Jonagold Apple Trees

Malus Domestica Jonagold

If there was ever a variety whose reputation has been ruined by supermarkets this is the one. The Jonagold apples that you will grow will bear no resemblance to the awful "value added" packs of apples you see. The true Jonagold apple is large and yellow with great smudges of ripe redness on its cheeks. Its flesh is creamy white, very juicy with a crisp crunch to the bite and the flavour is honeyed and sweet without being sickly. One of these and you are well on your way to your 5 Fruit and Veg of the day! A real up-side for this tree is that it has fantastic, delicate single white flowers which look stunning in the middle of May.

Browse our range of apple trees or see the full variety of fruit trees.

Using Jonagold in the Garden

 In a good summer the apples really flush and look almost embarrassed to be so large and toothsome. This makes it a hugely decorative addition to your garden. Surround it with late flowering Narcissus like Actaea or Pheasant's Eye both of which should still be flowering into May. Otherwise, clothe it in a rose that rambles; Narrow Water is nice but there is a huge list of rambling roses suitable for growing into trees to choose from so enjoy spending a little time having a browse. On a more practical note, being a triploid tree (which means it has three sets of genes) it does need two other pollinators close by for all your apples to fully fertile and produce the crops of which it they capable. This is a great excuse to invest in two other apple trees at the same time. We would recommend another eater like Ellison's Orange with its melting flesh and for a cooker have something like a Howgate Wonder, both of which are also Group D pollinators. Lastly, Jonagold also makes brilliant apple juice and great cider...so for the budding cider makers out there, this might be a tree to start with.

Features

• Height: to 4.5m
• Use: Eating and juicing
• Pruning: Spur bearer
• Pollination: Needs pollinating and does not return the favour
• Picking: October
• Apple colour: green / red
• Pollination Group: Group D

Jonagold Facts

Jonagold is a happy union of Golden Delicious and Jonathan, a well-respected American apple, a union made in the 1940s and introduced to the market in the 1968. The RHS recognised it with an AGM in 1968 and since then it has been grown commercially all over the world, from USA to Japan.  

Clear and weed a circle at least 1m in diameter (and keep it weeded).

Make a square hole that is comfortably wider than the treebs roots but only 5 cm deeper. The hole should be at least 30cms from any wall.

Bang in a tree stake off centre and to the south west if the tree is free standing.

Soak the roots of your Jonagold in water for at least an hour.

Mound a little soil in the bottom of the hole and settle the tree roots on it until the soil mark on the trunk is at the same level as the surrounding soil and/or the grafting scion is at least 5cms above soil level. Remove the tree, sprinkle Rootgrow in the hole, wet the roots again to ensure good contact with the Rootgrow and return to the hole.

Backfill slowly, treading down gently as you go. Use a tree tie to attach your tree to the stake if freestanding.

Fit a treeguard. Water in with about 2 gallons/9 litres of water. Mulch the whole area. Water again the next day and then weekly afterwards through the first summer.