Apple tree
Malus domestica
Also called Apple and Crab apple
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitNearly every variety needs a second tree nearby to set fruit. One apple on its own is usually one apple with nothing on it.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 9 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Every 90 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Hardy — a very cold winter RHS H6, to -20°C
- Size
- 3 m tall · 3 m across
- Lifecycle
- Tree
- Origin
- Central Asia
Is it safe for pets and people?
PetsToxic to pets
Affects dogs, cats, horses. Signs: the stems, leaves and seeds carry cyanide and are most toxic while wilting: brick-red gums, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting and shock.
PeopleHarmful if eaten
Stems, leaves, seeds. Safe to eat: the fruit flesh.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-07-31.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Olive-green velvety blotches with a feathered, ill-defined edge on the upper side of the youngest leaves in a wet spring — weeks before a fruit is marked.Apple scab · disease
- Small grey-brown moths resting on the trunk at dusk in early summer; catching them then is about three weeks ahead of the first frass-plugged hole at the eye of a fruit.Codling moth · pest
- A firm brown patch on one fruit where a wasp or bird has broken the skin, ringed within days by concentric circles of buff pustules.Brown rot · disease