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Apple Varieties and How to Use Them

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Breakdown of apple varieties and how to use them

Photo: Pixabay

Not all apples are the same.  With over 7000 varieties of apples, it is wise to learn which types are best for what you want the apple.  Some apples are more soft, some more crunchy and crispy, some mealy, some tart, some sweet, and so on.  Of course, which apple you use can be all subjective, but in the world of apple connoisseurs, there are some apples more suitable for different needs.

Here is a list of some of the more popular apple varieties and how to best use them.

Take a bite of a crisp apple from the apple tree

Photo: Pixabay

Fresh Eating Apple Varieties

There are so many different tastes for different people’s likings.  Here are some of the most popular.

  • Braeburn
  • Fuji
  • Gala
  • Cameo
  • Golden Delicious
  • Granny Smith (for a tart taste)
  • Honeycrisp
  • Empire
  • Pink Lady or Cripps Pink
Baked whole apples with cinnamon and raisins

Photo: Pixabay

Baking Apple Varieties

Popular apples for pies, apple sauce, apple butter, and baking whole.

  • Granny Smith  (in our opinion the BEST pie apple)
  • Braeburn
  • Golden Delicious
  • McIntosh
  • Rome Beauty
  • Cortland
  • Jonagold
  • Jonathan
  • Gala
  • Melrose
  • Honeycrisp
  • Winesap
  • Cameo
  • Avoid these apples in pie because they become mealy with baking:  Cortland, Gala, and Red Delicious
Hot apple cider tastes good on a cold fall day.

Photo: Pixabay

Cider Apple Varieties

It is proven that the best tasting cider comes from using a variety of all types of apples.  One neighbor who owns a press once told me “The more varieties, the better!”

  • Gala
  • Rome Beauty
  • Golden Delicious
  • Grimes Golden
  • Jonathan
  • Red Delicious
  • McIntosh
  • Fuji
  • Braeburn
  • Jonagold
  • Cortland

Realize that these lists are not complete by any stretch of the imagination. Remember the 7000 plus varieties?  Our shorter more concise list will be a good place to start!

As you decide what apple you want to have on your own lot, for a great harvest, be sure to check your local garden center for what apple trees do well in your area.  Not all apple trees like to be planted just anywhere. Temperature plays an important role in producing a worthwhile crop.  Read How to Choose an Apple Tree to learn more.

 

 

How to Choose an Apple Tree in Utah

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Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees and the apple tree is one of the easiest fruit trees to grow.  Surprisingly, how to choose an apple tree is easy to learn as well.  Learn these three basic criteria as you prepare for this investment.  Nearly all apple trees require a second variety close by in order to pollinate.  So as you are considering, be sure to have a first and second choice.

How to Choose an Apple Tree – 3 Criteria:

  1. Right SIZE – Choose the right size of tree for your space.  You need to look at your space and maybe even measure the space so you know what you are purchasing.
  2. Right VARIETY – Type of fruit desired.  Do you want fresh eating apples, or just cooking apples?  You will be investing time and effort into you tree, so they may as well be apples that will please you and serve your purpose.
  3. Right TIME – When does it flower and when is harvest time.  Apples require a second variety to cross-pollinate, therefore you want 2 apples trees that will bloom about the same time.

SIZES of Trees:

  • Standard size tree – can grow to 25-30 feet tall along Wasatch Front with a spread of 25-30 feet.  You need a large area for the standard size tree.  Standard trees take 4-8 years to produce mature fruit.  These trees are very good in cold-climates, but be ready to prune every year.
  • Semi-dwarf (sometimes called half-standard) – can grow 12-15 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and same width if not pruned.  This tree will have mature fruit in 3-5 years.
  • Dwarf or Genetic Dwarf tree or Bush trees – Can grow 6-10 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and just as wide.  These trees produce mature fruit in 3-4 years.
  • Others:  There are several other types of fruit trees.  These would include espalier and columnar.  See your local experts at the neighborhood nursery for what will grow in your area and for availability.

Nearly all semi-dwarf and dwarf or bush trees are grafted.  Growers graft or attach the desired fruiting branch to a “rootstock” trunk.  The rootstock determines how big your tree will get.  Shopping your reputable local garden nursery will ensure that you are buying a quality product – good grafting onto a quality rootstock.  There are different rootstocks for different areas.  Your local nursery experts will only sell what will work here along the Wasatch Front, versus a big company back east somewhere that orders for their stores throughout the country.

VARIETY of Fruit:

There are literally over 7000 apple varieties.  Obviously many more than what you find at the local grocery market.  Visiting a good local farmers market can expose you to other varieties you can taste before you make an investment into your own tree.

Click HERE to see a basic break down of the more popular varieties and their best uses.

 

Remember that your tree is your investment, so you want to produce something you will use and enjoy for years and years to come.  Apples trees can live as long as 60 years or more.

TIMES for Blooming:

As mentioned above, nearly all apples need a pollinator apple tree in the general area.  If you have neighbors that have apples trees, planting one in your yard should still give you plenty of harvest.  But if you are the only one, then you may need to plant two different varieties of apples.  For example, in commercial orchards, farmers often plant some golden delicious apple trees along with their main crop.  Golden Delicious trees are known to be good pollinators.  Be sure to choose two varieties that overlap their flowering time.

Midseason bloomers:

  • Crimson Beauty
  • Gala
  • Jonamac
  • Jonathan
  • McIntosh
  • Golden Delicious
  • Jonagold
  • and others

Late bloomers:

  • Fuji
  • Granny Smith
  • Rome Beauty
  • Winesap
  • and others

Poor pollinators:  Jonagold and Winsesap (plus a few more), are considered poor pollinators.  Don’t plan on them being your pollinating tree.

Hardiness and Cold Requirements:  Be sure to check at your local garden center for those varieties that are actually hardy for your area.  You need to choose an apple tree that will survive your climate year round.  And on the other hand, realize that apples require a certain amount of cold temperatures to have the sugars set and the fruit to ripen properly.  If the fruit doesn’t get the required coldness, the fruit will be a disappointment for all the time and effort you’ve put into your harvest.

For example, my parents planted a Red Delicious apple down south in the area of St. George, Utah.  The fruit grew but never turned red and always had a mealy texture and flavor. The fruit never was like their Red Delicious apples from their trees up in northern Utah.  The tree eventually was cut out.

Conclusion:

Now you know the basic criteria for how to choose an apple tree.  You need to consider the right size of tree, the right type of apple, and the right blooming time for good pollination. What a great investment for your yard, yourself, and your family!

In future posts, we will go through proper planting procedures, learn about any pest control needed, and how and when to properly prune your tree.   Soon you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Check out these recipes for apple goodies (submitted by Western Garden patrons):

Simple Apple Chips and Apple Pie Filling

Simple Applesauce and Apple Butter

 

 

Six Favorite Shade Trees to Beat The Heat

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Welcome Gardeners! Looking for a good shade tree?

Discover favorite shade trees to cool you off.

With the heat of summer quickly approaching, check out our six favorite shade trees that will help you stay cooler as you enjoy being outside longer. These favorites are easy to care for and do well in our mountain desert climate once established.

Favorite Shade Trees List:

Autumn Blaze Maple (Acer x freemanii)Another of our favorite shade trees is Autumn Blaze Maple

Our number one favorite shade tree Autumn Blaze Maple is a cross between a red and a silver maple. It is fast growing (up to 3ft per year), tolerates a variety of soils and is easy to care for. In the fall, the leaves turn bright red for which it gets the name “autumn blaze”.  This maple variety can grow up to 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide and prefers full to part sun. This tree is a great option if you’d like a fast growing, easy to care for tree with show stopping colors in the fall.  An easy pick for our top favorite shade trees list.

Japanese Zelcova (Zelkova serrata)Leaf of the Japanese Zelcova looks similar to Elm leaf, but is more disease resistant.Japanese Zelcova tree is one of our favorite shade trees

The Japanese Zelcova is an underutilized species that has started to become more popular. It is considered a shade tree, but also showcases an ornamental quality with its vase like shape. Zelvocas look similar to an elm, but are disease and pest resistant. Once they are established, they are also drought tolerant. Mature height is around 60 feet tall with yearly growth between 1-2 feet. It does best in full to part sun. Zelcovas are ideal for planting by driveways or side walks because their roots will not disrupt the concrete like other trees root systems. The leaves also showcase deep red and orange hues in the fall.  A beautiful choice and will be part of your favorite shade trees to have in your yard.

Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

honeylocust leaves are small, light, and airy.

Photo by: David J. Stang – WikimediaCommons

Honeylocust, both thorn and thornless, is yet another tree that is fast growing and tolerant of many soil types. Mature height is between 30-70’ tall, and grows up to 2 feet per year.  It provides lightly filtered shade.  Honeylocust have small delicate leaves that turn a bright yellow in the fall and then blow away, leaving very little to rake up.  They can also be used to stabilize hillsides and control erosion.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

The Ginkgo is an underutilized species here in Utah, and has many unique characteristics to it. It is actually considered a living fossil, and some trees can live as long as 3,000 years! It grows 25-50 feet tall in maturity with a vase-like canopy reaching 25-30 feet wide. Yearly growth rate is 13’’-24’’ per year and tolerates a variety of soils. It is best if planted in full sun to part shade. This is another tree that grows well next to driveways and concrete. One of the unique features of this tree is its fan shaped leaf. Female trees do bear a fruit that can be messy, so ask your local gardening expert to pick out a male tree.

Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)Eastern Redbud is a great tree to create shade and it is beautiful in all four seasons.

The Eastern Redbud is the magenta flowering beauty blooming in spring.  It’s the first tree we see in spring which makes people say, “Wow! Look at that tree’s color.”  It’s unique green heart shaped leaf turns yellow in the fall.  As a moderate grower, it will peak up to 20-25 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It is tolerant of most soils and likes even moisture throughout the season, being less drought tolerant than our other favorite shade trees. This native Eastern American tree offers four seasons of unique beauty, following up in winter with a beautiful branch structure and course bark.

Tulip Tree  (Liriodendron tulipifera)

The unique Tulip Tree is another shade tree for your yard.

Photo: Pixabay

Another native North American tree, the Tulip Tree is a wonderful majestic beauty.  Considered a perfect stand-out front yard tree, it also is often used for shade in the back yard.  The wonderful shade tree is long lived, fast growing, tolerant of most soils, and very cold hardy.  The yellow tulip like bloom opens in late spring and it’s leaves turn yellow in autumn.  Be ready for its unique structure to reach 40-60 feet high and be 15-25 feet wide.  Once established it is drought tolerant.

How to Create a Green Privacy Screen

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Welcome Tree Lovers!  Want a green privacy screen in your yard?

Sometimes a six foot fence doesn’t provide the kind of a soft green privacy screen you’d like in your yard. You may want to block out an unwanted view like a neighbor’s second story.  Or you just want to create a feeling of your own private retreat in your backyard.  My mother’s favorite bumper sticker is “Trees are the answer.”  A green privacy barrier can make for a beautiful soft addition to your yard while doing the job you create it for.  Trees to the rescue!

First consider if you want a “green” fence year round (evergreens), or if you’re ok with a seasonal “fence” aka “deciduous” meaning that in the winter the trees lose their leaves and the barrier consists of trunks and branches. Below are some suggestions for creating a beautiful “green” fence to add interest, privacy and height to your yard.

Evergreens

Columnar Norway Spruces (Picea abies ‘Cupressina’)

Columnar Norway spruces make a good green privacy screen.These are one of my favorite trees, with dark green needles and a columnar shape. Mature height at 10 years is 20 feet with widths of 5-6 feet. Can grow to 30 feet tall. These are fast growing, and require full sun. Plant 5-6 feet apart for more of a hedge look. If you’d like the branching to stay tight, look for a “wellspire” variety of the Columnar Norway Spruce.

Hicks Yew (Taxus x media ‘Hicksii’)

Hicks Yews make a good evergreen and soft wall.These are an evergreen shrub with a slow growth rate. Mature height is 10-12 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide. These also do well as foundation plantings and require partial to full sun. They have delicate dark green foliage. In the above photo, the hicks yew add height and privacy to a 6′ iron and stone fence.  Beautiful!

Pyracantha

Pyracantha creates a great evergreen shrub privacy screen. No one wants to come through it!This is a fast growing shrub or tree, that does well in sun, part shade, or shade. It has green foliage year round, and berries that attract birds. Be warned, it has sharp thorns that are great at keeping unwanted people/animals out. Pyracantha is fast growing and if you begin trimming it, you will continue painfully doing so every 4 weeks forever.  Letting to grow naturally (without trimming), will quickly give you a high green privacy screen.  The variety Yukon Belle grows to 8-10 foot high privacy screen.  It grows 6-8 feet wide so be wise where you plant.  Some varieties grow to be 12 feet tall and wide.  Ask your local expert at Western Gardens what variety is best for your yard.  There are several.

Pyracantha keeps everyone out of an area.

Berries of the pyracantha entice birds to your yard. Photo by: Pixabay

Deciduous

Hornbeam (Frans Fontaine or Fastigiata)

Hornbeams create beautiful barriers for a private yard.

Another favorite tree for creating green privacy screens or hedges is the Hornbeam.  It is a moderate growing, hardy tree with heights (depending on variety) of 30-45 feet in height and 10-35 feet in width. It does well in a variety of soils and isn’t too picky about sun exposure. You can plant this in a row and leave untrimmed or you can trim it into a neat hedge. The branching can get fairly dense, which provides a great privacy screen even in winter months. Once established, it is drought tolerant. The Frans Fontaine variety will stay more columnar in shape (30 feet tall and 10 feet wide) while the Fastigiata, also known as a European Pyramidal, has more of a triangular or pyramid shape.  Some varieties get a beautiful golden fall color.

Swedish Aspen

Another good green privacy screen is the swedish aspen.

Not to be confused with quaking aspen, Swedish Aspen are columnar fast growing trees. At maturity, these trees can reach 35-40 feet tall and 10 feet wide. They do well in full sun and have beautiful leaf colors in the fall. These are great for narrow spaces like lining a driveway, and they are quite hardy once established.

Planting your tree fence or hedge

Spacing the trees of your green privacy barrier depends on the type of tree or shrub you select.  You must keep in mind the width and height at maturity. For example, you don’t want to plant a tree one foot from an existing fence. Chances are that eventually, sooner or later, either your tree or your fence will have to move!  Your gardening experts at Western Gardens can help you decide how close to a fence or property line to plant as well as the spacing between each tree for your green privacy screen.

 

Planting New Trees 101- Secrets to Help Your New Tree Thrive!

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Welcome Friends! Glad you dropped in.

 

In Utah, spring and fall are the best times for planting new trees.  Here are a few secrets to help you find success with your new investment that will beautify and make your yard and home more enjoyable for a long time.

Planting New Trees Begin With Buying an Appropriate Healthy Tree

The first step to a healthy tree is to purchase from a quality local independent garden center or nursery. Big box stores tend to get trees that look okay for a season but suffer down the line because of poor soil, crowding, root chopping, inadequate root ball size, rough handling, and poor care.  Often these warehouse stores don’t own the plant inventory; it is on consignment, so less care is given to the material.  A local independent store, like Western Gardens, also has experts who can help you pick the right tree for the conditions at your house and your growing Zone. Check for trees that have 10’’-12’’ of root ball per inch in diameter of the tree trunk. When selecting a tree, take into account the mature height and width. Material from a quality grower usually has a tag indicating the mature height of the tree.  Some trees may look cute now planted a few feet from the house and close to another one, but after a few years this can become very problematic. Also consider planting a tree of an underutilized species in your area.

Planting new trees can be easy and satisfying.

Transport Your New Tree Home

Local independent gardening stores can deliver your tree for a nominal fee, and you can have the peace of mind knowing that it was transported carefully. If you are transporting your tree home yourself, make sure that it is properly secured and avoid going on the freeway or driving at high speeds. It’s preferable to transport them on their side in the back of a truck so that the leaves aren’t taking the brunt of the air flow as you drive. This can desiccate the leaves and put the tree into shock. As the tree is lifted in and out, be careful to handle gently. Dropping or rough handling can also put your tree into shock.

Evaluate the Branching of Your Tree and Decide Which Way It Should Face

This is often an overlooked step, or an after thought most of the time. Every tree has different branching and some have a better side than others when it comes to aesthetics. First place the tree in the spot where you’d like to plant it and turn it until the branching is how you like it . Take a few steps back, walk around, and look at it from different viewing angles. Consider the main viewing point for the tree, or other things like proximity to fences, driveways, side walks, and power lines.

Evaluate the branching of the tree before planting new trees.

Dig the Hole and Fill with Water

Dig the hole twice as wide and twice as deep at the root ball. If you are planting a tree that likes well drained soil, but you have clay soil, then be sure to dig the hole much wider and supplement with some good soil.  Bumper Crop mixed in with your soil is one of our favorite recipes.  The hole should not be deeper than the root ball itself.  Use your hose to fill the hole with water and let soak down a bit.  This insures that there will be good moisture deep down for the roots of your tree to take hold.

Planting New Tree in Hole – Rotate and/or Straighten

If your tree came out of a bucket, check to make sure the roots are not root bound, or circling around itself. If they are, take a razor blade or knife and cut an X on the bottom and make 4 cuts along the sides. If it was wrapped in burlap and/or with twine, remove any plastic twine because this will not decompose. Loosen the burlap.  These steps are important so that the roots do not become wrapped around itself causing the tree to girdle itself and die.  Place the tree in the hole and backfill it around the sides. Around the trunk, mulch can be 1’’ thick and then increase in depth up to 4’’ toward the outer edge of the rootball. Check and make sure the tree is straight. Also make sure that you can see the flare of the trunk; it should not be covered.

http://www.gardeners.com/how-to/tree-planting/8741.html

Image Credit: Gardeners.com

Watering A New Tree

Planting new trees into the ground isn’t the end.  Watering is very important.  The amount of water varies on the type of tree and soil conditions at the planting site. If you are unsure, ask your local gardening expert. Trees should be watered when planted and also the following day. Then follow with every 3 days or so. The first 2 years of the tree’s life are the most important for establishing roots. When you water, try to do a slow drip so that it can soak down deep and encourage deep roots. Some sprinkling systems may provide adequate watering, but try to avoid high pressure sprinkler heads from spraying the trunk of your tree. It’s not necessary to fertilize trees during their first season.

Monitoring Tree Growth and Health

Don’t forget to monitor the health of your tree as time passes by. If you notice the leaves or needles look sick, take a sample of the problem or at least a photo to Western Gardens where their experts there can diagnose most problems just by examining your sample. They can give you suggestions for chemical and/or organic methods to resolve the issue.

Planting new trees is a wonderful experience because you are investing in the future.

It’s Time to Thin Fruit Trees

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Welcome Gardening Friend! Glad you dropped in.

Did you know it is important to thin fruit trees from all the blossoms that were pollinated?  Read why it is important and some tips on how to do it!

If all went well in your garden this year, your fruit trees were covered in blossoms that were successfully pollinated. Now your tree branches are filled with a plethora of small fruit that promises to be a bumper crop. All that’s left to do is to keep an eye out until harvest to treat any insects or diseases, right?

Now is the time to thin your fruit trees and remove a lot of the developing fruit.

“Wait,” you say. “Don’t I want all the fruit that the tree produces? I was hoping to can up lots of jams, as well as eat them fresh. If I take some off, I certainly won’t have enough!”

Fruit that is too close on a tree won't be as good as if you had thinned it, likely

These are clustered far too close together. Image by Swallowtail Garden Seeds under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License

Think About How the Tree Produces Fruit

Each year, the tree is driven to create flowers and fruit in an effort to reproduce itself. Since at least some of them are destined to fail (frost at a tender time, failure to pollinate, and other disasters), the plant will produce as many fruits as possible.

The most important part of the fruit, reproduction-wise, is the seed inside. The fruit surrounding it is meant in part to help entice animals to eat the fruit and deposit the seed somewhere else, where it can germinate. However, it takes energy and nutrients to form the sweet flesh. When the tree is loaded up, these nutrients have to be spread out between them and you get smaller fruit overall. They will also likely not be as sweet as they could have been if thinned.

You Also Run the Risk of Tree Damage

Even though the sight of a tree branch completely loaded with fruit is a delightful thought, it can be very stressful for the tree if it has to bear so much weight. In some cases, it can even cause the tree to break. You could try to prop up the branch in an effort to avoid this, but it is safer if you just remove the proper amount.

Thin you fruit trees for optimal production

These peaches are properly thinned and look like they’ll be luscious! Image by Forest & Kim under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License

How DO You Thin Your Fruit Trees, Then?

When the fruits are about 3/4″ in diameter (about the size of a dime), it’s time to perform this task. Grab a pair of trusty hand pruners and head on over to your tree. You may also need a ladder, depending on height. Start looking over the branches to find the best fruit. Take off any of them with visible damage or that is smaller than others in the cluster. Leave only one fruit out of each bunch. In the end, you want all fruit to be no closer than 6″ for optimal results.

In the end, you want all fruit to be no closer than 6″ for optimal results. Your tree will thank you, and the fruit that you harvest will be large and higher quality.

Make sure that you thin your fruit trees every year

Have you thinned your fruit trees yet?

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