Malus domestica Empire (Semi-Dwarf Apple)

Very popular, Malus domestica 'Empire' is a culinary or dessert cultivar with a profusion of fragrant, pure white flowers in early mid-season (mid-spring). Draped in clusters along the branches, they are truly a sight to behold. The flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. They are followed in the fall by a heavy crop of small to medium size, round, dark crimson-red apples. The fruit is crisp, and juicy with a delightful sweet-tart flavor and creamy white flesh. It is perfect for eating or cooking. Partially self-fruitful, this apple tree requires pollination by a tree of another variety with the same bloom period such as Granny Smith or Braeburn. Empire is a heavy producer, generally problem-free (keep an eye out for scab). Beautiful in bloom, heavy with luscious apples, and picturesque when old, apple trees are very rewarding additions to the landscape.

• Grows up to 12-15 ft. tall and wide (3-5 m).
• A full sun lover, this tree is easily grown in deep, loamy, moderately fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soils. Prefers a sheltered, frost-free position.
• Since edible apple cultivars do not grow well on their own roots, most varieties have been grafted onto rootstocks and are classified as dwarf (8-10 ft, 2-3 m), semi-dwarf (12-15 ft, 3-5 m) and standard (18-25 ft, 5-8 m). The fruit itself is full-size and not dwarfed. Dwarf or semi-dwarf apple trees offer some benefits: they produce fruit at an earlier age and are easier to manage (spray, prune and harvest).
• Apples should be pruned every year to get the best crop. They also need to be thinned to about 8 in. apart (20 cm) if you want to reap the best-quality fruit.
• This deciduous apple tree adds a charming presence, tucked into a shrub border or planted as a specimen.
• Keep an eye out for aphids, woolly aphid, rosy apple aphid, fruit tree red spider mite, mussel scale, codling moth, caterpillars, Apple scab, apple canker, powdery mildews, blossom wilt, and honey fungus.
• Propagate by chip budding or grafting onto a clonal rootstock for fruit.