Anna Apple Tree

Apple-loving homeowners on the West Coast, and in the South need to know about the Anna Apple tree (Malus 'Anna'). Anna requires only 200 hours of chill time, which makes it ideal for warmer climates.

As you know, it's always best to select varieties that do best in your area. Finding a good Apple tree for warmer regions can be tough, but Anna fits that profile.

A Golden Delicious style apple with green skin that can have a red blush over the top. You'll enjoy crisp, flavorful apples early in the season. Use them for snacking, baking, and juicing. The fruit of the Anna Apple tree stores for up to two months, depending on your storage method.

This tree is partially self-pollinating, so you'll get a nice harvest from a single tree. However, if your trees are planted with a partner, they'll get cross-pollinated. You'll get a whole lot more apples! Pollinator partners will boost the fruit set by planting with Dolgo Crabapple, Dorsett Golden, Duchess of Oldenburg, Golden Russet, Idared, or McIntosh.

Anna is a prolific producer, and the harvest starts early in the summer. This makes a welcome addition to backyard orchards that already have later-bearing varieties.

The petite, pink-tinted springtime blossoms are very fragrant. You'll have plenty of hummingbirds and butterflies come for a visit.

Enjoy watching your developing harvest of fruit. Anna's fruit features yellow skin with a fiery red blush upon ripening.

This multi-use apple is sweet, with a tartness that makes for wonderful fresh eating, juicing, and baking. In its early stages, Anna has been compared to a Grammy Smith. However, during the apple ripening season, Anna increases in sweetness.

Early to flower, the Anna Apple tree bears fruit early, too. It won't make you wait long before you're enjoying your very own, homegrown fruit. Order yours today!

How to Use Anna Apple Tree in the Landscape

Plant the Anna Apple as part of an Edible Landscape. It makes a unique specimen tree in the front yard. Or, go for the gold with a long row of sculpted fruit trees lining your driveway.

We bet your family and friends will certainly help you enjoy that fresh fruit! Create a hedgerow by planting several varieties 15 feet apart on center. Measure from the center of one to the center of the next.

Alternate between Anna and Dorsett Apple tree to boost your harvest. Both have low chill requirements and are cross-pollination partners.

Why not plant a specimen tree near a window to enjoy its beautiful look from a close-up? The pretty spring flowers and developing fruit are so interesting. Keep things easy for yourself by removing any lawn and placing mulch underneath Apple trees.

You can easily keep Anna Apple to a smaller size if you prefer. Summer pruning is the key to controlling the size. Let it grow out, or maintain it at your preferred height from 5 to 9 feet tall.

#ProPlantTips for Care

Anna Apple trees need full sun to thrive. Plant them in a spot that will receive at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. The more sun, the better!

The morning sun is especially good for fruit trees. The drying power of the morning sun will quickly dry off the foliage. Keep the leaves dry when you can.

It's best to use drip irrigation, rather than rely on overhead lawn sprinklers. If you must water using sprinklers, set the timer to run in the early morning. Good air circulation in your planting site will also help keep the leaves dry.

Give your Apple tree a moderate amount of water on a regular basis. Water carefully during periods of drought and especially during fruit development.

Apples need well-drained soil. If you need to improve drainage, create a raised garden bed to plant in. Mound up soil to 18 inches high and 3 feet wide and plant in that mound.

Anna Apple should be mulched to keep the root system nice and cool. Apply a thick, 3-inch layer of mulch and spread it out to 3 feet past the canopy. Pull the mulch back several inches all around the trunk. Please don't let the mulch touch the main trunk.

Prune in late winter to correct the shape, and open the canopy to sunlight and air circulation. Remove crossing branches at that time.

Prune in summer to keep the height where you want it. Tip prune to an outside-facing bud.

Although it is somewhat self-fertile, the Anna Apple performs optimally when it has another pollinator nearby. Plant it with Apple trees that flower at the same time, and you will see larger crops.

Order yours today!

When to Plant Anna Apple Trees

Planting Bareroot trees as soon as you can dig a hole in spring and until hot weather, the earlier the better. Plant container Apple trees throughout the growing season with complete success - that is the benefit of container plants - to extend the planting season. Your County Agricultural Extension Office is a great resource for first and last frost dates in your area.

How to Plant Anna Apple Trees

Dig a large hole only as deep as needed to accommodate the bareroot or container root ball, and twice as wide. Add Nature Hills Root Booster to speed root establishment. Remove the pot or bag and situate it into the hole so the top of the soil (soil line if bareroot), is level with the new location's soil being careful not to plant too deep. Water in again very well and backfill with the same soil you dug up, tamping down gently to ensure there are no air pockets.

Top off with a 3-4 inch thick layer of Arborist mulch. Consider staking your tree to keep its trunk growing straight for the first year to ensure it stands tall against strong winds and drifting snow.

When to Prune Anna Apple Trees

Trim off any broken branches from delivery as soon as you take them out of the box. Prune and trim apple trees while dormant, in late winter or early spring, before you see new growth.

How to Prune Anna Apple Trees

Dormant prune to:

• Remove any double leaders or narrow crotch angles
• Eliminate any crossing branches
• Thin interior branching and leave the fruiting spurs and strong branches in place opening up the canopy
• Branching at least 24-36 inches above the ground

Prune Apple trees in the summer to:

• Control size and shape by reducing the length of longer new growth on vigorous trees
• Remove water sprouts on the main trunk or older branches in the crown
• Remove suckers at the base of the trunk
• Thin fruit during heavy years on established trees

How to Care for Anna Apple Trees

Growing an apple tree is easy when proper soil, good drainage, attention to moisture, and regular fertility are maintained. Once you've chosen an apple tree that works for your climate, in the size you need for your landscape, and its pollinator (if needed), then you've accomplished half the battle!

• Apple trees do best in full sun and well-drained soil
• Water your apple trees when they get dry - especially during the fruit production stage, and drought periods to keep them stress-free
• Use arborists' wood chips to mulch over the roots of your apples and have your soil tested to see what your soil may be lacking before adding fertilizers
• Maintenance pruning and shaping

Apple trees will tolerate a wide range of soils, so long as water and nutrients are not limited and the pH level is adequate.

How to Fertilize Anna Apple Trees

For the first year, water alone is most important. It is always best to get a soil test to see what your soil is lacking before adding more fertilizers. Once established, a fertilizer routine may be beneficial. We do offer some excellent slow-release organic options, applied according to the package directions.

Fruit trees need more phosphate and it's possible to apply too much nitrogen which affects the soil's pH. Test soil acidity or alkalinity using a pH Tester.

Fertilize in spring when you first see new growth emerging.

• Don't overdo it
• Phosphates are your friends
• Pay attention to pH in areas with extremely high or low soil pH
• Follow the directions

Anna Apple Tree Pollinating Info

Anna is not fully self-fruiting and needs a pollinating partner. Pair with one of these varieties:

• Dolgo Crabapple
• Dorsett Golden
• Duchess of Oldenburg
• Golden Russet
• Idared
• McIntosh

Harvest Times for Anna Apple Trees

Anna's are typically ready to harvest in late June through July.

Early-Season? Mid-Season? Late-Season? The terminology can be confusing for new apple tree growers. Weather, climate and your tree determine when it's ripe.

For Apples:

• Early-season is usually June-July
• Mid-season can be August-September
• Late-season can be from late September-November

The growing season consists of spring, summer, and fall, and varies with climate and weather. Areas with longer growing seasons in the warmer hardiness zones can greatly affect the harvest times for each particular apple variety grown in your area. Learn which growing zone you are in.

What Shipping Options Do You Offer?

NatureHills.com works closely with our growers and nursery professionals to ensure we ship when it is most appropriate for your area. Our goal is to deliver the hardiest plants by avoiding extreme high and low temperatures. Check out our shipping schedule for more information and to learn our wills and won'ts when it comes to shipping plants. Find your Anna Apple Tree for sale here at NatureHills.com!

Rootstocks Explained

Apple trees have been grafted onto different rootstocks since before the mid-1800s. Different rootstocks are used to improve the anchoring of trees, eliminate diseases, and reduce the natural mature size of the tree itself. While there are many different types of rootstock, they are all labeled as being either Dwarf, Semi-Dwarf, or Standard.

The apple descriptions, including flowering, pollination, and apple characteristics are the same whether the plant is grown on a standard rootstock or some varying dwarfing rootstock. The overall size can vary by climate and soil but the understock used is ultimately what affects the mature size.

There will be some variation in sizes but as a guide, we are suggesting the overall mature size of these apple varieties are:

Semi-Dwarf Apples

• Height: 12-18 feet
• Spread: 10 - 15 feet

Standard Apples

• Height 18 - 25 feet
• Spread: 15 - 18 feet

Remember that all fruit tree sizes can easily be altered if needed by simple pruning as the trees grow and develop.