Explore fruits.im
apples.fruits.im
The big facts page

171 apple facts, all checked

Every fact on this site in one place, each linked to its RHS, National Fruit Collection, Britannica, National Trust or Common Ground source. Our build checks each one against the source text; see the sources page. Things that can change carry the date we checked them.

Jump to: Choosing a tree | Rootstocks and tree shapes | Planting and care | Pollination | Blossom and picking dates | Pruning | Thinning, harvest and storing | Pests and problems | Famous varieties | Apple botany | History

About the numbers

Gardens, soils and summers differ, so treat the figures here as the usual guide, not a promise. Tree heights are the RHS’s for each rootstock grown as a bush. The blossom and picking dates come from the National Fruit Collection’s own records for one tree of each variety in Kent, so your dates will shift with your weather and where you live. Figures that change, such as how many varieties are listed, show the date we checked them (31 Oct 2026).

Choosing a tree

  1. 1 The RHS calls apples probably the easiest and most popular tree fruit to grow. RHS: How to grow apples
  2. 2 An apple tree gives you spring blossom, dappled summer shade and a crop of fruit in autumn. RHS: How to grow apples
  3. 3 Apples come as dessert (eating), cooking and dual-purpose varieties. RHS: How to grow apples
  4. 4 Modern varieties are often more resistant to disease than traditional ones. RHS: How to grow apples
  5. 5 More than 60 apple varieties hold the RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). RHS: How to grow apples · checked 31 Oct 2026
  6. 6 The RHS Find a Plant database lists more than 700 apples. RHS: Choosing apple cultivars · checked 31 Oct 2026
  7. 7 A “family” tree has three cultivars grafted onto one tree: handy where there’s no room for more than one tree. RHS: Choosing apple cultivars
  8. 8 Many cooking apples become sweeter in storage. RHS: Choosing apple cultivars
  9. 9 The RHS picks apple ‘Saturn’ AGM as one of the best tree fruits for a garden. RHS: Choosing the best fruit trees
  10. 10 Apples like full sun and a warm, sheltered spot that isn’t prone to late frosts. RHS: How to grow apples
  11. 11 Bare-root trees are sold only from late autumn to early spring, while they’re dormant, and are usually cheaper than trees in pots. RHS: How to grow apples
  12. 12 Trees in containers are on sale all year and can be planted any time, though winter is best. RHS: How to grow apples
  13. 13 A maiden is a young tree, about 1m tall, old enough to have a few small side branches. RHS: Training an espalier
  14. 14 A whip is a young tree that is just a slender stem with no side branches yet. RHS: Training an espalier
  15. 15 Gardeners say “variety”, but the correct botanical word for a named apple like ‘Discovery’ is “cultivar”. RHS: Stepover training

Rootstocks and tree shapes

  1. 16 Apple trees are sold as two plants joined together: a rootstock, which controls the tree’s size, and a cultivar, which forms the top. RHS: Stepover training
  2. 17 M27 is extremely dwarfing: it starts fruiting after two years and makes a tree about 1.2–1.8m (4–6ft) tall. It suits small gardens with fertile soil. RHS: Fruit tree rootstocks
  3. 18 M9 is dwarfing: it starts fruiting after two or three years and makes a tree about 1.8–2.4m (6–8ft) tall. It needs staking for good. RHS: Fruit tree rootstocks
  4. 19 M26 is dwarfing and ideal for containers. It starts fruiting after two or three years and makes a tree about 2.4–3m (8–10ft) tall. RHS: Fruit tree rootstocks
  5. 20 MM106 is semi-dwarfing: it starts fruiting after three or four years and makes a tree about 3–4m (10–13ft) tall. It’s the most widely used rootstock, but too big for small gardens. RHS: Fruit tree rootstocks
  6. 21 MM111 is vigorous, for standards and half-standards: it starts fruiting after four or five years and makes a tree about 4–4.5m (13–15ft) tall. RHS: Fruit tree rootstocks
  7. 22 M25 is very vigorous: it takes five or six years to start fruiting and makes a tree over 4.5m (15ft) tall, for a full standard. RHS: Fruit tree rootstocks
  8. 23 For small gardens, pots and cordons, the RHS suggests a dwarfing rootstock such as M9 or M26. RHS: How to grow apples
  9. 24 M27 is the best rootstock for a stepover; M9 is useful for stepovers on poor soil. RHS: Stepover training
  10. 25 A bush tree has a clear trunk of about 75cm (30in) before the branches start; a half-standard about 1.35m, and a standard about 2m. RHS: Choosing the best fruit trees
  11. 26 A cordon is restricted by pruning to one main stem, upright or at 45°, with short fruiting side-shoots called spurs. RHS: How to grow apples
  12. 27 An espalier is trained flat against a wall or fence, with a central stem and tiers of horizontal arms. Most have three or four tiers and reach about 1.8m tall and 3–4.5m wide. RHS: Training an espalier
  13. 28 Established espaliers need pruning every year in late summer, or they slowly turn back into ordinary trees. RHS: Training an espalier
  14. 29 A stepover is a tiny tree with a short trunk, usually 45–60cm tall, and one or two arms trained sideways to make a T-shape, low enough to step over. RHS: Stepover training
  15. 30 The two arms of a T-shaped stepover can stretch to 3–3.5m in total. RHS: Stepover training
  16. 31 Tip-bearing apples, which fruit at the ends of their shoots, aren’t suitable for stepovers. RHS: Stepover training
  17. 32 For a pot, choose an M9 or M26 tree and a container at least 45cm (18in) across, filled with John Innes No 3 compost. RHS: How to grow apples

Planting and care

  1. 33 Soak a bare-root tree’s roots in a bucket of water for about half an hour before planting. RHS: How to grow apples
  2. 34 Plant trained trees about 30cm (1ft) out from a wall or fence. RHS: How to grow apples
  3. 35 In a lawn, clear a circle at least 1m (3ft) across around the tree, so grass doesn’t compete with it. RHS: How to grow apples
  4. 36 Water newly planted trees regularly in dry spells for their first couple of years. RHS: How to grow apples
  5. 37 Apples in pots like a high-potassium liquid feed every fortnight in the growing season. RHS: How to grow apples
  6. 38 Feed fruit trees in late winter or early spring; mulch them in mid to late spring and in autumn. RHS: Feeding and mulching fruit trees
  7. 39 Mulch a newly planted fruit tree every year for its first three or four years, to hold in moisture and keep weeds and grass down. RHS: Feeding and mulching fruit trees
  8. 40 Most fruit trees need plenty of potassium, which helps buds and fruit develop. Cooking apples need more nitrogen than eating apples. RHS: Feeding and mulching fruit trees
  9. 41 Plants need three main elements: nitrogen (N) for growth, phosphorus (P) for roots and potassium (K) for fruit and flowers. RHS: Feeding and mulching fruit trees
  10. 42 In early summer trees shed some young fruit by themselves. This is the “June drop”, and it’s normal. RHS: How to grow apples
  11. 43 Pick off any fruits in the year after planting, and let only a couple grow in the second year, so the young tree puts its energy into growing. RHS: How to grow apples

Pollination

  1. 44 Most apples need a partner: another variety nearby that flowers at the same time, so insects can carry pollen between them. RHS: How to grow apples
  2. 45 Fruit tree flowers are usually pollinated by flying insects such as honeybees, bumblebees, flies, beetles and wasps. RHS: Fruit pollination
  3. 46 Bees can fly 3–4km, but the RHS rule of thumb is to plant partner trees within 18m (55ft) of each other. RHS: Fruit pollination
  4. 47 In a built-up area there are often other apple trees close by, so one tree may be enough in your garden. RHS: Fruit pollination
  5. 48 Apples are sorted into flowering groups. Grow two or more varieties from the same group or a neighbouring one. RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  6. 49 The RHS chart runs from Flowering Group 1 (very early) to Flowering Group 7 (very late). RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  7. 50 The RHS numbers its groups; some nurseries use letters instead, so group 1 is A and group 2 is B. RHS: Choosing the best fruit trees
  8. 51 Triploid apples such as ‘Bramley’s Seedling’, ‘Ribston Pippin’ and ‘Blenheim Orange’ make mainly sterile pollen, so they can’t pollinate other trees. RHS: Fruit pollination
  9. 52 If you grow a triploid, you need two other trees that pollinate each other and the triploid, all flowering at the same time. RHS: Fruit pollination
  10. 53 Crab apples are very useful pollinators for apples, because they flower heavily over a long period. RHS: Fruit pollination
  11. 54 Some apples are self-fertile or partly self-fertile, including ‘Greensleeves’, ‘James Grieve’, ‘Red Windsor’, ‘Scrumptious’, ‘Saturn’ and ‘Sunset’. RHS: Choosing the best fruit trees
  12. 55 Even self-fertile trees tend to crop better with another variety planted nearby. RHS: Fruit pollination
  13. 56 Only apples (including crab apples) pollinate apples: a pear tree won’t do it. RHS: Choosing the best fruit trees
  14. 57 Two famous apples can’t pollinate each other: ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ and ‘Kidd’s Orange Red’. RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  15. 58 Group 3 is the biggest group on the RHS chart, with ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’, ‘Discovery’, ‘James Grieve’, ‘Sunset’, ‘Worcester Pearmain’ and ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ (a triploid). RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  16. 59 ‘Egremont Russet’ is in Flowering Group 2. RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  17. 60 ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Ellison’s Orange’ are in Flowering Group 4. RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  18. 61 ‘Edward VII’ flowers late, in group 6, and ‘Crawley Beauty’ is alone in group 7. RHS: Apple pollination groups (PDF)
  19. 62 At the National Fruit Collection in Kent, ‘Egremont Russet’ trees started flowering on 30 April and ‘Sunset’ on 3 May in the collection’s records. National Fruit Collection: Egremont Russet

Blossom and picking dates

  1. 63 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ reached 10% flowering on 6 May, full flowering on 12 May and 90% petal fall on 18 May, and is picked in early October. National Fruit Collection: Bramley's Seedling
  2. 64 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ reached 10% flowering on 9 May, full flowering on 13 May and 90% petal fall on 20 May, and is picked in late September. National Fruit Collection: Cox's Orange Pippin
  3. 65 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Egremont Russet’ reached 10% flowering on 30 April, full flowering on 7 May and 90% petal fall on 14 May, and is picked in late September. National Fruit Collection: Egremont Russet
  4. 66 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Discovery’ reached 10% flowering on 7 May, full flowering on 12 May and 90% petal fall on 19 May, and is picked in mid-August. National Fruit Collection: Discovery
  5. 67 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Worcester Pearmain’ reached 10% flowering on 1 May, full flowering on 3 May and 90% petal fall on 11 May, and is picked in early September. National Fruit Collection: Worcester Pearmain
  6. 68 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Blenheim Orange’ reached 10% flowering on 6 May, full flowering on 12 May and 90% petal fall on 19 May, and is picked in late September. National Fruit Collection: Blenheim Orange
  7. 69 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Ribston Pippin’ reached 10% flowering on 3 May, full flowering on 8 May and 90% petal fall on 16 May, and is picked in late September. National Fruit Collection: Ribston Pippin
  8. 70 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Granny Smith’ reached 10% flowering on 6 May, full flowering on 10 May and 90% petal fall on 18 May, and is picked in mid-October. National Fruit Collection: Granny Smith
  9. 71 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Golden Delicious’ reached 10% flowering on 7 May, full flowering on 11 May and 90% petal fall on 19 May, and is picked in late October. National Fruit Collection: Golden Delicious
  10. 72 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘James Grieve’ reached 10% flowering on 5 May, full flowering on 10 May and 90% petal fall on 18 May, and is picked in early September. National Fruit Collection: James Grieve
  11. 73 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Sunset’ reached 10% flowering on 3 May, full flowering on 9 May and 90% petal fall on 16 May, and is picked in late September. National Fruit Collection: Sunset
  12. 74 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Katja’ reached 10% flowering on 7 May, full flowering on 12 May and 90% petal fall on 21 May, and is picked in early September. National Fruit Collection: Katja
  13. 75 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Lord Lambourne’ reached 10% flowering on 2 May, full flowering on 8 May and 90% petal fall on 15 May, and is picked in mid-September. National Fruit Collection: Lord Lambourne
  14. 76 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Ellison’s Orange’ reached 10% flowering on 8 May, full flowering on 13 May and 90% petal fall on 21 May, and is picked in mid-September. National Fruit Collection: Ellison's Orange
  15. 77 In the National Fruit Collection’s records, ‘Spartan’ reached 10% flowering on 7 May, full flowering on 12 May and 90% petal fall on 18 May, and is picked in early October. National Fruit Collection: Spartan

Pruning

  1. 78 Prune free-standing apple trees in winter, and trained shapes such as cordons and espaliers in late summer. RHS: How to grow apples
  2. 79 Winter pruning of bush and standard apple trees is done between November and early March. RHS: Winter pruning apples
  3. 80 Take off only about 10–20% of the canopy in any one winter. Prune too hard and the tree throws up lots of vigorous upright “watershoots”. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  4. 81 Aim for an open centre, so light can ripen the fruit and air can move through the tree. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  5. 82 Most of the fruit grows on young wood, one to four years old. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  6. 83 Don’t just trim the top like a haircut: it gives a thicket of non-fruiting shoots and cuts off the fruit of tip-bearers like ‘Bramley’ and ‘Discovery’. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  7. 84 A fully pruned tree might only need 10–20 cuts in total, mostly on branches 1–5cm thick. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  8. 85 There’s no need for pruning paint on apple trees. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  9. 86 Grey-green crusty growths on the branches are lichen, which does the tree no harm. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  10. 87 Some apples are tip-bearers or partial tip-bearers, fruiting at the ends of their shoots: ‘Blenheim Orange’, ‘Bramley’s Seedling’, ‘Discovery’, ‘Lord Lambourne’ and ‘Worcester Pearmain’, for example. RHS: Winter pruning apples
  11. 88 On an established tree, thin crowded spurs so they are about 10–15cm apart. RHS: Winter pruning apples
  12. 89 Trained apples are summer-pruned from mid to late August, about ten days later in the north. RHS: Summer pruning apples
  13. 90 In summer pruning, cut side-shoots longer than 20cm back to three leaves above the cluster at their base. RHS: Summer pruning apples

Thinning, harvest and storing

  1. 91 Thin your apples after the June drop, finishing by mid-July. RHS: Thinning fruit
  2. 92 Thin cooking apples to one fruit every 15–23cm (6–9in), and eating apples to one or two every 10–15cm (4–6in). RHS: Thinning fruit
  3. 93 When thinning, also take off the “king” fruit at the centre of each cluster, which is sometimes oddly shaped. Leave one fruit per cluster. RHS: Thinning fruit
  4. 94 A ripe apple comes away easily when you give it a slight twist. RHS: How to grow apples
  5. 95 When sound-looking apples start falling off the tree (windfalls), the crop is usually ready to pick. RHS: Harvesting fruit
  6. 96 Ripening times vary from year to year with the local weather. RHS: Harvesting fruit
  7. 97 Early apples don’t keep: eat them within a few days of picking. RHS: How to grow apples
  8. 98 Store only unblemished apples, in slatted crates or trays, not touching, somewhere cool, frost-free, airy and dark. RHS: How to grow apples
  9. 99 The ideal store is 4–7°C (39–46°F). Apples can’t take temperatures below 2.8°C (37°F). RHS: Storing fruit
  10. 100 Mid-season apples keep for about 4–8 weeks. RHS: Storing fruit
  11. 101 Late apples often aren’t ready to eat until they’ve been stored for 4–5 weeks, and then keep for several months. RHS: Storing fruit
  12. 102 Good keepers include ‘Jonagold’, ‘Winston’ and ‘Lane’s Prince Albert’. RHS: Storing fruit
  13. 103 Keep stored fruit away from strong smells such as paint, fertilisers and onions, which can taint it. RHS: Storing fruit
  14. 104 In a fridge, keep 2–3kg of apples in a plastic bag with a few holes in it. RHS: Storing fruit
  15. 105 Cooking apples can also be frozen. RHS: How to grow apples
  16. 106 When one tray is perfectly ripe, take it out of the store: the gases it gives off can speed up ripening in the rest. RHS: Storing fruit

Pests and problems

  1. 107 The caterpillar of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella, is the classic “maggot” in a maggoty apple. RHS: Codling moth
  2. 108 Inside a codling-damaged apple you’ll find a tunnel to the core and the caterpillar’s droppings (frass). Damaged fruit tends to ripen and drop early. RHS: Codling moth
  3. 109 Codling moths come out in late May and June and lay eggs on or near the young fruit until mid-July. Each caterpillar feeds in the core for about four weeks. RHS: Codling moth
  4. 110 Pheromone traps, put up in May, catch male codling moths. On their own they rarely control the moth, but they show when it’s about. RHS: Codling moth
  5. 111 Apple scab is a fungus, Venturia inaequalis. It makes olive-green blotches on leaves and dark, scabby patches on the fruit. RHS: Apple and pear scab
  6. 112 A light attack of scab only marks the skin, and the apples eat just as well. RHS: Apple and pear scab
  7. 113 Scab survives the winter on fallen leaves, so clearing them up helps. RHS: Apple and pear scab
  8. 114 Scab-resistant apples include ‘Discovery’, ‘Charles Ross’, ‘Ellison’s Orange’, ‘Lane’s Prince Albert’ and ‘Emneth Early’. RHS: Apple and pear scab
  9. 115 Apple canker, caused by the fungus Neonectria ditissima, makes sunken patches of dead bark on branches. It’s worse on wet, heavy soils. RHS: Apple canker
  10. 116 Apples prone to canker include ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’, ‘James Grieve’ and ‘Spartan’. RHS: Apple canker
  11. 117 Woolly aphid, Eriosoma lanigerum, covers patches of trunk and branches in fluffy white wax, and its feeding causes soft, lumpy growths in the bark. RHS: Woolly aphid
  12. 118 Earwigs on fruit trees can cut aphid numbers. A flower pot loosely stuffed with hay, hung in the tree, gives them a home. RHS: Woolly aphid
  13. 119 Bitter pit, dark spots on apples late in the season or in store, is linked to a lack of calcium in the fruit, often after dry soil. RHS: Bitter pit in apples
  14. 120 Brown rot spreads out from wounds in the fruit, especially ones made by birds, codling moth and scab. It often shows as buff-coloured pustules in rings. RHS: Brown rot
  15. 121 Shrivelled “mummified” fruits left on the tree carry brown rot, so prune them out and bin or burn them. RHS: Pruning apples made easy
  16. 122 Some apples, such as ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ and ‘Blenheim Orange’, tend to crop heavily one year and hardly at all the next. This is called biennial bearing. RHS: Biennial bearing
  17. 123 Wasps make holes in fruit bigger, and can sting if you disturb them while picking. RHS: Harvesting fruit

Famous varieties

  1. 124 ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ was raised by Mary Ann Brailsford in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, between 1809 and 1813, and sold by nurseryman H. Merryweather from 1865. National Fruit Collection: Bramley's Seedling
  2. 125 The National Fruit Collection calls ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ the most popular cooking apple grown in the UK. National Fruit Collection: Bramley's Seedling
  3. 126 ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ was raised in about 1825 by Richard Cox at Colnbrook Lawn, Slough, and sold by Charles Turner from about 1850. National Fruit Collection: Cox's Orange Pippin
  4. 127 ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ grew from a ‘Ribston Pippin’ seed. It is in turn a parent of ‘Sunset’, ‘Fiesta’, ‘Kidd’s Orange Red’ and many more. National Fruit Collection: Cox's Orange Pippin
  5. 128 ‘Ribston Pippin’ was grown at Ribston Hall in Yorkshire from a seed brought from Rouen, and planted in about 1707. National Fruit Collection: Ribston Pippin
  6. 129 ‘Blenheim Orange’ was found by Mr Kempster at Woodstock, near Blenheim in Oxfordshire, in about 1740. National Fruit Collection: Blenheim Orange
  7. 130 ‘Egremont Russet’ was first recorded in 1872 and is probably the most important commercial russet apple in the UK. National Fruit Collection: Egremont Russet
  8. 131 ‘Discovery’ was raised in about 1949 by Mr Drummer, a workman on an Essex fruit farm. It was first called ‘Thurston August’, and renamed in 1962. National Fruit Collection: Discovery
  9. 132 ‘Discovery’ is a cross between ‘Worcester Pearmain’ and ‘Beauty of Bath’. National Fruit Collection: Discovery
  10. 133 ‘Discovery’ is an early apple for August and September, and it can’t be stored. RHS: Choosing apple cultivars
  11. 134 ‘Worcester Pearmain’ was raised by Mr Hale of Swan Pool, near Worcester, and sold from 1874. National Fruit Collection: Worcester Pearmain
  12. 135 The RHS says ‘Worcester Pearmain’ has a slight strawberry flavour. RHS: How to grow apples
  13. 136 ‘Granny Smith’ was raised by Mrs Thomas Smith in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia, where her trees were fruiting by 1868. She was born in Peasmarsh, Sussex, in 1800. National Fruit Collection: Granny Smith
  14. 137 ‘Golden Delicious’ was a chance seedling found in 1890 by A.H. Mullins in Clay County, West Virginia, and sold by Stark Brothers from 1914. National Fruit Collection: Golden Delicious
  15. 138 ‘James Grieve’ was raised by James Grieve in Edinburgh and first recorded in 1893. National Fruit Collection: James Grieve
  16. 139 ‘Sunset’ was raised in about 1918 by G.C. Addy at Ightham in Kent, and named in 1933. It has a Cox-like flavour. National Fruit Collection: Sunset
  17. 140 ‘Fiesta’ was raised in 1972 at East Malling Research Station in Kent, from ‘Cox’s Orange Pippin’ crossed with ‘Idared’. National Fruit Collection: Fiesta
  18. 141 ‘Lord Lambourne’ was raised in 1907 by Laxton Bros. at Bedford, from ‘James Grieve’ crossed with ‘Worcester Pearmain’. National Fruit Collection: Lord Lambourne
  19. 142 ‘Ellison’s Orange’, from Lincolnshire, has soft, juicy flesh with a strong aniseed flavour. National Fruit Collection: Ellison's Orange
  20. 143 ‘Spartan’ was raised in 1926 at Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, from ‘McIntosh’ crossed with ‘Yellow Newtown Pippin’. National Fruit Collection: Spartan
  21. 144 ‘Katja’ (also sold as ‘Katy’) was raised in 1947 at the Balsgård fruit breeding institute in Sweden. National Fruit Collection: Katja
  22. 145 The RHS describes ‘Howgate Wonder’ as a late cooking apple with huge fruits, great for baking. RHS: How to grow apples
  23. 146 The RHS describes ‘Egremont Russet’ as golden-brown with a distinct nutty flavour. RHS: How to grow apples

Apple botany

  1. 147 Apples belong to the rose family, Rosaceae. The garden apple is Malus domestica. Britannica: Apple
  2. 148 An apple is a pome: a fleshy fruit where the ripened ovary and the tissue around it both become fleshy and good to eat. Britannica: Apple
  3. 149 Most apples are roundish and 5–10cm (2–4in) across when picked: red, green or yellow, depending on the variety. Britannica: Apple
  4. 150 There are thousands of apple varieties. Britannica: Apple
  5. 151 Britannica sorts apples into three classes: cider, cooking and dessert varieties. Britannica: Apple
  6. 152 Apple blossom has five petals, white and often tinged with pink. Britannica: Apple
  7. 153 Apple flowers are pollinated by bees such as honeybees and the blue orchard bee. Britannica: Apple
  8. 154 Apple trees need a proper winter rest, so they grow best between latitudes 30° and 60°, north and south. Britannica: Apple
  9. 155 Orchards are often planted on slopes so that cold air drains away on frosty spring nights, sparing the blossom. Britannica: Apple
  10. 156 In orchards, the chosen variety is usually grafted onto a young seedling rootstock. Britannica: Apple
  11. 157 Late-summer apples store badly; some late-autumn apples can be kept for up to a year in cold stores. Britannica: Apple
  12. 158 In the first quarter of the 21st century, the biggest apple growers in the world were China, the United States and Turkey. Britannica: Apple · checked 31 Oct 2026
  13. 159 Popular eating apples in the USA include Honeycrisp, Red Delicious, Gala, Granny Smith and Golden Delicious. Britannica: Apple

History

  1. 160 The apple we grow was domesticated from a wild apple, Malus sieversii, in the Tien Shan mountains of Central Asia, some 4,000 to 10,000 years ago. Britannica: Apple
  2. 161 From Central Asia the apple travelled west along the Silk Road, crossing with wild crab apples on the way. The European crab, Malus sylvestris, added the most. Britannica: Apple
  3. 162 Distinct apple varieties were recognised more than 2,000 years ago. Britannica: Apple
  4. 163 Johnny Appleseed was a real man, John Chapman, a nurseryman who planted apple trees across Ohio and Indiana. Britannica: Apple
  5. 164 The UK’s National Fruit Collection, at Brogdale Farm near Faversham in Kent, is one of the largest fruit collections in the world, with around 3,500 named cultivars of apple, pear, plum, cherry, vine and cob nut. National Fruit Collection · checked 31 Oct 2026
  6. 165 The apple tree at Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire, Isaac Newton’s birthplace, first put down roots around 400 years ago. It’s a ‘Flower of Kent’, a cooking apple. National Trust: Things to do at Woolsthorpe Manor
  7. 166 The National Trust calls the falling-apple story a scientific legend, but one believed to be broadly true. National Trust: Woolsthorpe Manor’s history
  8. 167 In 2015 pips from Newton’s tree went to the International Space Station with British astronaut Tim Peake, and came back to Earth in 2016 to be grown into young trees. National Trust: Things to do at Woolsthorpe Manor
  9. 168 ‘Flower of Kent’ has been known since at least 1629. National Fruit Collection: Flower of Kent
  10. 169 Apple Day, 21 October, was started in 1990 by the charity Common Ground, to celebrate the huge variety of apples and the orchards we could lose. Common Ground: Apple Day
  11. 170 The first Apple Day filled 40 stalls in the old Apple Market at Covent Garden in London. Common Ground: Apple Day
  12. 171 Apple Day events grew from more than 60 in 1991 to over 600 in 1999. Common Ground: Apple Day