Apple should be ready to harvest this month. Check for size and colour.
Growing Calendar
This month: Sep
Log to journalReady to harvest now
- •Check size and ripeness
- •Harvest regularly
- •Store or use fresh
Watch Out For
Codling moth larvae tunnel into the fruit itself. Pheromone traps from May and removing any fallen, maggoty fruit promptly both help
Apple scab shows as dark, scabby patches on leaves and fruit, worse in wet springs. Rake up and bin fallen leaves in autumn rather than composting them
Canker (sunken, cracked bark, often on a wound or pruning cut) can girdle and kill a branch. Cut back to clean wood well below the visible damage
Grown Organically
Every method in this guide works with natural systems: no synthetic chemicals, no shortcuts.
Read our approachCommon Questions
About growing Apple in the UK
Do I need two apple trees to get fruit?
Often, yes. Most apple varieties need a different variety flowering at the same time nearby for pollination, though some self-fertile varieties exist. Check the variety's pollination group before buying just one tree, or choose a confirmed self-fertile one if space only allows for one.
What rootstock should I choose for a small garden?
M27 or M9 for the smallest trees (1.5–2m, good for pots), M26 for a slightly larger tree that's still manageable (around 3m). Vigorous rootstocks like MM106 are really for orchard-scale space.
When do I prune an established apple tree?
Winter, while the tree is dormant and leafless, for most free-standing forms. Trained forms (espalier, cordon) are pruned in summer instead, to control vigorous new growth rather than shape the whole tree.
How long until an apple tree fruits?
On a dwarfing rootstock, often 2–3 years for the first proper crop. On a vigorous rootstock, it can take 4–6 years. Remove any fruit that sets in the first year so the tree puts its energy into establishing roots instead.
Written from real growing experience, not just research. Read the story behind Pelham Gardens.
Member guides
There's more to growing Apple than this guide covers.
A Garden Journal to log what worked, a personalised sowing planner in My Garden, and monthly reminders timed to the calendar.
