I'm planning to plant two apple trees in my garden, and I want some recommendations! One tree should be around 4 meters tall and have a wide spread, while the other should be about 3 meters tall and more compact. I'm located in the West Midlands, UK, so the trees need to be good for cross-pollination with each other. Ideally, I'd love to have them produce nice eating apples that are red in color. I understand there are many types out there, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
2 Answers
If you want two eating apple varieties that not only look great together but also cross-pollinate well, consider planting Tickled Pink and Red Falstaff. They're both in pollination group 3, so they'll work together just fine. Tickled Pink has beautiful pink flowers and apples with pink flesh, making it a standout in your garden. Red Falstaff has a more subtle look with white flowers that have a hint of pink. For the sizes, you might choose MM106 rootstock for the taller tree (~4m) since it grows wide, while the smaller tree could go on M26 rootstock for compactness. If you want it even smaller, M9 is an option, but it will need staking due to its weaker roots.
I’ve got a few apple trees myself, and I'd recommend going for Discovery and Cox Orange Pippin. Discovery fruits in late August, making it perfect for summer snacking, and is super sweet with a lovely red hue. Cox Orange Pippin, often called the ‘Rolls Royce of apples’, fruits later in the season, around late October. The staggered harvest means you can enjoy fresh apples for a long time! I keep my Discovery tree in a pot, keeping it to about 6ft tall, and it produces around 30 apples. The flavor is unbeatable! Just a heads up, my spouse loves how they look so much that she gets grumpy when I start picking them! ?