Apple Tree Varieties: Discover the Best Apples to Grow at Home

When you're at the grocery store, you usually see just a few types of apples, like MacIntosh, Honeycrisp, and Red Delicious. But when you’re growing apples in your own backyard, the possibilities are endless! That’s why choosing the right variety is crucial if you're looking for the best apples to grow at home in your yard.

I’ve had the chance to taste countless apple varieties over the years—from cherished heirloom types that harken back a century, to disease-resistant apple varieties that are easier-to-grow for beginners. In this blog post, I'll highlight some of the most intriguing options you might want to consider.

Plus, stick around till the end, and I’ll show you how to host your own apple tasting. This way, you can discover firsthand which are the best apples for you to grow. So, let's get slicing my friends!

The Best Heirloom Apple Varieties

While modern apple varieties often get the spotlight for their ease of cultivation and disease resistance, there's something magical about growing heirloom varieties that connect us to the past. Not all heirloom apple trees are super easy to grow, but they offer unique flavors and stories and give you access to fruit you can't buy anywhere else.

But what are heirloom apple varieties? When European settlers came to North America, they brought their cherished apple varieties with them. Over time, these varieties survived through grafting and new varieties evolved through natural seed propagation.

Over time, many of these wonderful varieties fell out of favour. Commercial farmers preferred to grow modern varieties that were easier to ship, or more attractive looking. So heirloom apples are apples that may have been popular 70, 80 or even hundreds of years ago.

To give you a taste of what’s out there, I teamed up with my community orchard colleagues Sherry and Lynn to taste test three heirloom apple varieties: Snow, Macoun, and Opalescent. Each of these brings its own unique history and flavor profile to the table.

The oldest variety of the bunch was the Snow apple (also known as Fameuse) which has been growing in North America since the early 1700s. Many believe it originally came from France.

This apple variety is called “Snow” because the flesh is very white and because the tree is hardy in colder climates. Snow apples are small, but sweet and juicy. We loved the flavor and felt we could taste a faint flavor of almond in it.

Then we moved on to Macoun. Developed by scientists at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, New York, and introduced in 1923, Macoun is a cross between a McIntosh apple and a Jersey Black Apple.

The Macoun apple may have inherited its colouring from the latter because it’s a lovely dark red with a purplish blush. Macoun is a pretty apple, but it didn’t excite us. It was sweet and crispy but not very juicy and tasted dry in our mouths.

Next up to bat was Opalescent. In the 1880s in Michigan, a man called George Hudson found a seedling apple tree that produced this tasty fruit. He decided to name it Hudson’s Pride of Michigan. Later on, the fruit would be propagated and marketed under the name Opalescent.

To us, Opalescent tasted sweet but it wasn’t juicy and like Macoun it felt dry in our mouths. So of the three historic apples, all three of us favoured the oldest one. Snow has been a popular apple for centuries for a reason.

There are many more interesting heirloom apples out there, and I'll share tips on where to find them for tasting later in this article. While the uniqueness and flavor of heirloom apples make them appealing, the ease of cultivation is also a significant consideration when selecting the best apples to grow. And there are apple varieties that are both delicious and easier to manage. I'll talk about those next.

The Best Disease-Resistant Apple Varieties

While heirloom apple trees produce some wonderful tasting apples, they might not always be the best choice if you are new to growing fruit trees.

That's because apple trees are very susceptible to diseases including apple scab, fireblight and rust. So over the years apple breeders have developed disease-resistant apple varieties that are easier to grow without the help of toxic sprays.

So in our second apple taste comparison we explored three disease-resistant apple varieties from Avalon Organic Orchards in Ontario. These varieties are amongst the best apples to grow if you are new to growing fruit trees.

The apple tree varieties that we had to taste included Novaspy, Novamac and Liberty. The first two varieties were developed at the Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food research station in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Their goal was to create hybrid apple trees through cross pollination (not genetic modification) that are disease resistant and easier to grow.

Novaspy knocked our socks off. This apple, which has in its parentage Red Spy and Golden Delicious, was crispy and juicy. It’s an easy eating apple and would also be perfect with cheese or in baking. It’s sweet and tart (many say it’s sweeter than McIntosh and Spy apples) and is just a little astringent. This is a perfect apple for adults with a good sense of taste. Kids would like it too.

Novamac was good, but couldn’t stand up to the Novaspy in our books. It has McIntosh in its parentage but it’s said to have a firmer texture. And like McIntosh, it’s supposed to have a bit of a wine flavor to it. I’m not a big fan of McIntosh so for me Novamac wasn’t high on the list.

Then we tried Liberty. Liberty is a bit of a “super apple variety” as it is resistant to so many different apple tree diseases - but does it actually taste good? Scientists at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station developed it in 1955 by hybridizing Macoun with another type of apple. They introduced Liberty to the market in 1978. It’s a good apple. Crunchy, tasty and sweet.

Gaye gave me one extra apple to taste as well. Pristine apples ripen in August so Gaye had just one imperfect specimen left which we cut up and shared. Pristine was developed by the PRI disease resistant apple breeding program in Indiana in 1994. It’s resistant to apple scab which is great. But it tastes FANTASTIC.

One bite is a taste of heaven. Pristine is sweet with no tartness and to us, it had a bit of a caramel flavor to it. This is a candy apple that doesn’t need to be covered with candy. We really enjoyed it and kids would love it too. So here are our favourites, in order:

• 1st Place: NovoSpy
• 2nd Place: Pristine
• 3rd Place: Snow
• 4th place: Liberty

In our search for the best beginner-friendly apple tree to grow, we discovered some real gems like NovaSpy and Pristine and we learned that with resilient and low-maintenance apples you don't have to compromise on taste! Next, we'll shift our focus to the apples that shine at farmers' markets, exploring varieties that are not only a hit with growers but also with consumers.

The Best Farmers Market Apples

Now, when you are considering which might be the best apple tree to plant in your garden, you might consider the delicious apple tree varieties that are available today in local farmers' markets and supermarkets.

So in 2019, our volunteer group held an apple tasting event for the public. Ontario Apple Growers supplied us with 5 different types of apples for the public to taste. Then we asked park visitors to vote on their favorite by putting a bean in the mason jar for their favorite cultivar.

We had five types of apples for the public to taste – some are old favourites and some are newer introductions.

So here were the options that visitors tasted:

• McIntosh – This apple was discovered by John McIntosh, a farmer in Ontario in the early 19th century, and he and his family became involved in propagating the variety.
• Gala – This variety can be grown with good quality results in both temperate and warm apple-growing regions. In 2018 it surpassed Red Delicious as the most grown apple in the USA according to the US Apple Association.
• Honeycrisp – This variety was developed in the 1960s and launched in the 1990s by the University of Minnesota Breeding Program.
• Silken – This variety was introduced in 1999 by the Summerland Research Center in the Okanagan valley.
• Ginger Gold – This variety was discovered as a chance seedling growing near a Golden Delicious orchard in Virginia in the 1960s. 

People of all ages came to taste and vote for their favorite variety. It was wonderful for us all to see how different each apple cultivar is in terms of appearance, flavour and texture. At the end of the two-day event we counted the beans in each jar to discover which apple was the favourite. Here are the results:

• Silken was the winner with 94 beans in the jar. This apple is sweet and crunchy. Few tasters had ever heard of this variety before but many loved it.
• Honeycrisp took second place with 66 beans. Many tasters who came to the table said Honeycrisp had been their favourite apple, but once they tasted Silken they changed their minds!
• Ginger Gold got 58 beans. Gala got 25 beans. And way down at the bottom was McIntosh, with just 14 beans. John McIntosh would be horrified!

While these varieties are tasty, they are generally not the easiest to grow, as most are susceptible to common fruit tree diseases. The one exception is Ginger Gold, which has good resistance to apple scab. So, if you're choosing the best apples to grow among the farmer's market favorites, Ginger Gold is your best bet!

Grow 
Fruit Trees 
That Thrive

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Which are the Best Apples to Grow for Flavor? Ask an Apple "Sommelier"

As you can see from this article, I'm lucky to have been able to taste and enjoy many different apple varieties over the years. And anyone can taste an apple. But with a little training, you can get even more out of your apple tasting experience.

So in 2020, I invited apple tasting expert Dr. Amy Bowen, to join me for episode 62 of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast. In the show, Amy, who is director of the Consumer Insights Group at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Ontario, demonstrated how professional tasters evaluate apples. You can see a video excerpt of the show below.

I also invited Yael Hickok to join us for that show. Yael is a volunteer who cares for Boyer's Orchard in Anchorage, Alaska where passionate fruit tree growing hobbyist Bob Boyer planted over 120 varieties of apple trees, many of them rare or heirloom trees.

So the plan was as follows:

• All of us (and all the show listeners) were invited to prepare for the show by buying three popular apple varieties Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp.
• We printed out a form where we would rate and evaluate each apple on a scale of low to high.
• During the show, Amy taught us how to look for different aromas and flavors in each apple. These favors included: overall apple intensity, honey, floral, or green herbaceous.
• We also evaluated the overall taste (sweet/acid) and texture (crisp/juicy) of each apple.

It was an eye-opening experience as we discovered flavors in these apples that we did not expect to find! Listen to episode 62 of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast and you can follow along with our adventure.

This episode will also help you to plan and lead your own apple taste comparison party. Download the following PDFs to print out and share with your apple tasting party guests.

• Apple tasting evaluation sheet
• Apple tasting flavor wheel

There are Hundreds More Apple Tree Varieties To Explore

When it comes to apples, there is so much diversity. Apples can be red, yellow, green and all sorts of shades in between. Some are crunchy and great to eat fresh. Others are not but they are fantastic cooked into pies and apple sauce. So the moral of the story is:

If you're looking for the best apples to grow, don't limit yourself to what's available at your local supermarket.

Where do you find the more unusual apple tree varieties?

• Buy your apples from a local orchard that specializes in diverse apple varieties. Then learn how to store apples properly so they last through the winter months.
• Visit an apple festival like the Salt Spring Island Apple festival where many different and unique apple varieties are on offer.
• Or carefully select and grow your own apple tree! You can order a huge variety of trees from a specialist fruit tree nursery.

The Best Apples to Eat are the Ones You Grow at Home

Now flavor is very important when choosing the best apple tree to plant in your yard. But before you rush to purchase a tree from a specialist fruit tree nursery, you need to know what you are getting into! Apple trees need hands on care, and you can learn all about what's involved in this post: Learn How to Grow Apple Trees The Easy Way.

Happy growing!

Grow 
Fruit Trees 
That Thrive

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Susan Poizner

Director, OrchardPeople.com Fruit Tree Care Education

Learn more about Susan on the about us page.