Silver Creek Nursery Ltd.

Cortland Original Apple Bareroot

History: Cortland apples were first bred in 1898 by Cornell University in New York and introduced in 1915. Since then, they have become one of the top fifteen apples in the US and Canada, although the majority are still grown relatively close to the university where they originated. While there are different versions of Cortland available with features such as redder skin, we are happy to offer the original!

Why We Grow It: Especially with older, popular varieties, we are always happy to offer what is, to the best of our knowledge, the original strain. Cortland is a sweet apple with crisp, juicy flesh. It is great for applesauce or drying as the flesh is slow to brown. The fruit keeps until Christmas under home storage conditions although the crispness and flavour does fade over time. This variety crops well annually and makes a good pollinator for others. 

      $56.50

      Rootstock:
      Size

      Out of stock

      Fruit Traits:

      Recommended Use: Fresh eating, cooking, cider

      Fruit Size: Large

      Storage: Keeps until May when stored in cold storage

      Harvest: October - Early

      Cider Class (if applicable):

      • Bittersharp

      Class: Bittersharp
      Sugar: Medium, SG 1.059
      Acidity: Medium, TA 7.3 g/L
      Tannins: Low
      Juice Yield: Medium
      Recommendations: Blends well with varieties high in sugar, low in acid, and low in tannins.
      *Information based on Claude Jolicoeur's The New Cidermaker's Handbook

      Tree Traits:

      Canadian Hardiness Zone: 3

      Soil Preferance: Sandy loam, loam, clay loam. Prefers average to moist conditions, avoid planting anywhere that floods for more than two weeks in the spring. Generally quite adaptable to different soil conditions.

      Flowering Time: Middle

      Bloom Colour: White

      Pollination Requirements: Partially self-pollinating, it will produce some fruit on its own but does better planted with a pollinator of a different apple variety that blooms around the same time. A good pollinator for other apple trees.

      Sun/Shade Requirements: Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)

      General Growth Habit: Tip-bearing, moderately vigorous and precocious with an upright growth pattern, it is very hardy and has heavy crops. Susceptible to canker, mildew and fireblight but resistant to cedar rust.

      Overall Disease Resistance Rating*: Low

      *this rating is combined with our experience growing in our test orchards combined with already available information on the cultivar.

      Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of plants across Canada. We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them, and send them out via courier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.

      Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc.

      Our grafted fruit trees are graded into two categories, and the size includes the rootstock:

      • 50-80cm grade: Smaller trees that may have some minor branching, this grade is like a "b-grade" size tree according to industry standards. This size may include trees that are over 1m but have some scarring or mild crookedness.
      • 1m+ grade: Trees that are over 1m tall, some may have no branches and others may have light feathering or a few established branches 

      Please keep in mind, bareroot trees appear small if you are unfamiliar with them. Size can vary year to year due to weather conditions and every single variety has a unique amount of vigour (some varieties naturally are smaller and some bigger, much like humans -and when you propagate hundreds of varieties, there certainly is variation). While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth. Therefore you may find some conventional nursery stock larger in comparison. 


      Why plant small? It's best to transplant a tree when it's young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and after a few years bareroot trees tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted trees planted at the same time.

      Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the trees are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.

      Purchasing Bareroot

      New to bareroot? We've got you covered on what to expect when ordering bareroot plants

      Visit the Blog

      Full of orchard education, fun recipes, and other fruit related content!

      We are here for you!

      Over the last 16 years we have helped thousands of orchardists begin their journey. Questions? Just ask!

      Our Standards

      We are committed to growing the healthiest, finest plants. Read about our growing standards. It all matters.

      Recently viewed products