Apple tree time to bear fruit

How Long Do Apple Trees Take To Grow (and Bear Fruit)?

I have a new Fuji apple tree and I was wondering how long it would take to reach a mature size and fruit. The only problem was, there really wasn’t a clear answer out there. So, I did some research to find out more. Here’s what I found.

Apple trees grown from seed can take 5-10 years to grow and fruit, while apple trees grown from a graft take 1-3 years. This is because grafted apple trees use wood from a mature apple tree and don’t need to age to provide fruit. Still, the growth and fruiting depend on the health of the tree.

So, while apple trees can take 1-10 years (or more) to grow and fruit, how do you know how long your apple tree will take to grow, and how can you make it grow faster? Let’s take a closer look.

How Long Does It Take an Apple Tree To Grow and Fruit?

Apple trees take 1-10 years to grow and fruit, with grafted trees typically taking around 1 year. Most apple tree growers use grafted trees due to their benefits and speed of growth. However, there’s no guarantee of fruit. Depending on the apple tree’s genetics and health, some might never provide fruit.

Growth Stages for Apple Trees	Description
1. Dormancy	When apple tree growth slows over winter. The tree has little to no leaves.
2. Silver Tip	The fruit bud scales are separated at the tip of the bud, exposing light gray or silver tissue.
3. Green Tip	The buds are broken at the tip and 1/16-inch of green tissue is visible.
4. Half-Inch Green	1/2-inch of green leaf tissue emerging out of their fruit buds.
5. Tight Cluster	Blossom buds are mostly exposed and tightly grouped with short stems.
6. Pink (Open) Cluster	All of the buds in the blossom cluster are pink and have lengthened stems.
7. Bloom	The period when just the first bloom in each cluster is open to full bloom (when all or most blossom buds are open.)
8. Post-Bloom	When 3/4 or more of the tree’s petals have fallen.

The first step in determining how long your apple tree will take to grow is to check to see if it was grown from a graft or grown from seed.

But first, what is grafting?

Grafting is when you take a piece of wood (called a scion) from a mature apple tree and fuse it with a rootstock from another apple tree. If all goes well, the rootstock should adopt the scion, supporting it and feeding it water and nutrients.

The main benefits of grafting are:

• Faster growth
• Fruit is identical to the mature tree
• Increased disease and pest resistance
• Improved hardiness

Usually, you can tell that an apple tree was grafted if it has a scar or larger node on the site where it was grafted (see image below). If you can’t tell if your tree was grafted or not, then it’s best to contact the seller, nursery, or orchard you purchased the tree from. You can also try your local cooperative extensive service.

So, once you find out if your apple tree is grown from seed or graft, you should get a clear answer on how much longer you’ll need to wait to get fruit.

However, if it’s been 7-10 years, and your apple tree isn’t yet producing fruit, it likely will never fruit. This is especially true for those that were grown from seed.

While this can be discouraging, the best thing to do in this case is to purchase a young, grafted apple tree and only wait 1-3 more years for an abundance of fruits! Young apple trees typically cost around $46, so they’re not too expensive. For additional trees, you can always start grafts from that single tree.

Do You Need 2 Apple Trees To Bear Fruit?

While many apple trees are self-pollinating, it’s a best practice to have at least 2 apple trees within 50 feet of each other. This will increase the chance of cross-pollination which leads to more and bigger fruit, even for self-pollinating trees.

You can increase your apple tree’s pollination even more by planting pollinator-friendly companion plants nearby. For more about companion plants for apple trees, you can check out my recent post: The 10 Best Companion Plants for Apple Trees.

Additionally, while an apple tree’s growth isn’t too aggressive, there are times when its roots can cause damage. Because of this, keep them at least 25 feet away from other trees and structures to avoid root competition and damage.

5 Tips To Make Apple Trees Grow and Fruit Faster

1. Provide compost and mulch: Apply a 2-inch layer of both compost and mulch to your apple trees. Compost helps the soil retain water while mulch greatly reduces evaporation. Both are great practices for any apple tree, especially those in warmer or drier weather. Reapply compost every 1-2 months and mulch every 3-6 months. Some good mulches for apple trees are leaves, bark, straw, pine needles, and grass clippings.
2. Supply 8+ hours of sunlight: Like most fruiting plants, apple trees need a sufficient amount of sunlight to grow and fruit properly. Sunlight is converted into sugars through photosynthesis in the leaves. Without enough sugar and energy, apple trees will lack foliage and fruit. Apple trees grow best in USDA hardiness zones 3-9 and trees that face a southern direction will get the most amount of sun.
3. Water only when the top 2-4 inches of soil is dry: While many factors contribute to how much water an apple tree needs, the best rule is to only water when the top of the soil gets dry. This way you’re not over or under-watering. If the soil is still sopping wet 1 or more hours after watering, the soil likely needs to be amended for better drainage.
4. Avoid planting near junipers or cedars: Apple trees can get a highly contagious fungal disease from juniper and cedar trees. For this reason, plant apple trees at least 1000 feet away from juniper and cedar trees and remove any weeds in a 6-foot radius around the apple tree. For more information on Cedar Apple Rust, check out my recent post: How to Fix Yellow Leaves on Apple Trees.
5. Prune any leaves that look scorched or spotted: Apple trees can get many conditions and diseases, and one of the best ways to prevent them from spreading is to prune the diseased leaves. For example, Fire Blight is a bacterial disease that has the appearance of brown and scorched leaves and commonly affects apple and pear trees. While there isn’t a cure for it, there are many treatments and practices to prevent it.

Hopefully, these tips help!

However, if you’re still having trouble with your apple tree fruiting, and you’d like some more specific information for how to boost its fruit production, you can also visit my recent post: Apple Trees Not Fruiting? Here Are the Top 5 Reasons.

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Why Do Apple Trees Not Bear Fruit Every Year?

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Gathering homegrown apples only once every two or more years is frustrating, but there are several solutions to this problem. Apple trees sometimes crop bi-yearly, known as biennial bearing, due to bad conditions or excessively heavy or light crops. Some apple varieties are more prone to biennial bearing than others.

Thinning

Apple trees usually grow too much fruit. If all the apples on a tree grow to maturity, the tree exhausts itself and produces a much-reduced crop the following year. Home gardeners need to be ruthless about thinning young fruit in early summer so that next year’s crop is normal. Thinning involves removing the smallest fruits, leaving one per cluster. A simple guide is to leave one fruit to every 40 to 75 leaves, and fruit should be evenly spaced along the branch.

Conditions

Conditions that prevent apple trees from cropping normally can begin a biennial bearing habit. Prolonged stress from inadequate water or nutrients severely reduces apple crops, and this causes trees to blossom and fruit excessively the following year. Adequate watering and application of fertilizer can help alleviate this problem. Bad weather conditions can also affect crops. Apple trees that lose blossom in a storm or cold snap bear a reduced or no crop one season and an excessively heavy crop the next.

Varieties

Some apple varieties are more likely to become biennial bearers than others. Two varieties known for this are Braeburn and Sierra Beauty. Early-cropping varieties are also at risk and need thorough thinning. To grow normal-sized apples, early-cropping varieties need a high ratio of leaf to fruit — more than 75 leaves to each fruit left on the tree — or they can blossom excessively the following year, resulting in biennial bearing.

Other Causes

Two causes of reduced apple tree crops are poor pollination and incorrect pruning. Many apple trees need a compatible partner for successful pollination. Lack of blossoms on one tree, perhaps due to bad weather or the tree dying or being cut down, can result in reduced fruit on its pollination partner. It’s also possible to prune away the areas of a tree where fruit grows. This applies to tip-bearers or trees that bear fruit at the end of stems. (Ref 5 and 6)

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How Long Does It Take For An Apple Tree To Bear Fruit?

Every gardener needs to find out how long does it take for an apple tree to bear fruit before they can plant their own.

Apples are a great addition to any landscape, and besides that, they provide an abundance of fresh fruit. Many gardeners love the thought of growing their juicy apples.

However, growing this fruit takes a long-term commitment.

It takes work to ensure your apple fruit bears healthy fruit from pruning to pest control. Gardeners who have small spaces can still grow apples but choose the dwarf apple trees. Here is our advice on planting, growing, and harvesting healthy apples.

Table of Contents

Facts About An Apple Tree And How They Bear Fruit

• Appletree is known as a hardy tree, and it grows best in hardiness zones 3 to 5. If termed long-season, the apple tree will do best in zones 5 to 8.
• They need at least 8 hours of sun per day during the growing season
• You have to plant two varieties next to each other for successful pollination or add a crabapple
• 2-3 years after planting dwarf apple trees will start bearing fruit
• To bear fruit standard-size trees can take up to 8 years
• Prune your apple trees annually to keep them healthy and productive
• Some varieties are more susceptible to disease and insect damage than others.

How Long Does It Take For An Apple Tree To Bear Fruit?

The apple tree (Malus Domestica) begins to produce fruits 2-10 years after planting. This depends on the variety of the tree, and whether it was grown from seed or rootstock.

Dwarf Rootstock

A dwarf tree takes 2 to 3 years after planting to produce fruits. These are grafted onto Mark rootstocks to reduce the tree’s mature size from 12 to 6 feet tall. Be sure to support your tree; it needs extra support as it grows.

Semi-Dwarf Rootstock

This type starts producing fruit 2 to 4 years after transplanting in a garden. It requires pruning to keep it at least less than 22 feet tall.

Standard Rootstock

This type begins to produce fruit 4 to 6 years after planting. The rootstock may be MM.11 or P.18 and it produces a large tree of about 30 feet tall with a wide canopy. Keep the tree smaller by pruning it each year in late winter or early spring when it’s dormant.

Grown from Seed

Apple trees are grown directly from seed take between 6 to 10 years to bear fruit. The seeds are likely to grow into a full-size tree even if they were from a dwarf tree. The seedlings’ fruit is not likely to resemble its parent because many apple varieties are hybrid but are produced by grafting.

Growing And Caring For The Apple Tree In Order To Bear Fruit

As we mentioned earlier in this article, apple trees take commitment because they need a lot of care. Below we break down the care into each month to help you do the right thing at the right time. This care is for both existing and new trees.

• March. This is the best month to prune the existing trees right after the cold months have passed. Prune in this month before growth begins.

• April – May. As soon as the soil is warm enough and can be worked on, plant bare-root trees. For existing trees, if last year’s growth was less than 12 inches, apply compost manure around the base to encourage better growth.

• May – June. Plant potted plant after the threat of frost has ended. For existing trees, flowers begin to bud and turn pink. Watch out for disease and insect symptoms to treat the early sign of any sight.

• May – October. Keep watering your trees as you would any other fruit tree in your yard.

• June – July. Thin out the fruits by removing all the small and weak fruits to encourage larger fruit growth.

• August –October. Harvest your ready fruits. Test for ripe fruits by tasting one fruit that seems to be fully colored. It is tastes too starchy; give the fruits a few days before harvesting.

• October – November. Rake up fallen fruit and leaves and put them in compost or discard them.

• November. Prepare the apple tree for winter by wrapping it to prevent injury.

• November – March. Allow the tree to rest and watch out for any deer and vole damage. If you notice any damage, put fencing around your tree to protect it from further damage.

When Do Apple Trees Produce Fruit? Take-Home

Apples are pollinated by bees and flies transferring pollen from flowers of one apple tree to another. You do not need to plant many trees to enjoy fresh apples. Instead, two apple trees will be more than enough for your family to enjoy and share.

Check around your neighbor’s farm to see if they have crabapple trees or any apple trees growing. If yes, you can plant one apple tree and still enjoy a good harvest of fresh apples.

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