Plant: Granny Smith - Apple Tree

Plant description

Apple is a deciduous tree in the rose family, native from Central Asia to Afghanistan, growing 15 to 30 feet tall and wide with a dense, erect, rounded form. Showy white flowers tinged with pink open in spring in cymes of four to six, followed by large, round, firm pomes with a waxy coating that ripen in late summer or fall and can be eaten raw or cooked in a variety of dishes. Grow it in full sun in moist, well drained clay, loam or sand of neutral to alkaline pH. Apples are generally easy to grow and tolerate a variety of soils, but they have frequent disease and insect problems and need a regular spraying program; most cultivars also benefit from cross pollination by a compatible variety. The bark is grey and smooth with raised lenticels.

Flowers

The 1 to 1 1/2 inch flowers are white with a pink tinge that gradually fades, five-petaled, in a cyme of 4 to 6 flowers.

Foliage

Very variable leaf shape and size; the underside has raised veins and may or may not be pubescent.

Fruit

Large, round, firm fruits that often have a waxy coating; some varieties ripen in late summer and some in the fall.

Bark & stems

Bark looks similar to Prunus species, grey and smooth with raised lenticels; the tree has long shoots and short spurs, with flowers borne on the spurs.

Native range

Central Asia to Afghanistan

Plant details