Apple 'Granny Smith'

Apples are prone to pests in Australia – particularly Coddling Moth

May be grown as an Espalier

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Granny Smith is generally regarded as a hardy plant, so it can be safe to leave outdoors for the majority of winter (although if in doubt, using a row cover is often a good idea).

Cultivate soil before planting. Dig the hole twice the width of the container, do not disturb subsoil.
Remove plant and place in hole so the soil level is the same as the surrounding ground.

Fill the hole firmly and water in well even if the soil is moist. Mulch well.²

Granny Smith is hardy, so ensure you wait until all danger of frost has passed in your area before considering planting outside.

The Granny Ramsey Smith green apple is a tip-bearing apple cultivar. It originated in Australia in 1868 from a chance seedling propagated by Maria Ann Smith (née Sherwood, b. 1799, d. 9 March 1870), from whom comes the name.¹ It is thought to be a hybrid of Malus sylvestris, the European Wild Apple, with the domestic apple M. domestica as the polleniser. Widely propagated in New Zealand, it was introduced to the United Kingdom c. 1935 and the United States in 1972 by Grady Auvil.

To this day, there is an annual Granny Smith Festival in Eastwood, New South Wales, at the end of October. The celebration marks not only the cultivar’s local origins, but also that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the orchards of Eastwood supplied apples to the Sydney region. Sydney, with its humid subtropical climate, is not ideally suited for growing apples, but Granny Smith did notably well while other cultivars struggled. With the advent of easier transport, apples are no longer grown commercially in the Sydney region.¹

¹ From Wikipedia

² “From Norwood’s literature on transplanting a Granny Smith. Also height and width details courtesy of Norwood.”