Apples
Apples come in many shapes, sizes, colors, and tastes to suit just about any preference. Caring for apples isn’t a difficult task, but there are a few things to remember to help your trees flourish.
Apple Pollination
In order for apples to set fruit they need to be pollinated. Apples are most commonly pollinated by honey bees. Most apple varieties require or benefit from cross-pollination to get a good fruit set. Cross pollination will occur when two or more differing varieties of apples are planted within the same vicinity and bloom at the same or overlapping times. Our pollination chart provides a list of apple varieties we commonly carry and their pollination needs.
Apple Uses
There are thousands of apple varieties and each one is unique and suited for different uses. Some apples are better for storing, while some are best eaten right away. Some apples are great for baking, but some just turn to mush in the oven. Along with apple pollination, this chart gives a selection of the best uses for the varieties of apples we commonly carry.
We cannot guarantee availability based on our website, please call to ensure variety is still in stock or going to be this season.
Semi-Dwarf
Zone: 4
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season: October to November
Disease Resistance: Moderate
A medium green and red striped apple. Firm flesh with excellent sweet flavor. Needs long growing season to produce heavy crop.
Zone: 5
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season:Late summer to fall
Disease resistance: Low
Medium sized fruit with red and yellow skin color. Flesh is firm, crisp, juicy and sweet. Heavy fruit bearer. Partial self fruitful.
Zone: 4
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: A
Harvest Season: July to August
Disease resistance: Low except to cedar apple rust
Crisp, flavorful and tart. Apples are green with red stripes. Flesh is finely grained and juicy. Does not store well, perfect for cider and sauce as well as for fresh eating.
Zone: 6
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: C
Harvest Season: September
Disease Resistance: Moderate
Has a firm, crisp texture. The sweet juicy flavor makes it a favorite for eating. Can be a reliable annual bearer.
Zone: 3
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: C
Harvest Season: October
Disease Resistance: Moderate
A cold-tolerant dessert apple. Tastes crisp and sweet. Fruits are golden yellow and keep very well.
Zone: 4
15’x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season: October
Disease Resistance: Moderate to good
Medium sized, deep red striped apple with crisp flesh and sweet-tart taste. Can be a prolific producer.
Zone: 4
15’x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season: Late August to September
Disease Resistance: Moderate to good
Vigorous bearer of large fruit that is vibrant red and peels easily. Flesh is tender with a sweet-tart taste. Wonderful apple for fresh-eating, sauces, and cider. Good keeper in proper storage.
Crispin
Zone: 6
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season: October
Granny Smith
Zone: 6
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: C
Harvest Season: Late October/November
Red Delicous
Zone: 4
15’x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Whitney
Zone: 6
15′ x 15′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season: October
5 Way Combo
Zone: 6
15′ x 15′
Dwarf
Zone: 5
10′ x 10′
Flowering Group: B
Harvest Season: September
Disease Resistance: Good
Small bright red apple with crisp, juicy white flesh and tart flavor. 30-60 pounds per year.
Zone: 5
10′ x 10′
Flowering Group: C
Harvest Season: October
Disease Resistance: Moderate
Large, red striped apple with crisp, sweet, and juicy flesh. Biennial bearing. Unsuitable as pollinator.
Columnar
Zone: 4
8′ x 3′
Flowering Group: A
Harvest Season: August to September
Disease Resistance: Good
A tightly columnar fruiting apple, with bright red fruit. Great for fresh eating, cider, and baking. It needs full sun and a well-drained soil. Also is an excellent selection for container gardening or small space gardening.
Zone: 5
10′ x 4′
Flowering Group: A
Harvest Season: Late September
Disease Resistance: Good
Apples are plump, red, and green. Crisp, juicy, sweet and aromatic flavor make this great for snacks. Perfect in containers with solid profusions of fruit.
Apple Care
Apple trees thrive in full sun with a soil pH of 6.2 to 6.5 and can benefit from yearly fertilization. When properly placed in good growing conditions an apple tree will grow vigorously, eventually making it difficult to harvest if not properly tended to on a regular basis. Pruning lightly to moderately on a regular basis is key, pruning severely will cause adverse effects, and should be avoided. Make sure to thin out the branches and cut back suckers. Apples also tend to overproduce and this weight can damage your tree. Go through when the fruit is about the size of an olive and selectively thin out some fruit, this will help reduce the stress on branches, relocate energy to plant and remaining fruit growth, and discourage bumper cropping. Trees planted in ideal growing condition with proper pruning and maintenance will create a healthy tree with stronger resistance, although, apples, some varieties more then others, can still be prone to a few diseases and pests, and thus can benefit from a pest management regiment.
Check out our page on Fruit Tree Care for more information
Rootstock
A apple tree can grow very large with no staking required, to quite small, even shrub like, it all depends on which root stock the apple variety is grafted to. There are a variety of options to suit every household.
Dwarf- A dwarf apple tree will grow 8-10′ tall and wide. They are usually the earliest to mature and bear fruit, and typically produce 1/4-1 bushel a tree. They usually benefit from staking.
Semi Dwarf- A semi-dwarf apple tree will grow 12-15′ tall and wide. They are slower to bear fruit then dwarf, but will produce a larger amount, typically 5-10 bushels a tree. They commonly do not require staking.
Standard- A standard apple tree will grow 18′ x 18′ or larger. They often take longer to bear fruit, but bear the most fruit, typically 10-20 bushels a tree. They are very sturdy and require no staking.
Columnar- A columnar apple tree has a upright, narrow habit, usually growing 8-10′ tall but only 2-3′ wide. They are perfect for very small yards and can be container grown.