Apple 'Red Falstaff'

Where to Plant
Choose a sunny, sheltered position with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil. Plenty of sunlight will help the apples develop their colour and flavour. 'Red Falstaff' has good resistance to late frosts, but a sheltered position will still help protect the blossom and developing fruit.

Planting Your Bare-Root Tree
Plant while the tree is dormant, avoiding periods when the ground is frozen or waterlogged. Unpack promptly and soak the roots in a bucket of water for around 30 minutes before planting. Dig a hole wide enough for the roots to spread naturally without bending or crowding them.

Position the tree at the same depth it was previously growing, using the soil mark on the stem as a guide and keeping the graft union above soil level. Spread the roots naturally, backfill with soil, gently firm and water thoroughly. Trees grown on M26 rootstock benefit from staking, particularly while establishing.

Watering & Feeding
Water regularly during the first growing season and during prolonged dry spells, particularly while the fruits are developing. Feed in spring with a suitable fruit tree fertiliser and mulch around the base with well-rotted compost or organic matter, keeping the mulch clear of the trunk.

Pruning
Prune free-standing trees during the dormant season, removing dead, damaged, diseased, crossing or badly positioned branches and maintaining an open, balanced framework. 'Red Falstaff' is predominantly spur-bearing, so avoid removing too much established fruiting wood.

Do I Need Another Apple Tree?
No. 'Red Falstaff' is self-fertile and can produce fruit when grown on its own. However, another compatible apple flowering at the same time can help improve pollination and maximise cropping.

Pollination Group 3
'Red Falstaff' belongs to Pollination Group 3. If you'd like to grow a pollination partner, choose another compatible apple in the same or a neighbouring flowering group. A suitable apple growing in a nearby garden may also provide pollen.

Spring Blossom
Clusters of attractive apple blossom cover the branches in spring, providing food for visiting bees and other pollinating insects. 'Red Falstaff' has good resistance to late frosts, which helps make it a dependable cropper in the changeable spring weather often experienced in UK gardens.

Developing Fruit
The young apples swell through summer, gradually developing their characteristic deep red flush as they ripen. 'Red Falstaff' is naturally a heavy cropper, so an especially generous fruit set can be thinned to give the remaining apples more room to develop.

Top Tip:
If your tree sets lots of fruit, thin crowded clusters while the apples are still small. This gives the remaining fruits more room to grow and reduces the weight carried by young branches.

When to Harvest
'Red Falstaff' is generally ready to pick during October. Exact timing will vary with the season and where you garden, so let the fruit tell you when it's ready rather than relying on a particular date.

How to Tell When Apples Are Ready
Look for well-coloured apples that come away readily when gently lifted and twisted. If the fruit resists, leave it on the tree for a little longer and try again later.

How to Pick
Cup each apple in your hand and gently lift and twist rather than pulling downwards. Handle fruits intended for storage carefully, as bruised or damaged apples won't keep as well.

Storing Your Harvest
One of 'Red Falstaff's' great strengths is its keeping quality. Store sound, unblemished apples somewhere cool, dark and well ventilated, checking them regularly and removing any fruit that begins to deteriorate.

Top Tip:
Set aside your best unblemished apples for storing and use any bruised or damaged fruits first. Under good conditions, your stored crop can provide homegrown apples well into winter.

Fresh from the Tree
'Red Falstaff' is first and foremost an excellent eating apple. Bite into one and you'll find crisp, juicy flesh with a satisfying balance of sweetness and acidity.

Excellent for Juicing
Its juicy flesh and balanced sweet-sharp flavour also make 'Red Falstaff' a good choice for homemade apple juice – particularly useful when your tree rewards you with a heavy crop.

Salads & Lunchboxes
The crisp texture works particularly well sliced into salads and makes these apples handy for lunchboxes and everyday snacking.

Enjoy Through Winter
Good keeping qualities mean there's no need to use the entire harvest at once. Store your best fruits and enjoy your homegrown apples gradually through the colder months.

Top Tip:
Try some apples straight from the tree and keep others back. The flavour continues to develop after picking, so you can enjoy the character of your crop changing during storage.

Bare-Root Trees
Your tree is supplied bare root while dormant, without a pot or compost around its roots. It will usually arrive with a woody stem and branches but little or no foliage. This is completely normal and fresh growth will begin as the tree comes out of dormancy in spring.

On Arrival
Unpack your tree promptly and don't allow the roots to dry out. If you can't plant immediately, keep the roots moist and the tree somewhere cool and sheltered until you're ready to plant.

Grafted Fruit Trees
'Red Falstaff' is grafted, combining the fruiting variety with a rootstock that controls how strongly the tree grows. You'll usually be able to see the graft union towards the base of the stem. Keep this above soil level when planting.

M26 Rootstock
Your tree is grafted onto M26 dwarfing rootstock, restricting its eventual size compared with trees grown on more vigorous rootstocks. This makes it particularly useful where you want a productive apple tree without giving over a large area of the garden.

What to Expect After Planting
Your young tree won't look like a mature fruit tree straight away. During its first few years it will establish its roots and develop a framework of branches, with cropping increasing as the tree matures.