Apple Trees
Apple Trees
Apples have been a staple of the human diet since ancient times. Their varied shapes, sizes, colours, and tastes provide fruit that is beautiful to the eyes and pleasing to the palate in many forms—fresh, baked, stewed, dried, and in cider, sauce and jelly. When planning to plant apple trees, remember that to ensure pollination and fruit set, two different varieties are required. For example, Idared and Golden Russet trees will pollinate each other, but two Idared trees will not. Some varieties, called triploids, have sterile pollen and cannot pollinate other trees. A third variety is then required to ensure pollination of all trees.
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History: Akane was developed in Japan in 1937 at the Morioka Experimental Station. It is one of several kinds of produce created to better feed citizens and troops during WW2. The name 'akane' literally translates from Japanese as 'deep red.'
Why We Grow It: This crisp, sweet apple is great for fresh eating and has bright red skin. It tends to begin bearing at a young age and is relatively diseases resistant.
History: This cold-hardy apple was developed in the prairies and is for growing in colder, northern areas.
Why We Grow It: This unique apple produces a yellow fruit with red stripes. It is a rather uncommon variety and is great for sauce. It has begun producing reliably in our test orchard the last few years, and always has a bountiful crop.
History: This apple was developed in New York in 1974. It has never achieved major popularity but remains a curiosity due to the deep red colour of its skin which causes the flesh inside to become stained pink.
Why We Grow It: Along with its visual appeal, this apple boasts a sweet, sub-acidic flavour that makes it suitable for both fresh eating and making cider. Although these apples don't store well, the fruit hangs onto the tree for three weeks which helps to keep it available a little longer.
Picture of Burgundy apples on the tree courtesy of Shannon McInnis
History: Chestnut crabapples were bred at the University of Minnesota in 1949. They are one of about thirty varieties that have been produced by the university's breeding program since it started in 1888.
Why We Grow It: The rosy-red Chestnut crabapple produces fruit that is unusually large for a crabapple with a nutty taste. Unlike other crabapples, it is sweet enough to eat fresh and can be used in cider while still being good for traditional crabapple recipes such as making jellies.
History: Delbarestivale was developed by Delbard, a nursery in France, in the 1950s. Likely named as a portmanteau of 'Delbard' and 'estivale' (translated from French as 'summer') due to its early ripening time, this variety goes by many other names including Delcorf, Monidel, Dalili, and Ambassy. It was bred in an attempt to create an improved version of Golden Delicious. Although not quite as popular as Golden Delicious, it is still grown commercially in parts of France and England and the Royal Horticultural Society awarded it the Award of Garden Merit in 1998.
Why We Grow It: This French apple is very sweet but balanced nicely with a sharp flavour. The flesh is aromatic and crisp and the skin is a lovely, stripey bi-colour with reddish streaks overlaying green. The apples store quite well for an early-ripening variety, although they do tend to bruise easily.
Why We Grow It: Discovery is a slightly sweet apple with noticeable acidity, and under optimal conditions it can have a strawberry flavour. Like many early apples, it is great for sauce. The fruit is on the smaller side and has a flatter shape with greenish-yellow skin overlaid with a bright red blush. The red can sometimes stain the cream-coloured flesh inside, providing some visual appeal. The tree boasts some resistance to scab and although it can take a while to start bearing fruit, once it does it bears quite reliably.
History: Dolgo crabapples originated in Russia and due to the slightly elongated shape of the fruit were named 'dolgo' which means 'long.' They were brought to the United States by N. E. Hansen around 1897.
Why We Grow It: Dolgo is a classic crabapple with a vibrant flavour, very tangy and delicious right off the tree in the heat of summer- as refreshing as lemonade! The bright red fruits are about the size of small plums. These apples are excellent for making jelly or as a unique addition to a cider blend. Along with being exceptionally cold hardy, the trees themselves are quite pretty and are often planted ornamentally.
History: Duchess of Oldenburg, or Duchess as we like to call it, originated in the 1700s in Russia. It spread to other countries where it became popular, especially in Victorian England. Its popularity was so great that at one point it was used as a reference cultivar when evaluating other varieties of apples. It is also likely the parent of several other varieties such as Northern Spy.
Why We Grow It: Duchess boasts an attractive fruit that is striped and mottled red over light green. Although these apples don't store well, the flesh is soft and is excellent for pies and applesauce. The trees themselves are quite hardy and disease resistant.
Why We Grow It: It is easy to see why this such a popular early apple! Ginger Gold produces lovely bright yellow apples that sometimes sport a red blush. These medium-large apples have are firm and juicy with a pleasant sweet flavour that has a nice tart finish. The fruit is slow to brown which makes them even better for fresh-eating along with drying. For fans of feeding wildlife, Ginger Gold apples are known to hang onto the tree well after they are ripe.
History: Glowing Heart was bred in Toronto by Fred Jansen, one of the founders of the North American Fruit Explorers (NAFEX). This unique apple is still in its early years.
Why We Grow It: This variety has a unique pink and white flesh and is quite acidic. One bite will make you pucker! Although not the best option for fresh eating, this apple creates an aromatic jelly with rich flavour and can be used in ciders as well. It does well in organic orchards.
History: This McIntosh type apple was developed in New Jersey at the Rutgers Agricultural Experiment Station in 1956. It was released commercially in 1971.
Why We Grow It: For McIntosh lovers this is a great apple to grow since it ripens before actual McIntosh apples. It is a bit more tart than McIntosh which makes it great for cooking, baking, and applesauce. It is recommended to use a thickener when baking pies since the flesh cooks down quickly. This tree is also a good cropper.
History: John Downie was raised by Edward Holmes, a nursery worker in England, in the 1870s. The variety was named after another nursery worker and friend of Holmes, John Downie. John Downie crabapples remain one of the most popular of the English crabapples.
Why We Grow It: This crabapple sports bright orangey-red fruit, often used to create some of the best jelly around. With its sweet-tart flavour, this crabapple can be pressed into a cheery orange juice that is a great addition to cider blends.
History: Lodi is a cross between Yellow Transparent and Montgomery Sweet created at the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, and released in 1924. Although it is not suitable for commercial production due to its poor keeping qualities and tendency for the flesh to crack in storage, it is still commonly grown by homeowners in the southern US today.
Why We Grow It: If you're looking for an early apple to get started on making applesauce, Lodi is the way to go! These large yellow-green apples are ready to harvest by the end of July and do not bruise as easily as their Yellow Transparent parent.
History: Maiden's Blush was first described in New Jersey in 1817 although it had already been popular in Philadelphia markets for some time. It likely originated around New Jersey in the late 1700s. Maiden's Blush continued to be commonly grown in the southern US through the early 1800s.
Why We Grow It: Maiden's Blush's uniqueness is still worthy of attention today, its flavour being an interesting mix of citrus-like acidity and sweetness that stand out among other apples. While it is good for fresh eating, particularly after a few weeks off the tree, it is most well known for cooking, baking, and drying due to its non-browning qualities.
History: Melba was developed by W.T. Macoun at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa in 1898. In 1924 it was released commercially and three years later received the Silver Wilder Medal from the American Pomological Society.
Why We Grow It: Melba is a lovely early market apple or backyard tree for making applesauce! The fruit is yellow with crimson flush and the crisp, white skin has a very sweet flavour.
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Malus domestica
While sweet apples are available in abundance, sharps (high in acid) and bitters (high in tannin) are more difficult to come by. Whether you make cider on a large scale, or just need a few trees for the backyard, you will find a great selection here of both old and new varieties, particularly sharps and bitters. Please phone for wholesale pricing on large orders.
English Cider Apple Classification
|
Flavour |
Acidity (g/L malic acid) |
Tannins (g/L tannic acid) |
|
Sharp |
over 4.5 |
less than 2 |
|
Bittersharp |
over 4.5 |
over 2 |
|
Bittersweet |
less than 4.5 |
over 2 |
|
Sweet |
less than 4.5 |
less than 2 |
We're happy to offer a selection of crabapples and exceptionally cold hardy apple trees! All of the cold hardy apples in this collection are rated for hardiness zones 2 or even 1 for those in really cold areas.
Our crabapples are more cold hardy than the average apple but tend to be on the smaller and more tart side. Some are good for fresh eating, but crabapples shine in jams, jellies, and ciders. Crabapples also make excellent pollination partners for other apples and crabapples thanks to their larger numbers of blossoms.
