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Apple trees are small deciduous trees that grow from between 3 and 12 metres tall and have a broad dense crown. The leaves of the apple tree are ovoid; the flowers tend to be white with a hint of pink. Apples are harvested from the apple tree from autumn and many varieties have good storage qualities.

Apple trees have been cultivated for thousands of years; Malus siversii is the wild ancestor and still fond today in Western Asia. Apples are deeply embedded in human culture and are present in both mythology and religion from Norse, Greek and Christian traditions. There are more than 7500 known varieties of apple but only 15 varieties make up 97% of the French commercial crop. France produces in excess of 2.2 million tons of apples a year, yet consumption of apples in France is so high it has become the largest importer of foreign apples in Europe. Normandy (the region our shop is located) is France’s largest production region and known for its use of the apple in its local cuisine, together with the making of wonderful ciders and the much loved Calvados.

There is nothing like home grown food – taste, freshness and minimal loss of nutrients are all a benefit to producing your own crop from your apple trees. But the biggest problem for those growing from home is how to store the apples. For home storage, most varieties of apple can be held for approximately two weeks, when kept in the coolest part of the refrigerator (i.e. below 5 °C). Some types, including the Granny Smith and Jonagold, can be stored up to a year without significant degradation.

Three of the more common diseases/pests are mildew, aphids and apple scab.

Mildew:

This is characterized by light grey powdery patches appearing on the leaves, shoots and flowers, normally in spring. The flowers will turn a creamy yellow colour and will not develop correctly. This can be treated by using a copper sulphate solution. We recommend using this.

Aphids:

There are five species of aphids commonly found on apples: apple grain aphid, rosy apple aphid, apple aphid, spiraea aphid and the woolly apple aphid. The aphid species can be identified by their colour, the time of year when they are present and by differences in the cornicles, which are small paired projections from the rear of aphids. Aphids feed on foliage using needle-like mouth parts to suck out plant juices. When present in high numbers, certain species reduce both the tree growth and its vigour. This can be treated with an organic insecticide. We recommend using this.

Apple scab:

Apple scab causes leaves to develop olive-brown spots with a velvety texture that later turn brown and become cork-like in texture. The disease also affects the fruit, which also develops similar brown spots with velvety or cork-like texture. Apple scab is spread through fungus growing in old apple leaves on the ground and spreads during warm spring weather to infect the New Year’s growth. This can be treated by a little bit of work during the early winter by picking up all the leaves that have fallen to the ground and either disposing them at your local rubbish tip or burning them.



Return to our selection of Apple Trees here.