Katy apple trees
Katy is one of the best early season apple varieties. It is very reliable, producing large quantities of attractive red apples, regardless of the weather or the horticultural ability of the owner.
The spring blossom is particularly attractive, and quite long-lasting, making it an excellent pollinator for many other apple varieties. Indeed, Katy rivals many crab-apples for the exuberance of its blossom.
The apples are medium-sized, usually pink/red to bright red in colour over a light green yellow background. The flesh is a pale cream colour, and has a firm and fairly crisp consistency - although not as crisp as later season apple varieties. Like most early apples, the flavour is on the sharper side, with a hint of strawberry in a good year. It is usually very juicy, and when fresh from the tree the juice goes everywhere as you bite into it.
Katy is a very versatile apple. If you get too many to eat (which is the usual situation with Katy), then it is an excellent variety for juicing. Although considered a dessert apple, it has plenty of acidity and can therefore be used for baking as well, e.g. for apple crumble. The slices will keep their shape but soften considerably.
Unusually for a mainstream eating apple, Katy can also be used for producing a single-varietal cider.
Katy is also a popular apple with children, the size makes it ideal as a healthy school snack, and whilst you might think children would only eat very sweet apples, in tasting tests they seem to like the slight sharpness in Katy.
Whilst it may not have the balanced flavour of some later varieties, Katy is in every other respect an excellent variety, and a particularly good choice if you are new to growing apples.
Katy apple trees for sale
Pot-grown
All pot-grown trees are suitable for planting out in the garden, some are suitable for growing in containers.
PG12-year 11.5L pot-grown tree M27 rootstock £60.50
Very small tree
(< 1.7m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
PG22-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree M26 rootstock £56.50< 5 in stock
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
PG32-year bush-trained 12L pot-grown tree MM106 rootstock £56.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Bare-root
BR12-year bush-trained bare-root tree M9 rootstock £44.75
Small tree
(1.5m-2.5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR21-year bare-root tree M26 rootstock £34.95
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR32-year bush-trained bare-root tree M26 rootstock £43.00
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR41-year bare-root tree M116 rootstock £34.95< 5 in stock
Medium tree
(2m-3m after 10 years)
BR51-year bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £34.95
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Out of stock
Please try next season
BR62-year bush-trained bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £43.00
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
BR72-year half-standard bare-root tree MM106 rootstock £46.50
Large tree
(3m-5m after 10 years)
Need help? Ask our fruit tree experts
Call us on 01759 392007 or fill in our contact form.
Next deliveries
Order now for delivery from week commencing 6th January.
Delivery charges
Delivery for a single tree starts at £9.95, it is calculated based on your postcode.
Growing and Training
Katy is one of the easiest apples to grow yourself. The tree is neat and attractive and makes a nice garden feature. It grows well on dwarf rootstocks and remains productive even if you forget to prune it. It seems to shrug off the usual apple diseases without problem, and is thus a good choice if you do not want to use chemical sprays in the garden.
Katy is a heavy-cropper and benefits from thinning of the fruitlets in early June - this will improve the size of the remaining apples. However apart from this, Katy generally needs minimal attention from the gardener and is best left to get on with growing and fruiting, which it does perfectly well of its own accord. The one thing to look out for is that once ripe the apples fall fairly easily from the tree, so it is best to start picking as soon as you see some starting to fall - this is not a variety where you can leave the apples on the tree.
Katy is very well-suited to cool temperate climates, and crops reliably regardless of a good or indifferent summer. It is one of the best varieties to consider if you want to grow apples in a cold/wet situation, yet does well in warmer climates as well.
Katy is a good pollinator of other apple varieties, as it produces a large quantity of long-lasting blossom - a characteristic it inherits from one of its parents, James Grieve.
All in all, an excellent variety to try if you are new to growing apple trees.
History
Katy originates from Sweden, where it is known as Katya. However its pedigree is all British - it is a cross between the well-known Scottish James Grieve and the classic early-season English Worcester Pearmain.
Katy characteristics
- Gardening skillBeginner
- Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
- Flowering group3
- Pollinating othersGood
- Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
- Climate suitabilityTemperate climatesMild damp climates
- Picking seasonEarly
- CroppingHeavy
- Keeping (of fruit)1 week
- Food usesEating freshCulinaryJuiceHard cider
- Country of originSweden
- Period of origin1900 - 1949
- Blossom colourWhite
- Fruit colourRed
British-grown trees 
Unlike many garden centres and online retailers, the vast majority of our fruit trees are grown in the UK.
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In addition, all our trees are certified under the Plant Healthy scheme, supervised by the Plant Health Alliance.
Other stakeholders include Defra and the RHS. The scheme aims to improve UK biosecurity by setting standards
for all growers and retailers involved in selling plants in the UK.
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Guaranteed fruit trees
When you buy your fruit tree from Orange Pippin Fruit Trees we guarantee it for the first season in your garden whilst it gets established. If it doesn't grow successfully, we'll either replace it the following season or offer a refund - subject to some conditions.
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