Apple ‘Gala’

Apple 'Gala' (Malus domestica 'Gala') is the variety to plant if you want fruit the household will actually eat. The apples are crisp, sweet and mild, striped red over yellow, and they ripen from late summer into autumn. The tree stays modest at about 3.5m tall and 3m wide, so it fits a small backyard or a large pot on a sunny terrace.

Why you'll love it

• Sweet, crisp fruit with no acid bite. Gala is the apple children eat without complaint, which matters when a tree produces a crop all at once.
• Small enough for a suburban block. Around 3.5m by 3m at maturity, with non invasive roots, so it can sit near a path, a driveway or a boundary.
• Blossom and bees in spring. White and pink flowers cover the bare branches before the leaves, and they pull pollinators into the whole garden.
• Autumn colour before dormancy. The leaves turn warm gold and bronze at the end of the season.

Where it works best

Small gardens and feature planting. Give it 3m of clear width and full sun. A single apple on the lawn works as a feature tree that happens to feed you.

Pots and containers. A 500mm or wider pot with free draining mix grows a productive tree at around 2m. Container trees need daily watering through summer.

Planted in pairs for pollination. If you have room for two trees, set them about 3m apart. Cross pollination lifts the crop noticeably.

Growing apples in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, six hours minimum. Cool temperate gardens are its natural home, and the cooler parts of the warm temperate zone crop it well. Subtropical and tropical gardens do not deliver the winter chill it needs, so trees there set very little fruit.

Soil. Deep, well drained and near neutral, with compost worked through a wide planting hole. Waterlogged ground is the fastest way to lose an apple tree. Mulch 75mm deep and keep it clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Deep soak weekly through the first two summers, and keep water consistent while the fruit is sizing, because a dry midsummer gives small apples. Feed in late winter before bud burst, and again after fruit set.

Pollination and pruning. Gala is only partly self fertile and crops far better with a second variety flowering at the same time within about 20m. Prune in winter while dormant to an open vase, trim in summer to hold size, and thin young fruit to one per cluster.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: 250mm pots in packs of three, a single 300mm, and advanced 45L and 100L trees. The 250mm and 300mm plants are young and take two to three years to crop, while the 45L and 100L trees fruit within a season or two.

This is a deciduous tree, so one delivered through winter arrives bare of leaves or nearly so. That is dormancy, not damage, and winter is the best time to plant. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Choose a pollinating partner from the apple range
• Planting fruit trees for every season
• Browse the wider fruit tree collection
• More plants that suit a tight space

Common questions

Do I need a second apple tree?

For a decent crop, yes. Gala sets some fruit alone but produces far more with another variety flowering at the same time nearby, such as Granny Smith. A neighbouring garden with an apple tree also counts.

Will it fruit in a subtropical garden?

Not reliably. Apples need a genuinely cold winter to break dormancy and set fruit, so warm coastal Queensland and northern New South Wales gardens grow the tree but crop it poorly.

How long until I get apples?

From the 250mm and 300mm sizes allow two to three years. The 45L and 100L trees are advanced enough that many carry fruit in their first or second season.