apple varieties

Discussion in 'Outdoor Gardening in the Pacific Northwest' started by westgatea, Oct 4, 2007.

  1. westgatea

    westgatea Active Member

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    could you suggest a small, disease free apple for a small home garden, given the dampness of the climate here? Somemthing that would bear soon would be welcome..... how about Jonafree or Liberty? Any recommendations?
     
  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Apples require cross-pollination, more than one kind must be present for good cropping - and you have to pair up specific cross-compatible combinations. "Disease-free" is not likely, but various kinds are resistant here - enough to make them acceptable without spraying (codling moth and apple maggot are another matter, if these show up they may have to be dealt with to get appealing fruit).

    The new columnar cultivars (sold using the term "Colonnade") seem to be OK here, the branching habit is certainly ideal where space is a concern. Otherwise, you get smallness by choosing those grafted onto fully dwarfing rootstocks, these may need to be grown with a support as the non-vigorous root system that heavily dwarfs the top may not be able to keep the tree upright as the top grows larger.
     

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