September Ruby Apple

Description:

A very hardy red-streaked apple, good for eating fresh, keeps well; eating apples are high maintenance and need a second pollinator; the perfect combination of accent and fruit tree, an abundant producer, needs well-drained soil and full sun

Ornamental Features:

September Ruby Apple features showy clusters of lightly-scented white flowers with shell pink overtones along the branches in mid spring, which emerge from distinctive pink flower buds. It has forest green foliage throughout the season. The pointy leaves turn yellow in fall. The fruits are showy ruby-red pomes carried in abundance in early fall, which are excellent for fresh eating and cooking and baking but which can be messy if allowed to drop on the lawn or walkways. This variety requires a different selection of the same species growing nearby in order to set fruit. The rough brown bark is not particularly outstanding.

Landscape Attributes:

September Ruby Apple is a deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This is a high maintenance tree that will require regular care and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Disease
• Messy

September Ruby Apple is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Orchard/Edible Landscaping
• Shade
• Accent

Plant Characteristics:

September Ruby Apple will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 4 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This tree should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments.

This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.