Apple tree
Malus domestica
Botanical family: Rosaceae
Queen of the temperate orchards, the apple tree (Malus domestica, Rosaceae) descends mainly from a wild apple of Central Asia (Malus sieversii), with a large contribution from the European wild apple (Malus sylvestris). To fruit well, it almost always needs another variety flowering at the same time. Sources: Cornille A. et al. (2012), “New insight into the history of domesticated apple: secondary contribution of the European wild apple to the genome of cultivated varieties”, PLoS Genetics 8(5):e1002703; RHS, “Fruit basics – fruit pollination”.
Full sun
Rich, deep
Regular for the first 2 years, then self-sufficient (except in prolonged drought)
Very hardy (~-25 °C and beyond depending on variety)
Overwinters in your zone
Cross-pollination required
Needs two varieties that pollinate each other (unless self-fertile)
Role in permaculture
A pivotal tree in the permaculture orchard, the apple occupies the upper storey and forms the backbone of a whole guild layered beneath it (Hemenway, Gaia's Garden). Its blossom benefits from being surrounded by nectar-rich companions (borage, phacelia) that feed bees and bumblebees. At its feet, comfrey provides a potassium-rich mulch biomass, white clover fixes nitrogen as a living ground cover, while garlic and tansy play the traditional role of repellent aromatics. So encircled, it structures a small ecosystem that tends towards self-reliance: covered soil, pollinators on hand and organic matter renewed on the spot.
Good companions
Poor companions
Same family: shared diseases and pests
Allelopathy, reputed or observed: may slow some neighbours
Insects attracted or useful
Known pests & diseases
Pests and diseases that commonly affect this plant, tap to learn how to recognise and manage them.
Seasons & availability
Picked in autumn, kept until the following spring.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Apples » (rhs.org.uk/fruit/apples/grow-your-own)
- Interfel, « Pomme : Présentation, disponibilité, conservation » (lesfruitsetlegumesfrais.com/fruits-legumes/fruits-a-pepins/pomme)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
The pips contain amygdalin, a cyanogenic compound: do not crunch them or eat them in large quantity, especially in young children. A core swallowed with intact pips poses no problem; only pips chewed in numbers present a risk.
In the kitchen & the apothecary
Where to find apple tree in preparations: recipes and traditional herbal teas.
Family behaviour: Rosaceae
In general, Rosaceae are traditionally paired with garlic (reputed antifungal, an in-vitro effect against Venturia inaequalis but little demonstrated in the field), tansy and comfrey. This is the fruit family (strawberry, raspberry, apple, pear, cherry, plum, peach). Tansy is the emblematic companion of the apple tree guild.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Norse tradition (medieval Iceland), as compiled by Snorri Sturluson · Iceland / Scandinavian world, 13th century
In Snorri's Edda, the goddess Iðunn keeps in an ash-wood box the apples that the Æsir bite into when they begin to grow old, then recovering their youth until Ragnarök. Her abduction by the giant Þjazi at once makes the gods grey and old: the apple there is the very pledge of their renewed youth.
Snorri Sturluson, Edda (Gylfaginning, ch. 26 ; Skáldskaparmál), rédigée vers 1220 ; Wikipédia, article « Iðunn ».
Snorri's Edda is a learned compilation, from the Christian era, of the Old Norse myths; it remains the reference primary source for the episode, but it is not a direct pagan testimony.
Ancient Greece (Hellenic poets and mythographers) · The Greek world, 8th century BC (Hesiod) to the Hellenistic/imperial period (Apollodorus)
The golden apples of the Garden of the Hesperides, given according to tradition by Gaia to Hera for her wedding with Zeus, grow in the far West, guarded by the Hesperides nymphs and the dragon Ladon. Bringing them back constitutes the eleventh of the Labours of Heracles. The golden apple is there a precious, near-inaccessible object, associated with the divine gift and with immortality.
Hésiode, Théogonie, v. 215-216 (Hespérides) ; Pseudo-Apollodore, Bibliothèque, II, 5, 11 (onzième Travail, Ladon) ; Wikipédia, article « Apples of the Hesperides ».
'Melon' in Greek designates more broadly pome/stone fruits; the reading 'golden apple' is the dominant classical reception. The attribution of Gaia's gift is known through Hesiod, the Heraclean episode through Apollodorus.