Planting guide

When to plant apple

A classic backyard tree; plant bare-root in the dormant season and pick fruit in autumn. In Melbourne it goes in Jun–Aug.

Start as: Bare-root plant or Potted plant
Ready in: 3+ years to the first crop
Spacing: 300 cm
Depth: 0 cm
Sun: Full sun (6+ hours)
Water: Regular
Effort: Some care
Frost-tender: No

When it goes in

● means apple can go in that month, ○ means wait. Worked out from each town's climate zone and season, the way planting guides do it. Pick your town for the full list for that month.

Australian towns and cities
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sydney	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Melbourne	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Brisbane	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Perth	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Adelaide	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Gold Coast	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Newcastle	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Sunshine Coast	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Canberra	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Central Coast	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Geelong	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Wollongong	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Hobart	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Townsville	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Cairns	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Toowoomba	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Darwin	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Ballarat	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Mandurah	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Bendigo	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Launceston	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Mackay	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Rockhampton	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Coffs Harbour	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Blue Mountains	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
Bunbury	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Bundaberg	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Alice Springs	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Mildura	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Port Macquarie	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○

Around the world
Town	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Auckland	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Wellington	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Christchurch	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	●	○	○	○
London	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Manchester	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Edinburgh	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Dublin	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
New York City	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Los Angeles	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Chicago	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Seattle	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Austin	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Toronto	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Vancouver	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Cape Town	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Johannesburg	○	○	○	○	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○
Singapore	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Mumbai	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○
Paris	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	●
Berlin	○	●	●	●	○	○	○	○	○	○	○	○

How to plant apple

Plant bare-root trees in winter when dormant.
Check pollination needs; grow two compatible varieties.
Prune in winter to an open shape.
Pick when fruit lifts easily with a twist.

Apple varieties

Classic varieties are the reliable, widely grown ones. Adventurous ones are heirlooms, odd colours and rarities.

Gala Classiclow-chill · sweet · 21–29 wksCrisp, sweet, reliable apple
Granny Smith Classicstorage · heavy-cropper · 24–31 wksGreen cooker/eater
Pink Lady Classicstorage · sweet · 26–33 wksTart-sweet with a pink blush
Fuji Classicsweet · storage · 24–31 wksVery sweet, crisp apples
Cox's Orange Pippin Adventurousheirloom · sweet · 21–27 wksFine British flavour, needs cool climate
Bramley Classicheavy-cropper · disease-resistant · 21–27 wksBritish cooking apple
Jonathan Adventurousheirloom · 21–27 wksOld red apple; tangy and juicy
Anna Classiclow-chill · 21–27 wksLow-chill variety for mild-winter areas

Where to buy seedlings

Search on QP Seedlings Search on Amazon

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Shops shown are for Australia. The chooser picks shops for your country.

Good companions

Chive, Garlic, Nasturtium

Apple by month

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec

More to plant

Lemon · Lime · Fig · Avocado · Banana · Mango

Not sure apple is right for your space? Answer a few taps and see everything that can go in this week.

Find what else you can plant now