Malus Domestica Vitalstar Apple

Malus Domestica Vitalstar is a deciduous fruit tree with very special red-fleshed dessert apples ripening in September. It’s a reliable dual-purpose tree that suits the UK’s climate.

Historically, red-fleshed apples were too sour to eat raw, but Vitalstar apple is an exception. It has red skin and red flesh right through to the core, with a refreshing, tongue-tingling sweet-sour taste. Eat apples straight from the tree in September or cook them pies, tarts, and jams.

This German-bred tree is medium-sized and suits small gardens. From April to May, its distinctive mid-green leaves emerge alongside attractive, pink-budded blossom that opens to red flowers. Essential pollinators adore this strongly blossoming tree, so it’s an excellent choice for eco-friendly gardeners as well as apple lovers.

Height and Spread of Malus Vitalstar
Vitalstar apple is medium-sized. It reaches four to five metres in height and three metres in spread.

How Hardy is Malus Vitalstar
Fully hardy in the UK, this tough apple tree prefers well-drained soil and full sun. Late frost may damage its blossom, but it’s robustly disease resistant and copes with some drought when established.

How To Use Malus Vitalstar
Even without its apples, this is a handsome fruit tree that produces attractive mid-green foliage in April and sweetly-scented pollinator-friendly flowers from April to May. If you’re not an apple fan, fruit-eating birds like thrushes will happily clear them.
However, Malus VItalstar is an excellent dual-purpose apple. In September, eat its tangy red-fleshed apples fresh from the branch, but save some for the kitchen. Its fruit is sharp enough to make excellent apple sauce and crumbles, too.
Freeze excess harvests for up to six months, or you can dehydrate slices for colorful, healthy snacks.
Apple Vitalstar is partially self-fertile, but a bumper harvest is possible with a pollinating partner nearby. Be sure to choose one that blossoms in April and May.

It’s a good choice for sunny urban gardens and small to medium-sized spaces. If you can only fit in one apple tree, dual-purpose Vitalstar is a good bet.  

How to Care For Malus Vitalstar
Vitalstar apple tree is easy to grow and care for.
Choose a well-drained spot in full sun with shelter from harsh, drying winds and water it well for at least the first year. Apply a thick layer of organic mulch around its roots in springtime.
Late winter is the best time to prune apple trees. Remove crossed, dead, or diseased branches and a third of the previous year’s growth. Cut branches back to an outward-facing bud creating an open crown of well-spaced branches with plenty of fruiting spurs.