Native plant Knowledge Base
FNPS staff members periodically write about topics of interest to native plant gardeners on the Colorado Plateau. Check back frequently for new postings.
Apple and Plum Varieties
JONAFREE APPLE (Malus domestica). Improved Jonathan dessert type apple, with less acid, scab immunity, and resistance to fire blight, mildew and cedar rust. Very productive. Pollinates with all varieties but Gravenstein & King.
LIBERTY APPLE (Malus domestica). Very resistant to scab, mildew, cedar apple rust & fireblight. This attractive red fruit is of medium size, with a crisp sweet/tart flavor. Midseason ripening, very productive, annual bearing, good keeper. Self-fertile. Zone 4-9.
HONEYCRISP APPLE (Malus domestica). Best flavored really hardy apple. Large red fruits are crisp, juicy & sweet. Moderate disease resistance. From Minnesota. Rated superior to McIntosh and Delicious for fresh eating in taste tests. Skin is mottled red over yellow with very crisp flesh. Great keeper up to 5 months. Zone 3-8.
SWEET 16 APPLE (Malus domestica). Medium large red striped fruit is firm, crisp, juicy and aromatic. Has a sweet, pleasing flavor with a hint of anise. Productive and precocious, a good keeper. Very cold hardy Minnesota selection. Blooms late. Resistant to scab and fireblight. Zone 3-8.
GOLDEN RUSSET APPLE (Malus domestica). Medium sized golden brown apple with excellent sweet flavor. Yellow flesh. For dessert & cider blend. Very old American variety. Scab resistant. The "champagne" of old-time cider apples, also delicious for eating and drying. Grey-green to golden bronze with a coppery orange cheek; heavily splotched with light brown russet. Crisp, highly flavored, fine-textured, yellow flesh makes very sugary juice.
SPITZENBERG APPLE (Malus domestica). Fruit medium to large; skin tough, russet dots, red over yellow with inconspicuous stripes. Flesh tinged yellow, firm, aromatic, sprightly subacid. Great keeper. Resistant to scab, fire blight and cedar rust. Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple; unexcelled in flavor or quality. Good off the tree, but flavor radically improves in storage. Fruit medium to large; skin tough, russet dots, red over yellow with inconspicuous stripes. Flesh tinged yellow, firm, aromatic, sprightly subacid. Simply delicious! Zone 3-9.
GREEN GAGE PLUM (Prunus spp.). Ancient Armenian variety still widely grown due to its outstanding flavor. Medium sized, round greenish yellow fruits that are great for dessert, canning, sauce or preserves. Productive & self-fertile. Susceptible to brown rot. Hardy to minus 30° F.
STANLEY PLUM (Prunus domestica). Large blue prune plum with sweet yellow flesh. Late ripening & self fertile. The most popular U.S. variety, from Geneva, NY. Zone 4-9.
BLUE DAMSON PLUM (Prunus insititia). Oval blue plums used exclusively for jam, jellies & sauces. Fruit is small, freestone, tart & produced in great abundance. Late blooming & very dependable. Originated near Damascus, Syria prior to the 1st century B.C. self fertile. Zone 4-9.
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