Discover Arbor Garden Centre and Nursery's Beautiful Plants

 Combination apple trees offer an innovative and space-saving solution for home gardeners who want variety without planting multiple trees. Rather than being a single genetic variety, these trees are created through grafting—an age-old horticultural technique where several compatible apple cultivars are joined onto one rootstock. This means each branch retains the genetics and fruiting characteristics of its original variety, often including favorites like Gala, McIntosh, Fuji, or Honeycrisp all on one tree. Originating from traditional orchard practices refined over centuries in Europe and Asia, combination trees provide extended harvest periods, built-in cross-pollination, and a diverse range of flavors from a single planting. The result is a highly productive, conversation-worthy tree that delivers both convenience and exceptional fruit quality throughout the season. 

Pollination: Apple trees are not self-fertile; however, combination apple trees include multiple compatible varieties grafted onto one tree, allowing for effective cross-pollination within a single planting.

Flowers Blossom: Mid to late spring (timing may vary slightly by grafted variety)

Fruit Ripens: Late summer through mid to late October, depending on the varieties grafted

Fruit: Varies by variety; typically includes a mix of colors, sizes, and flavors ranging from sweet to tart, with textures from crisp to tender

Usage: Versatile—ideal for fresh eating, baking, and cooking, depending on the specific varieties present on the tree

Tree Characteristics: Moderately vigorous and highly productive, producing multiple apple varieties on a single tree; excellent for small spaces and extended harvest

Hardiness Zones: 5–8 (varies slightly depending on rootstock and varieties grafted)

Light Requirements: Full sun

Soil Requirements: Well-drained loamy soil with a pH of 6.0–7.0

Average Height: 3.6–5.4 m (12–18 ft), depending on rootstock

Maximum Height: Up to 6 m (20 ft)

Spread: 2–4.5 m (6–15 ft), depending on pruning and rootstock

Growth Habit: Upright to spreading, with multiple grafted branches forming a balanced canopy

Growth Rate: Moderate

Ontario Native Status: Introduced (developed through grafting of cultivated apple varieties)

Best Ontario native plants to grow around apple trees:

• Ground Cover (Shade Tolerant):
  • Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana): Excellent ground cover that acts as a living mulch, attracts bees, and produces small edible fruits.
  • Blue Violet (Viola sororia): A low-growing, shade-tolerant plant that thrives under the canopy.
  • Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis): A native ground cover that handles shade and helps suppress weeds.
• Pest Repellents & Attractors (Beneficial Insects):
  • Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum): A native allium that repels pests (like aphids) and attracts beneficial insects with its strong scent.
  • Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta): Attracts beneficial insects that feed on pests.
  • Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium spp.): Excellent for attracting pollinators and beneficial predatory wasps.
  • New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis): High-value pollinator plant.
• Soil Improvers & Habitat:
  • Wild Geranium (Geranium maculatum): Good for shade and beneficial insects.
  • Lupines (Lupinus perennis): Fixes nitrogen in the soil to feed the apple tree. 
  • Other Tips for Apple Tree Guilds:
• Spring Bulbs: Plant daffodils around the drip line to deter deer, rabbits, and voles.
• Chop-and-Drop: Use native plants like comfrey (non-native, but excellent) or goldenrod (native) to cut and lay down as mulch to build topsoil.
• Spacing: Place plants near the drip line (outer edge of branches) to minimize competition with the tree's roots, especially for young trees.