Apple tree Malus domestica "Katre"

• Type: winter apple (Estonian variety)
• Botanical name: Malus domestica "Katre"
• Height and spread: medium to strong vigour, 3–5 m (depends on rootstock), open crown
• Flowering: May, white to pinkish blossom
• Fruit: medium (100–150 g), round, dark red blush, sweet-sharp
• Ripening and storage: pick in late September, eat in the second half of winter, keeps very well
• Light: full sun, sheltered from wind
• Soil: fertile, loose, well-drained, slightly acid to neutral (pH 6–7)
• Hardiness: good for both tree and blossom, suitable for all of Estonia (zone 5–6)
• Pollination: self-sterile – plant another apple variety that flowers at the same time nearby
• Use: winter dessert apple for storing; 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. Its open crown makes it suitable for smaller gardens too.

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. To even out cropping, thin fruitlets in June of a heavy year, leaving 1–2 per cluster. In autumn protect the trunk from rodents with a guard and whitewash it.

Gardener's tip. Do not eat 'Katre' straight from the tree – let the apples mature in a cellar. From December to March the flavour is at its best and the fruit stays firm.