When is the best time to plant apple trees?

[hippipotami]

We have been thinking for a while about getting a few apple trees for our garden. It took us so long to decide, we have missed the ideal time slot haven't we?

When in the year is the best time to plant small/new/young apple trees?

You can plant apple trees between about October and March, but the first half of that period is best. Best to buy from a specialist fruit nursery, and none of those will sell you bare-rooted trees (the best kind to get) at this time of year.

There are lots of things to think about in choosing apple trees for your garden, so you could start investigating and planning now - I spent ages last night looking at the sites for Keepers Nursery and Chris Bowers, two of the specialists that sell online, and feel that I am much more of an expert on apple trees than I used to be!

Thanks for that Zo - will start planning. We know roughly what we want, how many, and where we are going to put them, so will use the rest of the time wisely and pick precise trees and which nursery to get them from...
Will also prepare soil etc.

Thanks again!