Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing

19 ft 8 in

In-row spacing

19 ft 8 in

Between rows

24 ft 7 in

Square-foot density

Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type

Tree · Perennial

Botanical family

Mixed / other

Sunlight

Full sun down to partial shade.

Watering

Water while young; established trees ride out drought.

Feeding

Rarely needed — a leaf mold mulch does the job.

Frost tolerant

Yes

Flowering

May

Pruning

Minimal, and in late winter if at all.

Through the year

• Apr–May Bud Break
• May–Jun Flowering
• Jun–Aug Fruit Set
• Aug–Sep Harvest
• Sep–Oct Growing
• Oct–Dec Leaf Fall
• Jan–Apr Leaf Fall

Companions

Dogwood, Serviceberry, Ferns, Wild ginger

Pests & problems

• Japanese beetle Japanese beetle on the leaves
• Tent caterpillars Eastern tent caterpillar webbing the branch forks
• Black knot Black knot fungus swelling the twigs
• Leaf spot Cherry leaf spot on the foliage

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. ★ companion plant

• Garden birds Passeriformes
  Hunts Japanese beetleTent caterpillars

  Both things are true: birds strip your currants and a brood of blue tits takes several thousand caterpillars out of one fruit tree in a fortnight. Net what you must and welcome them everywhere else — a nest box near the apples is worth more than a spray.

  Plant nearby EchinaceaElderberryEnglish hollyGoldenrodRudbeckiaSunflowerTeaselViburnum
• Tachinid fly Tachinidae
  Hunts Japanese beetleTent caterpillars

  Bristly, house-fly-lookalike parasitoids that lay eggs on caterpillars, beetle grubs, and earwigs — the maggot consumes the host from within. Adults sip nectar from shallow umbels and daisies.

  Plant nearby CilantroDillFeverfewParsleySweet alyssum
• Assassin bug Reduviidae
  Hunts Japanese beetle

  A patient ambusher with a curved beak it drives into whatever it catches — caterpillars, beetles, bugs, and the occasional bee, so count it a generalist rather than a specialist. It will jab a careless finger too, so admire it and leave it be.

  Plant nearby DillFennelGoldenrodSweet alyssumTansyYarrow
• Beneficial nematodes Steinernema & Heterorhabditis spp.
  Hunts Japanese beetle

  Microscopic worms watered onto damp soil that hunt down soil-dwelling grubs and release a bacterium that kills them within days. Timing is the whole thing: warm, damp soil and a small target grub, which means late summer for most of what they are used against.

• Praying mantis Mantidae
  Hunts Japanese beetle

  A sit-and-wait ambusher that snatches caterpillars, beetles, and anything else that wanders close — friend and foe alike, so count it a mixed blessing. Tall, structured plantings give it perches and egg-case anchors.

  Plant nearby CosmosFennelSunflower
• Spined soldier bug Podisus maculiventris
  Hunts Japanese beetle

  A predatory stink bug — same shield outline as the pest, but with a sharp spine at each shoulder and a beak it uses to spear caterpillars and beetle grubs. Learn the spines before you squash a shield bug, because this one is on your side.

  Plant nearby DillFennelSweet alyssumYarrow