Apple Tree - Pitchers
€26.95
Pitcher’s Apple (Malus domestica ‘Irish Pitcher’) is a hardy Irish heritage apple tree that typically reaches 3–6 m tall, depending on growing conditions and pruning. Traditionally known in the west of Ireland, particularly around Mayo and Sligo, it produces large, juicy, crunchy dessert apples with good flavour, pale green skin, and a red flush. The fruit can be eaten fresh straight from the tree or used in cooking, juicing, baking, chutneys, sauces, and preserves. Pitcher’s Apple is well suited to Irish gardens and orchards, providing heritage value, spring blossom for pollinators, edible fruit, and long-term resilience in orchards, food forests, edible hedgerows, and permaculture plantings.
Pitcher’s Apple thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers fertile, moist, well-drained soil enriched with organic matter. It is fully hardy in Ireland’s cool temperate climate and is especially valuable because it flowers late, helping it avoid some spring frost damage and making it suitable for cooler and wetter parts of the country. Unlike most grafted apple trees, Pitcher’s Apple is known for its ability to grow on its own roots, giving it a strong, natural habit and making it an excellent choice for resilient, low-input heritage orchards and regenerative food systems.
Quantity
Only 1 left in stock
Growing Instructions
Plant in full sun or partial shade in fertile, moist, well-drained soil enriched with compost or well-rotted organic matter. Choose a sheltered position with good airflow, avoiding frost pockets and waterlogged ground. Water regularly during dry spells, especially while establishing young trees, and apply a mulch of compost, leaf mould, or woodchip each spring to retain moisture, suppress weeds, feed the soil, and protect the root zone.
Prune in winter to remove dead, damaged, crossing, or overcrowded branches and to create an open, healthy shape that allows light and air into the canopy. Allow the tree enough space to develop, as own-root apple trees are not restricted by dwarfing rootstock and may become more vigorous over time. Its Irish heritage, late blossom, edible juicy fruit, pollinator value, and own-root resilience make it perfect for traditional orchards, forest gardens, edible hedgerows, wildlife gardens, and permaculture systems seeking long-lived, locally adapted fruit trees.
