Choosing
Apple Varieties
Use the links below to help choose apple varieties (kinds of apples)
for your orchard. Links are available to lists of recommended varieties
for 40 states.
Most of these links are to lists provided by a
state university extension service.
Unfortunately, all states do not offer online versions of their
extension publications. If there is no link to a list of suggested apple
varieties for your state, choose apples that are recommended for a state
near yours or with a similar climate. A second alternative would be
to choose varieties appropriate for your location from the links which
offer descriptions of many apple
varieties.
Be sure to use the
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
to find the zone in which your community
is located in order to make sure that all of the apple varieties you
choose will be hardy enough to survive the winter. If the extension site
for your state only lists but does not describe the apple varieties they
recommend, use sites immediately below to find more information.
Sites for Apple Variety Descriptions:
Apple Trees for Northern
Climates (Saint Lawrence Nursery - NY)
The best list of apples, both modern and heirloom, for northern
states, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, upstate New York, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Alaska..
It is an especially good site for finding hardiness information.
Big Horse Creek
Farm - Master Variety List
Descriptions of about 300 varieties from this nursery located in
North Carolina. This is an excellent source for descriptions of apples
suitable for the southern or Appalachian regions.
Apple Varieties for Home Production
A huge alphabetical list of varieties suitable for various
regions from NaturalHub.com..
FairShare Recipe
Exchange - Apple Varieties
Another alphabetical list. This one emphasizes the culinary
uses of the varieties listed.
Nevas Apple Varieties
Description Page
One more long, alphabetical list.
Apple Source (Descriptions
of the apple varieties they sell)
Want to try some of the apples you've picked for your orchard?
This site not only offers descriptions, but they also sell and ship
more than 80 kinds of apples!
Choosing Apples (Apple
Journal)
Brief descriptions of hundreds of varieties as well as information
on disease-resistant varieties and a comparison (complete with pictures)
of popular apples.
Trees of Antiquity
Descriptions of many heirloom (old) apple varieties.
Click here for a table
showing hardiness, uses, and other information for these varieties.
Recommended Apple Varieties for 40 States
:
If the link for your state does not tell you
enough about apples recommended for your region, use the
sites above
to find out more about the varieties you are considering including
in your orchard.
Alabama
Apple Varieties
in Alabama (Alabama Cooperative Extension)
Alaska
Vegetable and Fruit Varieties for Interior Alaska (U. of
Alaska - Fairbanks)
Recommended Varieties for South Central Alaska (UAF)
Alaska Apples
Arizona
Fruit Trees: Planting and Varieties (University of Arizona)
Fruit Trees: Introduction and Plant Climate Zones (University
of Arizona)
Arkansas
Apple Production in the Home Garden (U. of Arkansas)
California
Growing Temperate
Tree Fruit and Nut Crops in the Home Garden and Landscape (University
of California)
Colorado
Fruit Fetish (Colorado State University)
Delaware
Apples
for Delaware
Florida
Low Chill Apple Cultivars
for North and North Central Florida (IFAS Extension)
Georgia
Home Garden
Apples (U. of Georgia)
Idaho
Apple Cultivars for East Idaho (U. of Idaho Extension)
Illinois
Apples and More (U. of
Illinois Extension)
Fruits and Nuts that Do
Well in the Chicago Area (Bob Kurle's Fruit and Nut List)
Indiana
Apple
Cultivars for Indiana (Purdue U.)
Iowa
Apple Varieties and Their Uses (Iowa State U.)
Suggested Apple Varieties for Home Gardens in Iowa (Iowa
State U.)
Kansas
Fruit and
Nut Cultivars (KSU Extension)
Louisiana
The Louisiana Home Orchard (LSU Ag Center)
Maine
Apples Grown by
Hillside Orchard (Manchester, Maine)
Apple Varieties
(Ricker Hill Orchards - Turner, Maine)
Maryland
Apple Varieties
in Maryland (Maryland Apple Promotion Board)
Massachusetts
100 Varieties (and
that is only counting apples) (U. of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard)
Apples and Crab Apples (U. of Mass.)
Michigan
Tree-Mendus
(apple photos - Michigan)
Apple
Scion/Rootstock Selection and Planning for Michigan (MSU)
Minnesota
Growing Apples and Pears in Minnesota Gardens (U.
of Minn.)
Apples for Minnesota and Their Culinary Uses (U. of
M.)
Commercial Fruit
Production in Minnesota (U of M)
Missouri
Apple Cultivars and their Uses (U. of Missouri)
Missouri
Apple Cultivars
Missouri
Apple History
Nebraska
Fruit Tree
Cultivars for Nebraska (U. Nebraska- Lincoln)
New Hampshire
Fruit Tree Cultivars for New Hampshire (UNH)
Dwarf Apple
Trees for the Home Garden (University of New Hampshire)
Growing
Fruit Trees (UNH)
New Mexico
Fruit Species and
Varieties for the Home Orchard (New Mexico State University)
New York
New York Apple
Country Varieties
Apple
Varieties Grown in NY State (Cornell Univ)
Grandpap's
Apple Orchard (Ithaca College NY)
North Carolina
Producing
Tree Fruit for Home Use (NCSU)
Apple
Varieties and Descriptions (Big Horse Creek Farm, North Carolina)
North Dakota
Fruit Tree Culture and Varieties in North Dakota (NDSU)
Oklahoma
Apple and Peach varieties for Oklahoma (Oklahoma Cooperative Extension)
Ohio
Apples: A
Guide to Selection and Use (Ohio State Univ.)
Oregon
Growing Fruits and Nuts in the Home Orchard (Oregon State
U.)
Pennsylvania
Tree Fruit Production
Guide (Penn. State U.)
Heirloom
Mid-Atlantic Varieties (Pennsylvania)
South Carolina
Home and
Garden Information Center - Apple (South Carolina - Clemson U.)
South Dakota
Fruit
Cultivars for South Dakota (South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service)
Tennessee
Selecting Quality Apples (U. of Tennessee)
Texas
Home Fruit Production - Apples (Texas State U.)
Apple Varieties (Texas A. & M.)
Utah
Apples (Utah State U. Extension)
Vermont
Vermont Apple
Varieties (Vermont Apple Board)
Virginia
Apple Variety Evaluations (Virginia Cooperative Extension)
Tree Fruit in the Home Garden (Virginia Tech)
Vintage
Virginia Apples
Washington
Growing Tree Fruit at Home in Eastern Washington (WSU)
Apples in Washington
State (WSU)
Apple Research/Variety
Trials (WSU)
Backyard Apple
Production (WSU)
Wisconsin
Apple
Cultivars for Wisconsin (U. or Wisc.)
Apples of Wisconsin
(Dane Co. Conservation League)