Patio Apple 'Golden Delicious'

Planting Your Apple Tree
Choose a sunny, sheltered position where your tree can get plenty of light to help the fruit ripen and develop its sweetness. Plant at the same depth it was growing in its pot, gently firm the soil around the roots and water thoroughly.

Growing in a Container
Patio apple trees are ideal for growing in a large pot. Choose a sturdy container at least 45–50cm across with plenty of drainage holes and use a good-quality growing medium. Position your tree somewhere sunny and sheltered.

Watering
Keep your tree regularly watered while it establishes. Container-grown apple trees need particularly careful watering as their compost can dry out quickly, so check regularly during warm weather and while the fruits are developing.

Feeding
Feed in spring as new growth gets underway. Trees growing in containers will also benefit from regular feeding during the growing season to support healthy growth and fruit development.

Pollination Group 4
‘Golden Delicious’ belongs to apple pollination group 4. For the heaviest crops, grow it within pollinating distance of another compatible apple variety that flowers at around the same time.

Choosing a Pollination Partner
Choose another apple that flowers at around the same time, ideally from the same or a neighbouring compatible pollination group. Suitable apple trees growing in nearby gardens may also provide pollen, so you won't necessarily need to grow two trees yourself.

A Useful Pollinator
‘Golden Delicious’ produces good pollen and can also help pollinate other compatible apple varieties flowering at a similar time.

Spring Blossom
Pretty apple blossom appears in spring, attracting bees and other pollinating insects before the young fruits begin to develop.

When to Pick
‘Golden Delicious’ is a late-season apple. Give the fruits plenty of time to ripen and develop their characteristic sweetness. When ready, an apple should come away easily when gently cupped in your hand, lifted and twisted.

Let the Flavour Develop
As the fruits mature, their skin changes from greenish-yellow to a more golden colour and the flesh develops the sweet, honeyed flavour this variety is known for.

Storing Your Apples
Choose sound, unblemished apples for storing and use any bruised or damaged fruit first. Keep your best fruits somewhere cool, dark, frost-free and well ventilated, checking them occasionally and removing any that begin to deteriorate.

Enjoy Them into Winter
‘Golden Delicious’ has excellent keeping qualities, so a successful harvest doesn't have to be eaten all at once. Properly stored fruit can be enjoyed well into winter.

Fresh from the Tree
Give ‘Golden Delicious’ plenty of time to ripen and its flavour develops into something particularly special – sweet and honeyed with crisp, juicy flesh. Pick the fruits when fully ripe to enjoy this classic apple at its best.

In the Kitchen
Its natural sweetness makes it useful for much more than snacking. Slice into salads, pair with cheese or use your apples in cakes, crumbles, pies and other desserts.

Make the Most of Your Crop
Enjoy freshly picked apples first, use marked or bruised fruits for cooking and put your best undamaged apples aside for storing. It's a simple way to make the most of a generous harvest.

Potted Fruit Trees
You will receive an established young fruit tree in a nursery pot, ready to plant straight into its final position in the garden or a suitable large container.

What to Expect Through the Seasons
Fruit trees are deciduous, so their appearance naturally changes throughout the year. Trees delivered during autumn or winter may have yellowing leaves or no leaves at all as they enter dormancy. Fresh new growth will appear again in spring.

Ready to Plant
Your tree can be planted into its final position on arrival. If growing it in a container, choose a substantial pot with good drainage and keep it regularly watered while it establishes, particularly during warm, dry weather.