McIntosh apple

Sun

Full sun, ideally at least 6-8 hours daily.

Water

Water deeply during dry spells, especially for the first two growing seasons and while fruit is swelling. Avoid waterlogged soil.

Soil

Fertile, well-drained loam, preferably pH 6.0-7.0. Improve drainage before planting in heavy clay.

Height

Dwarf rootstocks: 8-12 ft (2.4-3.7 m); semi-dwarf: 12-18 ft (3.7-5.5 m); standard: 20-30 ft (6.1-9.1 m).

Spread

Dwarf rootstocks: 8-12 ft (2.4-3.7 m); semi-dwarf: 12-18 ft (3.7-5.5 m);

Flowers

Mid-spring; pink buds open to white or pale pink flowers.

Foliage

Oval, toothed green leaves, sometimes turning yellow in autumn.

Growth

Moderate; rootstock, soil and pruning strongly affect growth.

Care needed

High

• Pollinators
• Cold hardy
• Wildlife
• Low allergen
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Needs looking after

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.1 m)

3. After 2 years

   7 ft (2.1 m)

4. After 3 years

   7 ft (2.2 m)

5. After 5 years

   7 ft (2.3 m)

About 20 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Growth rate

Moderate

• Plant with the graft union above soil level and remove shoots arising below it.
• Provide a different apple cultivar with overlapping blossom nearby, such as Cortland or Spartan; McIntosh does not crop reliably alone.
• Water the root area deeply during dry weather and mulch annually, keeping mulch clear of the trunk.
• Feed lightly in spring if growth is weak; avoid excess nitrogen, which encourages leafy growth at the expense of fruit.
• Thin young fruit after the natural early-summer drop, leaving one apple per cluster, roughly 6 in (15 cm) apart.
• Stake newly planted trees; many dwarfing rootstocks need permanent support.

Pruning. Prune in late winter while dormant, before buds open, to remove dead, damaged and crossing branches and maintain an open framework. Use light annual cuts rather than severe pruning, and retain short fruiting spurs.

Pick apples in early to mid-autumn, usually September in cooler Northern Hemisphere districts and March-April in suitable Australian districts, with timing varying by climate. Fruit is ready when its green background lightens and it comes away with a gentle lift and twist; pick promptly because ripe McIntosh apples drop readily.

Late winter

Prune the dormant tree and check ties, stakes and trunk guards.

Early spring

Apply mulch and, if needed, a light feed; keep the trunk base clear.

Spring

Check that a compatible apple is flowering nearby and avoid insecticide use during blossom.

Early summer

Thin crowded fruitlets and remove visibly damaged fruit.

Summer

Water during dry spells and inspect leaves and fruit for scab and insect damage.

Early autumn

Test fruit regularly for ripeness, harvest gently and refrigerate sound apples promptly.

Late autumn

Collect fallen fruit and diseased leaves, and protect young trunks from rabbits or rodents.

• Plant in a mixed home orchard with compatible apple cultivars for pollination and a longer harvest.
• Use a dwarf tree as a manageable focal point in a sunny edible garden.
• Train a suitable rootstock as an espalier along a sunny, well-ventilated boundary.
• Include a larger tree in a farmhouse garden for spring blossom, summer shade and autumn fruit.

Garden styles it suits: Backyard orchard, Edible landscape, Homestead, Farmhouse, Cottage garden and Potager (kitchen garden).

Plant it with: Cortland apple, Spartan apple, Chives, Yarrow, Sweet alyssum and Calendula.

Wildlife: Blossom provides pollen and nectar for bees and other insects. Birds and mammals eat the fruit; remove windfalls where they attract wasps or unwanted wildlife.

• Apple scab: McIntosh is notably susceptible. Collect fallen leaves, prune for airflow and, where necessary, follow a locally recommended preventive fungicide programme.
• Codling moth: larvae tunnel into fruit. Remove infested apples promptly and use local monitoring advice to time controls; fruit bags can protect small crops.
• Fire blight: blackened shoots may curl at their tips. Remove infected growth well below visible damage in dry weather, disinfect tools between cuts and avoid heavy nitrogen feeding.
• Poor or irregular crops: check pollination, late-frost damage and winter chill suitability; thin heavy fruit sets to reduce alternate-year bearing.

The apple flesh is not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. Seeds, leaves and stems contain cyanogenic compounds that can release cyanide when chewed; substantial ingestion can cause serious poisoning, especially in animals. Accidentally swallowing a few intact seeds is unlikely to cause harm, but do not deliberately eat crushed seeds or feed foliage and prunings to livestock.

• Cortland apple (Malus domestica 'Cortland')

  A McIntosh offspring with similar red skin and white flesh; fruit is often larger and flatter, and cut flesh browns more slowly. Appearance alone is not a reliable identification.

• Empire apple (Malus domestica 'Empire')

  Another McIntosh offspring, usually with firmer, crisper flesh and a later harvest. Fruit colour overlaps considerably.

• Spartan apple (Malus domestica 'Spartan')

  Often develops a deeper, more uniform dark red skin and generally firmer, sweeter flesh. Confirm cultivar identity from a reliable nursery label rather than fruit colour alone.

McIntosh is named for John McIntosh, who found the original seedling on his farm in Ontario, Canada, in 1811.

Propagation. Propagate by grafting or budding onto a suitable apple rootstock. Seedlings do not come true to McIntosh, and rootstock choice determines much of the tree's eventual size, anchorage and bearing age.

Accepted botanical name

Malus domestica

Native range

Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang.

Measured

Soil pH 5 to 7.5. Average height 700 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0) and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.