Gala Apple Trees

Gala Apple Trees

Everyone has bought Gala apples in the shop and, as ever, a home-grown one tastes so much better that it may as well be a different variety.
The fruit refrigerate well and can be stored for a long time in controlled conditions, which is why supermarkets love them, but they lose their flavour that way. They taste best when eaten fresh off the branch and for about a week afterwards, which is then a good time to juice them.

The trees are vigorous, reliable croppers, and they have lush pink and white blossom with great nectar production for bees.

Browse our range of apple trees, or all our fruit trees.
Read our guide to buying apples.

Delivery season: Bareroot plants are delivered in late Autumn to Spring, about November-March inclusive.

Features:

• Eating. Sweet, crunchy. Juices well
• Spur bearer (good for cordons & espaliers)
• Self sterile, Pollinator, Group D
• Harvest: October.
• Store & ripen in a cool, dry place: 2 to 3 months, but they are at their best for eating fresh for about a week off the branch.

Growing Gala Apples

Apples like a rich, well drained soil, and will thrive on clay in locations that do not get waterlogged in winter.
A full day of sun and shelter from the wind is ideal.

Rootstocks:
We use MM106 for Gala, the UK standard for medium-sized trees, ideal for gardeners. Grown as a half-standard, MM106 gives a tree about 4 metres tall, and as a bush about 3 metres. MM106 maidens are suitable for cordons and espaliers.

Disease notes:
Some susceptibility to scab, so rake up leaves in Autumn.

Pollination Partners for Gala

Your trees are self sterile and their flowers must be pollinated to make fruit.
Gala is in Pollination Group D, which cross-pollinates with other apple trees in Groups C, D and E.

Use our Fruit Pollination Checker to quickly find pollination partners, or Apple Tree Pollination Guide to learn more.

Did You Know?

Grown worldwide, Gala is the most sold supermarket apple in the UK, passing Cox's Orange Pippin in 2010, and the most grown apple in America, passing Red Delicious in 2018.
It was bred in New Zealand from Kidd's Orange Red and Golden Delicious by J. H. Kidd himself in the 1930's, but it wasn't until the 70's and 80's that it gained traction in the USA and UK.

In the 1600's, gala meant your best clothes for special occasions, rather than the event itself: that use of the word is first recorded in 1777. It appears to derive from old French words to do with making merry and celebrating, although it might derive from the Arabic khil'a, which is a gift of the finest clothes.

Apple Tree Delivery Shapes:

Most of our fruit trees are delivered in up to 3 shapes (maiden, bush, and half standard), and you can buy selected varieties as ready-made cordons and/or potted mini patio trees: scroll up to see what's in stock. 

Maiden: Unbranched tree, the most basic starting size, which you can train into the other forms (apart from mini patio trees).
Bush: Freestanding tree with a short trunk about 60cm tall. It will grow to about 3m. Ideal for small gardens.
Half-Standard: A freestanding form with a trunk about 120cm tall. It will grow into a full sized, "normal" apple tree, about 4m. Ideal for orchards, easy to mow underneath.

Cordon: Gala is a spur-bearer, suitable for cordons and espaliers.
Mini Patio Tree: Only sold pot-grown, these use a dwarfing rootstock to drastically reduce the tree's vigour and restrict the mature size. They are suitable for large patio containers, and for small gardens where a normal-sized bush or half-standard form won't fit.

Guide to Fruit Tree Sizing.

Growing Mini Patio Trees in Pots:
Dwarf trees do well in large containers of Rocket Gro Fruit & Veg Compost. During summer, it is essential to provide consistent moisture, without overwatering, and to feed lightly. 
Change as much of the compost as you can every three years.

Notes on planting apple trees:
All fruit trees like a rich soil with decent drainage, protection from the wind and plenty of sun. Apple trees like clay soil, as long as it is not prone to bad waterlogging.

Prepare your site before planting:
Improving the soil helps trees establish quickly and be productive for years. Preparing weeks or months in advance gives best results: fill the planting hole back up, don't leave it open to either dry out or fill with water.

• Destroy weeds and grass (use Neudorff WeedFree Plus weed-killer for tough weeds),
• Dig the soil over, remove stones, then mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades, unless you are on heavy clay:
• On thick clay soil, only dig over the soil to break it up. Apply organic matter as a mulch over the soil after planting.

Spacing apple trees:

• Freestanding bushes: 15-18 feet (5-6m) between trees and rows.
• Freestanding half-standards: 18-30 feet (6-10m) between trees and rows.

In general, allow 1 more metre between rows than between trees along the row.

• Wire-trained cordons: 60-100cm apart along a row.
• Espaliers: 10-18 feet (3.5-6m) apart.

• Watch how to plant a fruit tree for a bush or half-standard.
• To grow a cordon or espalier, you need to install sturdy training wires.

Pruning apple trees: 

• Maidens can be pruned in any style, including into bushes or half-standards.
• Bushes - start here when you buy a bush.
• Half-standards - start here when you buy a half-standard.

Accessories:
For bush and half standard apple trees, a tree planting pack, which includes a wooden support stake & rubber tie (a bamboo cane is enough support for a maiden), and a biodegradable mulch mat, with pegs, to preserve soil moisture stops and prevent weeds.

We strongly recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of all transplanted trees.

Winter wash and grease are effective, organic pest prevention.