Omenapuu Malus domestica "Tiit"

• Type: autumn apple (Estonian variety)
• Botanical name: Malus domestica "Tiit"
• Height and spread: 3–4 m (depends on rootstock)
• Flowering: May, white to pinkish blossom
• Fruit: 80–90 g, ovate, more than half red, sweet, juicy
• Ripening and storage: autumn, keeps until November–December
• Light: full sun, sheltered from wind
• Soil: fertile, loose, well-drained, slightly acid to neutral (pH 6–7)
• Hardiness: good, survived the 1978/79 winter; suitable for all of Estonia (zone 5–6)
• Pollination: self-sterile – plant another apple variety that flowers at the same time nearby
• 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. Being scab-resistant, it suits gardens where you do not want to spray.

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. Keep the crown open and light so the fruit colours red better. In autumn protect the trunk from rodents with a guard and whitewash it.

Gardener's tip. Store the picked apples in a cool cellar – they keep their sweet flavour until Christmas.