How to Care for Ginger Gold Apple Trees

Overview

Ginger Gold apple trees (Malus Ginger Gold) are semi-dwarf fruit trees that reach a height of 12 to 14 feet and produce an early-season crop of apples in mid-August. When the Ginger Gold apple trees are about 3 to 5 years old they begin to yield a crop of large yellow apples that are crisp, firm and ideal for either baking or eating raw. The Ginger Gold apple tree grows best in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 9, where minimum winter temperatures stay above minus15 degrees Fahrenheit. To produce fruit, the tree needs a pollinator apple tree planted within 50 feet of the Ginger Gold apple tree.

Step 1

Water your Ginger Gold apple trees once each week during the growing season when you receive less than 1/2 to 3/4 inch of rainfall. Apply three to four gallons of water for each apple tree.

Step 2

Spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of hardwood mulch chips or pea gravel in a 3- to 4-foot-diameter circle around the base of the apple tree. You can also use crushed limestone as a mulch around the Ginger Gold apple trees.

Step 3

Feed your Ginger Gold apple trees about one month after first planting them with 4 ounces of a 10-10-10 NPK (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) fertilizer per tree. Spread the granular fertilizer on the ground in a 2- to 3-foot-diameter circle around the base of the apple tree, taking care to avoid fertilizer contact with the trunk.

Step 4

Prune back your Ginger Gold apple tree's central leader stem (trunk) to 32 or 34 inches above the ground level in the spring after planting it. Cut away all lateral branches that are less than 1 1/2 feet above the ground level.

Step 5

Thin out the lateral branches in early spring to space them at least 18 inches apart, selecting and keeping the limbs that have wider crotch angles and are perpendicular to the trunk. Keep the central leader no more than 1 1/2 feet above the top branches.