How to Care for Apple Saplings

Plant apple saplings and grow your own fruit.

Grow apple trees in your landscape and enjoy both their shade and their sweet fruits. Planting saplings is often less expensive than purchasing established trees, though you may need to wait longer before they begin producing their first apples. Proper planting ensures the saplings establish quickly in your landscape, allowing them to get off to a healthy start that will serve them well throughout their lives. Choose apple saplings that are suitable for your area and growing conditions. Most nursery staff can help you make the best decision on apple variety.

Things You'll Need

• Apple sapling
• Shovel
• Pruning shears
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Dig a hole the same depth as the apple sapling's root ball and two to three times as wide. Plant apple trees in early spring while they are still dormant.

2. Lift the apple sapling from its nursery pot or remove the plastic bag from around the roots. Cut off any damaged roots cleanly with pruning shears.

3. Set the sapling in the planting hole. Add or remove soil from underneath the tree so that the graft scar on the trunk sits 1 inch above soil level.

4. Fill the planting hole half full with the removed soil. Work the soil between the roots with your hands. Firm the soil in the hole by walking on it, then finish filling the hole to the top. Firm a second time.

5. Water the tree thoroughly after planting, completely soaking the root zone. Water the tree every five days for the first two weeks after planting, then water the sapling once weekly for the first two years after planting.

6. Prune away any branches on the sapling that are growing within 24 to 30 inches of the ground. Clip a wooden clothespin into the crotch between the trunk and any side branches to encourage the branches to grow out then up as the sapling continues to grow. Clip any new branches in the second year to encourage the proper crotch angle.

7. Fertilize the apple sapling two to four weeks after planting with a 21-0-0 analysis fertilizer. Sprinkle 1 cup of granular fertilizer in a 2-foot circle around the tree, keeping the fertilizer 6 inches away from the trunk to prevent burning. Repeat the application in May and June, or four weeks and eight weeks after the initial fertilization.

Tips & Warnings

• Spread a 2-inch layer of mulch around the base of the tree to help keep weeds at bay and to preserve moisture in the soil between each watering.

• Do not purchase diseased or damaged trees, even if they are sold at a discount. These trees may spread disease to otherwise healthy trees you already have on your property.

References

• West Virginia University: Planting And Care of Fruit Trees
• Texas A&M Extension: Home Fruit Production--Apples