What apple varieties will grow in our cold Zone 4 climate? The worst thing is to wait several years and never have a crop because the fruit blossoms are not hardy. Some good varieties to grow in South Dakota are:
- Lodi is a large yellow-green apple maturing in August with a slight tart flavor. Like most apples, they tend to bear heavily every other year. They also need a pollinator to increase fruit production.
- Honeygold is a good substitute for golden delicious apples which are a little touchy in our area. It is a yellowish apple maturing in October with a sweet taste.
- Northern Spy is an older variety of apple developed over a hundred years ago. They mature in late September to October and are a good all-purpose red apple.
- My favorite has been a Cortland apple. A sweet apple maturing in early September.
- State Fair like the Lodi apple is early, maturing in August. A sweet flavor lending itself to many uses.
- Sweet Sixteen has high sugar content. Ripening in September and can store for a couple of months.
- Prairie Spy is a long storing apple ripening in October. Makes a great cooking apple.
Again, most apple trees require pollination from another variety of apple tree which have overlapping blooming times to increase the productivity of both apple varieties.
Another thing to remember is a standard tree grows on its own roots and may grow to 30 feet tall. A dwarf tree is grafted on another variety of roots and grows 6 to 9 feet tall. A semi-dwarf is also a grafted tree growing 14 to 20 feet.
Most apple trees bear heavy one year and less in the following year. You can get a better yearly production if you thin the number of apples.