Apples, Part Two
Once you’ve determined what general size of apple tree you want to plant (see previous post), your next step in selecting tree stock is the variety of apple you want to grow. As you can imagine, there are thousands of apple varieties, since this fruit has been in cultivation for thousands of years. But most varieties aren’t widely available and, even if they were, don’t do well in the Maritime Northwest.
Fortunately, the Vashon Fruit Club’s website links to lists of varieties recommended for Island growers, and these lists are the ones to consult before making your selection. You might also want to visit the Bob Norton Memorial Orchard at Sunrise Ridge (check hours on the VFC website) to see what the Fruit Club is growing there. Other sites to consult are those of the Western Cascade Fruit Society, NW Fruit, and WSU Extension.
As you choose your trees, make sure chosen varieties are self-fertile (they pollinate themselves) or, if you’re planting more than one tree, either self-fertile or, if not, cross-fertile (they pollinate each other). This is less of a concern if you live in a part of the Island where other apple trees are growing and may provide sources of pollination for your trees. Even if you do, you might want to play it safe and provide your own pollination arrangement.
If you’re planting more than one or two trees (and depending on their size), you’ll want to consider choosing more than one variety of apple, for the simple reason that one day, if all goes as planned, you’ll have a lot of apples to manage. If you plant only one variety of tree, the fruit will all ripen at the same time, and you’ll need to eat, store, or process it all at once. To avoid this challenge, consider planting varieties that ripen across the picking season—say, from August into October.
In this same vein, consider whether the varieties you choose produce apples that store well (can be kept in a cool, dry place for weeks or even months after picking) or need to be eaten and/or processed right away.
Proneness to disease is another consideration in choosing apple varieties that work well on the Island. A major disease in our moist climate is scab. Scab is a leaf, flower, and fruit fungus that thrives in moist, maritime climates like ours and produces just what you imagine from its name. If you’re interested only in relatively common varieties of apples for personal consumption, you’ll want to choose scab-resistant tree varieties.
Many heirloom apple varieties or newer ones from other regions may not be scab-resistant, so if you’re interested in growing any of them, you can ignore this advice so long as you maintain ground hygiene, monitor for disease outbreaks, and probably establish a spray regimen.
Part Three in this series will discuss other pests needing management as well as planting requirements for apple trees.
