Ābele Malus domestica "Discovery"

• Type: early summer apple
• Botanical name: Malus domestica "Discovery"
• Height and spread: average vigour, 3–4 m (depends on rootstock)
• Flowering: May, white to pinkish blossom
• Fruit: medium, bright red, crisp, sweet-sharp
• Ripening and storage: mid-August – early September, keeps 1–2 weeks
• Light: full sun, sheltered from wind
• Soil: fertile, loose, well-drained, slightly acid to neutral (pH 6–7)
• Hardiness: USDA zone 5, RHS H6; in Estonia a warm sheltered spot
• Pollination: self-sterile, flowering group 3; pollinators e.g. 'James Grieve', 'Cox Orange'
• Use: fresh eating, juice; home garden
• Size: potted tree

Planting. Plant in spring or autumn (until the end of September) in a sunny spot sheltered from wind, where cold air and water do not collect. Dig a hole 60–80 cm wide and 50–60 cm deep and mix in compost. Keep the graft union 3–5 cm above soil level and tie the tree to a stake. In Estonian conditions choose a south-facing spot sheltered from wind.

Watering and feeding. In the first summer water deeply once a week in dry spells (10–20 l per tree). In spring give a nitrogen fruit-tree fertiliser or compost; in the second half of summer use only potassium and phosphorus so the shoots ripen before winter. Keep the root zone weed-free and mulched.

Care. Do formative pruning in early spring before bud break: remove dead, crossing and inward-growing branches. It is a partial tip-bearer, so do not shorten all one-year shoots. In autumn protect the trunk from rodents with a guard and whitewash it.

Gardener's tip. Pick when the apples are fully red – early-picked fruit is sour and over-ripe fruit turns mealy. Eat within a couple of weeks.