In many areas of North America, a thriving orchard forms an integral part of a Permaculture strategy. What better way to start your own food forest than with these flavorful heirloom varieties that are sustainably propagated using natural soil amendments, foliar sprays, biological controls, and crop rotation to control pathogens.
Robust two-year-old trees are approximately 3 ft. tall and are shipped bare-root. All varieties are semi-dwarf. Semi-Dwarf apple trees will arrive grafted onto MM 111 rootstock.
A MM 111 (Malling Merton) rootstock produces a tree 70-80% of standard size. Growth tends to be upright with wide crotch angles. They are well anchored and resistant to drought, high soil temperatures, and wooly aphids. They will grow well in heavy soils, will bear fruit in 3 to 4 years, and grow to 15-18 feet.
Most of our apple trees require pollination by other apple trees. If you have three or more varieties of apples, pollination will not be a problem. Check the individual varieties for more information.
In order to be productive, apples have chilling requirements. They must spend 200 to 1700 hours at a temperature between 32 and 45°F between November and mid February. Each variety lists zone suggestions; to figure out your growing zone, click here
Apples keep better in cold storage than on your kitchen table and completely ripe apples will not keep as well as immature harvests. (Generally, apples are ripe when the seeds are dark brown or black.) Storage life is shorter in climates over 100°F. Once mature, a semi dwarf tree will produce 160-200 pounds of apples; a dwarf tree will produce 60 pounds of apples.
Shipping: Apple tree shipments begin in mid-January via UPS Ground. If your ground is frozen we can keep your trees in cold storage for shipment in late March or early April. Shipping may be delayed by extreme cold. Ideally trees should be planted within one week of their arrival. Planting instructions are provided.
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