Q. Apple Trees in Ipswich, is it possible?
A. Yes and no.
Yes, they can be grown and I have seen some glorious ones that produce well.
No, I personally think I would prefer to grow another type of fruit tree and leave apple growing to the climates better suited.
My family love eating apples and we all know how good they are good for us.
A full-grown apple tree makes a good, shade tree for summer. It has showy spring blooms, colourful autumn foliage, naked for winter to let sunlight in and fruit!
Sounds like the perfect tree. So why don’t we grow more of them in Ipswich?
Well let’s first start by looking at the needs of Apple trees.
With over 5000 varieties of Apple the home gardener can grow you’d think you’d be able to find one that suits you best. There are large growing ones, small growing ones and even low chill ones.
All apples need moist, healthy free draining soil. They don’t like wet feet but are heavy feeders. Ipswich soils can be heavy and not very nourishing. You will have to check your soil type, improve your soil or buy an Apple best suited to pots.
Most apples bear best when there are two varieties nearby to pollinate each other. In fact, some apples have to be pollinated by a completely different variety in order to bear fruit. So you need to make sure you have the room for at least two trees (there are multi grafted ones but these don’t seem to grow as well). You also need to make sure your combination of trees is limited to varieties which are good bets for thriving in Ipswich and which flower at the same time.
Apples need cool-cold winters for fruit development – lots of chilling hours. Chilling hours means number of continuous hours a fruit tree needs to be exposed to effective winter temperatures for flower buds to break dormancy. This varies between varieties.
Most apple varieties need 500-1,000 chill hours but there are some low chill varieties available that need about 300-400 chill hours.
To check your chill hours you need to determine the average temperature for the coldest month (July). I found this great chart on Heritage Fruit Trees website that gives us an indication of chill hours to average temperatures.
Ipswich’s average temperature for July 2019 was about 15C (2018 was 16 and 2017 was 17). This means we can JUST grow the low chill varieties, maybe. Our problem in Ipswich is that we can get really cold one night, then have a hotter night, then a cold night. Chill hours need to be consistent.
Apple Trees also need to be correctly pruned to produce fruit. They need an open framework, meaning the main branches are spaced well apart so sunlight and air reaches all the way through the tree's canopy.
Now you’ve gone through all that, Apple trees can very susceptible to numerous pests and diseases especially in our humid climate. They are by nature a dry summer, cold winter plant. So be prepared to have a spray regime. It doesn’t matter if you prefer to use organic means or chemical, your trees will still need to be protected from pests and diseases.
So all these reasons are probably why Apple trees aren’t commonly grown in Ipswich.
Yes they can be grown and I have seen some glorious ones that produce well.
Two of the most popular varieties grown in Ipswich are Anna and Dorsett Golden.
I personally think I would prefer to grow another type of fruit tree and leave apple growing to the climates better suited but you can give it a try.
Apple (Tropical) Dwarf ‘Anna’
Anna is a low chill variety suitable for the subtropics. It is an excellent tasting crunchy apple similar to Red Delicious. Harvesting is usually January, February, March, November, December (weather dependant) but needs cross pollination, Dorsett Golden is believed to be one of the best to cross pollinators. The dwarf tree only grows to about 2-4m, can be pruned and kept in a large pot. Like all apples it is deciduous.
Apple (Tropical) Dwarf ‘Dorsett Golden’
Dorsett Golden is another low chill dwarf apple that cross pollinates exceptionally well with Anna. It has sweet yellow aromatic fruit that have a pink blush and firm white flesh. Harvesting is usually January, February, March, November, December (weather dependant). The dwarf tree only grows to about 2-4m, can be pruned and kept in a large pot. Like all apples it is deciduous.