Straight as an Arrow to Target Your Taste Buds

Bred specifically to produce an apple harvest in a vertical gardening space, columnar apple trees (Malus domestica) are all the rage for urban gardeners! These apple trees are a landscape designer's dream for tight spaces where conventional apple trees are simply too large. Columnar apple trees are aptly named, because they allow you to grow apples upward instead of outward!

Skip the Pruning
Columnar apple trees maintain their own vertical growth, which means they naturally grow in a narrow shape. So you won't have to get out the pruning shears and keep them cut back for them to maintain their natural shape, which typically extends only two feet wide!

A "Pollen Buddy"
All apple trees benefit from a "pollen buddy" -- a nearby apple tree that lends pollen from its flowers in a process called cross-pollination. This is important in the apple world, because the fruit forms only if the flowers become fertile after they're pollinated. But you don't have to be a horticulturist to make this happen?…all you have to do is plant two or more apple trees so these "pollen buddies" can go to work for you!

The Straight and Narrow
Even though you need only two columnar trees for cross-pollination, the rule of thumb in landscape design is to plant odd-number groupings of plants; for example, three trees are visually more appealing than two trees, etc. But because columnar apple trees are so narrow, you could grow an edible border in your sunny side yard or along your driveway by planting an entire row of these beauties!

A Fall Harvest of Plenty
You'll enjoy watching your columnar apple tree all season long, anticipating the harvest of juicy apples in autumn. The trees are covered in fluffy white-to-pink blossoms in spring, with the developing fruits soon to follow. When autumn comes, so does your treat -- mouth-watering apples! Don't think these vertical trees sacrifice quality fruit for their narrow growth. Each apple is full-sized and each mature tree will yield up to 75 pounds!