Are you a green apple lover? ‘Granny Smith’ is the variety for you! It grows versatile apples that taste great, either fresh or cooked. Learn all there is to know for a successful harvest each year with this apple guide.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
Incredibly popular, Malus domestica ‘Granny Smith’ is a culinary or dessert cultivar with a profusion of fragrant, pinkish-white flowers in early mid-season (mid-spring). Draped in clusters along the branches, they are truly a sight to behold. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. They are followed in the fall by a heavy crop of large bright green apples. Firm, crisp and juicy, they have a tart and acidic flavor. They are perfect for eating pies and sauce and keep up to six months in proper storage.
Self-fruitful, this apple tree produces a better crop if cross-pollinated with another variety with the same bloom period, such as Golden Delicious or Red Delicious. An Australian native discovered in 1868 as a chance seedling by ‘Granny’ Anne Smith of Ryde, New South Wales. Beautiful in bloom, heavy with luscious apples, and picturesque when old, apple trees are very rewarding additions to the landscape.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
‘Granny Smith’ thrives with six to eight hours of direct sun during the growing season. It can tolerate partial sun but may set less fruit compared to a full sun location. The area should have a spread of at least fifteen feet to allow your tree to grow and ramble.
In zones 9 and 10, where summers are incredibly hot and dry, plant your tree in an area with dappled shade in the afternoon. This will allow the tree some protection against sunscald and moisture loss.
Temperature and Humidity
‘Granny Smith’ has a low chill requirement. It requires at least 400 hours of temperatures below 45 °F (7°C) in the winter to properly set fruit. This makes it a perfect choice for mild winter gardens.
This cultivar loves the heat of summer. Where summers are warm, its fruit ripens midseason, and where they are cool, fruit ripens late. Apples in hot zones ripen quickly but also need more water than those growing in cool zones.
Watering
During flowering and fruiting, apple trees require regular water. They need little water when dormant in the winter. Gardeners with rainy conditions will only need to irrigate during low rainfall. Gardeners in dry areas should plan on irrigating so that the soil is moist throughout the growing season.
The best way to water is with a slow trickle. Turn your hose on low and place it by the root zone. Let it trickle for thirty minutes to an hour so that the soil soaks up most of the water. When the soil dries, water it again on low for the same amount of time.
Soil
Apples appreciate fertile, well-drained soil. This green-fruited variety tolerates clay soil and most other soil types, making it a versatile fruit tree. If your soil dries quickly, you may need to water more during the spring and summer. Water less if the ground holds onto moisture like clay soils do.
Avoid mixing other dirt or compost into the soil when planting the tree. Instead, add mulch on top of the soil at planting and repeat mulch applications every spring. Over time, organic mulch decomposes and creates a beneficial ecosystem in the dirt below.
Fertilizing
Apples appreciate organic fertilizer while they establish themselves. Apply the correct amount of fertilizer according to the package’s directions for the size of your tree. Then, apply annually in early spring.
One example of a good dosage is ¼ pound of 10-10-10 at planting and every spring thereafter. You can stop fertilizing when your tree starts to produce a sizable crop of apples each year. This indicates it has accessed deeper soil mineral reserves.
Planting Instructions
The best time to plant an apple tree is in the fall. The tree may look asleep during its winter slumber, but it is still growing underground! The tree’s roots penetrate the soil in the fall and anchor it to the ground.
The type of hole you dig depends on the type of tree you have. Most nurseries sell ‘Granny Smith’ as either bare-root or container-grown. Learn how to take care of your type with these easy instructions below!
Bare-Root
Bare-root trees grow in fields when they are young. Orchardists train them to branch at an earlier age, and they shape them to be tall, straight trees. In the fall, they dig up these trees and shake the roots free of soil. This makes them cheaper and easier to transport.
Bare-root trees establish themselves faster than container-grown ones. Their roots come in direct contact with the ground’s soil, and they only have one type of soil to grow into. Their only downside is their availability, typically only fall through early spring.
Plant your bare-root tree as soon as you can. Soak the roots for an hour or two. While it is soaking, prepare a hole as deep as the roots and twice as wide. Keep the center of the hole raised for the tree to sit on, and dig deeper at the hole’s edges like a moat.
Lower your tree into the hole and extend the roots into the moat at the edges. Cover the tree with soil halfway, then water well. If your tree’s trunk sinks below the soil, raise it a little so it is at ground level.
Fill in the hole up to ground level and water again. You won’t have to water your tree again until the growing season. Add mulch around the tree, leaving space around the trunk for the tree to breathe.
Container-Grown
Container-grown trees are bare-root specimens that lived for a season or two inside a pot. Buying a container allows you to see how the tree performs throughout the growing season. Container trees are also available at most nurseries year-round.
To plant a container-grown tree, prepare a hole the same depth and three times as wide as the tree’s root ball. Digging this wide aerates the soil and makes it easier for the tree to put down roots.
Place your tree in the center of the hole. If you are staking it, add stakes into the hard soil at the bottom of the hole. Fill the hole halfway, then water well and let the soil settle.
Fill the hole again until it reaches the base of the apple tree trunk. Water the soil again, and add more dirt if necessary. You can also add mulch around the base of the tree. Just be sure to leave space around the trunk for the tree to breathe.
Pruning
The best pruning method for an apple tree is the modified central leader shape. This is like a central leader shape, where a central trunk grows straight up with branches scaffolding outward.
In the modified central leader shape, the apple tree has multiple leaders at the top, with branches growing off of them. Encourage this shape by pruning the central leader on your tree when it is taller than you. Branches will grow up and out from the central leader, and over time, they will become strong leaders themselves.
For dwarf trees, an espalier method is also a superb choice. This requires a trellis or post for the tree to grow off of. Tie it to the post so that its shape is two-dimensional, and keep it well-pruned. With time, your espalier apple tree will produce nearly the same amount of fruit as a semi-dwarf.
Propagation
For reliable propagation, take six-inch cuttings of a parent tree after it has lost its leaves. Place cuttings in an airtight bag in the fridge until spring.
In the spring, take your cuttings out of the fridge and prepare them for planting. Fill pots with soil and place your cuttings an inch or two into the soil. Water them, then place humidity covers over them. Domes or clear bags work well for this purpose.
Situate your baby cuttings in a dappled shady area, and keep them moist but not soggy. Remove any flower buds that form so the plants can focus on rooting.
If the cuttings grow leaves for a few weeks, they’re most likely rooted! It may take up to six months for them to root. Keep an eye on them to ensure you notice powdery mildew or damp conditions before issues emerge. Remove the humidity covers if you see stunted or infected new growth.
Once well-rooted, transplant them into larger pots or plant them directly into the ground in an area with full sun. By next spring, your sapling will be full of leaves and growing handsomely in the landscape.
Pests and Diseases
Common Pests
‘Granny Smith’ may be visited by aphids, coddling moths, and apple maggots. One clever and chemical-free way to get rid of pests is micromesh netting. The tiny holes of this mesh prevent bugs from laying eggs on or eating your apples.
Place micromesh on each apple after it has started to swell. If there are a lot of apples, place mesh over the entire tree. This is easier to accomplish on smaller trees. Be careful not to apply mesh too early, as this prevents pollinators from accessing the flowers.
Common Diseases
Cedar-apple rust, powdery mildew, black rot, and flyspeck (a.k.a., sooty blotch) are other diseases to look out for when you grow apple trees. Cedar-apple rust appears on leaf undersides, which display raised yellow splotches. The disease is often spread by juniper trees that carry the Gymnosporangium pathogen. It can spread to fruit and branches as well. The only treatment for this ailment is pruning away diseased tree parts, and spraying systemic fungicides.
Pruning also treats powdery mildew, which covers the surfaces of leaves and sometimes spreads in a white powdery substance onto branches and fruit. Maintaining good air circulation in the tree’s structure will keep black rot off of fruit, and flyspeck away as well.
Maintenance
Apples don’t need much maintenance outside of their preferred growing conditions to survive. Add mulch every year in the spring, leaving a few inches of space between the mulch and the trunk. Prune off any dead or diseased wood in the winter.
This cultivar benefits from pruning for an optimal shape. Aim to prune in the late winter, and follow these simple instructions to shape your tree for optimal fruit production.
III. Uses and Benefits
‘Granny Smith’ Apple is perfect for orchard planting, home gardens, and can be used as an ornamental tree due to its beautiful blossoms and attractive fruit. It’s also ideal for those who enjoy cooking and baking with apples.
IV. Harvesting and Storage
This is a mid to late-season ripening variety. I live in zone 8, and the apples on my tree are ready for harvest in September. In regions with cooler summers, harvests may extend later than this.