Quick Facts
Exposure: Full Sun
Height at Maturity: Under 25 Feet
Usage: Fruiting
Shipped As: Bare-root
Planting Zones: 3-8
Product Details
We ship bare-root apple trees in spring 2027. Each tree is 3 to 4 feet tall. You pick from four varieties, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Winesap and Rome, in packs of 25 or 100.
Four Apple Varieties, Four Origin Stories
Golden Delicious turned up around 1905 on J. M. Mullins's farm in Clay County, West Virginia. Stark Brothers bought the tree and introduced it in 1914. West Virginia made it the state fruit in 1995. Gala, Honeycrisp and Pink Lady all have Golden Delicious as a parent. The slices hold their shape in a pie.
Red Delicious was found in Madison County, Iowa, in 1872. Jesse Hiatt called it Hawkeye, and it won a Stark Brothers contest in 1892. Stark renamed it Red Delicious in 1914. It was the most-grown apple in the country from 1968 to 2018.
Winesap was first written down in 1804 as "wine-sop". The apples are small and deep cherry red, sweet with a tangy finish. They make good cider and keep well in storage.
Rome began in 1817, when Joel Gillet found an unfamiliar tree in a nursery shipment and planted it on the Ohio River bank near Proctorville, Ohio. It was renamed Rome Beauty in 1832. The apples ripen in late September and bake without falling apart.
Pollination for Apple Trees
Every apple flower checks the pollen it receives. The tree reads a gene on each grain, called the S-gene. A grain with the same S-gene as the tree gets turned away. Golden Delicious and Red Delicious carry different S-genes, so they accept each other's pollen. Bees carry it, and they fly at about 55°F and up. Plant your varieties within 50 feet of each other. Mow the dandelions first, or the bees stay on them.
Winesap is the exception to know. Its pollen is sterile, so it can't pollinate anything, and it needs two other varieties blooming nearby. Golden Delicious, Red Delicious and Rome cover that. A crabapple in the neighborhood works as a pollen source too.
Harvest and Storage
Golden Delicious is ready 130 to 150 days after full bloom. Rome comes in late September. Winesap and Rome both store well, which is why orchards kept them for winter.
Ordering Apple Trees in Bulk
Trees arrive bare-root in spring 2027. Open the box right away and keep the roots damp until planting. Volume pricing available on larger orders. Our apple tree growing guide covers planting and care, and the benefits of growing your own fruiting trees explains why. You can also browse all fruit trees for sale.