water deeply every week in summer; dry spells during fruit swell cause small, cracked fruit
  • Prune in winter to an open vase or central leader shape and keep the tree to picking height

Common problems

  • Codling moth (grubs inside fruit)band trunks with corrugated cardboard and check weekly, pick up fallen fruit, bag young fruit; use pheromone traps to time action
  • Apple scab (dark blotches on leaves and fruit)rake up fallen leaves in autumn, prune for airflow; in wet springs use a registered fungicide following its label directions
  • Woolly aphid (white fluffy clusters on stems)brush off small colonies, encourage ladybirds and hoverflies; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding
  • Fruit flypick ripe fruit promptly, destroy fallen fruit and follow current SA biosecurity guidance if outbreaks are declared in your area
  • Birds and possumsnet trees from fruit set; use a frame so netting doesn't sit on the fruit

If you use a garden chemical, follow the label exactly. Try organic options first, and ask the community or Plant Doctor if you're unsure.

Ask the garden helper about appleAny question, answered from the plant libraryHow others are growing appleQuestions, tips and harvests from the community

Guides

Safety: Seeds, stems and leaves contain cyanogenic glycosides; the fruit flesh is safe.

Where this information comes from

Reviewed by AI cross-check (Claude), not a horticulturist on 27 Oct 2026. Version 2.