Pole Apples for the Small Yard

Now that Fall is here, it's time to reap the bounty of apples; all 15 of them. Not impressive to seasoned fruit producers, but the number of apples we got this year is triple compared to last year. We planted a series of what is referred to as pole or columnar apple trees. Pole apples are great for the small yard and work well in large pots. They get around 9-12 feet tall and have no branches. Instead, the fruit spurs grow out of the trunk, so the apples hug the trunk all the way up. Best of all, there's no need to prune and how easy is that for harvesting! These trees do well in pots and only require 2 foot centers if planted in the ground.

The number of varieties is limited; only 3 are available that I know of: North Pole, Golden Sentinel and Scarlet Sentinel. 2 red/greens and a golden. We have 2 North Poles and a Scarlet Sentinel. We also have a dwarf honey crisp and a Rainier cherry. God knows where those are going in our limited space once they grow out of their pots.

Our recent North Pole acquisition is the tallest, and came from a local nursery, 40% off of course. Although there isn't any fruit on that tree this year, we have great expectations for next year. Providing the pollinators show up. I might have to dig out the paint brush.