Apples – Cultivars
Description
Apple Tree Cultivars
Zones 3-9 (depending on the variety)
All grafted apple trees that we have listed for sale here are semi-dwarf, 4-6′ tall at the time of shipping and priced at $32 each. These trees are grafted, two year old trees. Dwarf apple trees will produce fruit in 3-5 years and each tree will produce up to 5 bushels per year.
The domestic apple is in the Rosaceae ( rose) family which is one of the largest of the plant families and is widely distributed throughout the temperate parts of the world. The genus for apple is Pyrus which includes pear, mountain ash, quince and apple. The apple flower is generally white with tints of red-pink. Apple is one of the later blooming of the fruit trees and as such it is better suited for those of us who live in areas where late frosts are common. Apples can grow from 6′ for the most dwarf to 40 foot in the common apple. We sell the common apple rootstock for grafting and for affordable wildlife food. Prices for the common apple are found on the common apple page. We also have grafted dwarf apples in the chart below. The wood of the apple is aromatic, hard, heavy and makes excellent firewood and smoking wood. Apples have the widest range of all the fruit trees in the states and are common from Maine to Georgia.
Apples have been domesticated for thousands of years. It is thought that they have their origins in Eurasia. Apples were probably the first fruit brought over to America by the first European settlers. Of course we have all heard of Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman in 1774. Johnny was a trained nurseryman who had a 1,200 acre orchard of his own. About 1800 he started his trek westward distributing apple seed he obtained from cider presses back in Pennsylvania. I do believe he passed this way before his death in 1845 and my hundreds of wild apples prove so.
The most popular apple in Northern Michigan is the Honeycrisp and is available by the apple or the bushel at Kings Orchard in Central Lake or Kamps Orchard in Kewadin (231-264-5300). If you are growing for sale then the Honeycrisp is for you. By the bushel it sells for more than double other apples. The climate of west Michigan and Antrim county in particular is excellent for fruit production with Lake Michigan providing ample moisture and tempering the extremes of weather. Make sure you have a spot with at least some air drainage, a small hill will do, the colder the climate the higher hill you will need.
| Apple | skin | ripening |
| Yellow Delicious Zones 5-8 | yellow | July |
| Lodi Zones 3-8 | Yellow | July |
| Summer McIntosh | red | August |
| Crimson Gala | red | September |
| Red McIntosh | red | September |
| Honey Crisp Zones 3-6 | red | September |
| Cortland Zones 4-6 | red | October |
| Crown Empire | red | October |
| Golden Delicious Zones 4-9 | yellow | October |
| Red Delicious | red | October |
| Northern Spy | red | October |
| Granny Smith Zones 5-9 | green | November |
| Red Winesap | red | November |
| Red Rome | red | November |
Helpful Resources:
Looking for local Northern Michigan apples? King Orchards has U-Pick and apples that are ready to go. They also have the best tasting apple cider!
The Holistic Orchard: Tree Fruits and Berries the Biological Way
The Fruit Gardener’s Bible: A Complete Guide to Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Garden
Our farm does not receive any money from your purchase of the books listed above. The links are to our favorite local book store, Brilliant Books, which ships nationwide!
