The apple is the most popular fruit tree for the garden. But which is the best apple variety for the home garden?
The dream of having your own apple tree, which provides tasty fruit every year for snacking, baking and cooking, is almost universal among garden owners. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for people to complain about the tree planted with such hope: it is too big, it only bears fruit every second year or not at all, it is constantly ill, the apples are scab or the whole tree is attacked by fruit tree canker.
Before deciding on an apple variety, it is important to consider which criteria the perfect apple for your own garden should meet. How should the apple taste? Do you want to harvest small or large apples? And above all: what are the growing conditions like in the garden? Because not every apple variety is suitable for all gardens. Once you have found an answer to all these questions, it will be much easier to give you advice when buying.
So that you can find your way through the thicket of the various apple varieties, we have summarized everything you need to know in extensive variety articles. For more detailed information on specific apple varieties, simply follow the relevant link.
Tip: In order to show you only the best apple varieties that are easy to care for, we have sorted out varieties that are particularly susceptible to disease or otherwise problematic for you in advance.
Sour apples: The best varieties
Not everyone loves sugar-sweet fruit - on the contrary: many prefer the tangy and refreshing acidity that characterizes many apple varieties. In fact, wild apples are often extremely acidic, so they can rarely be used as dessert apples. It was only through targeted breeding and selection of the varieties that ever sweeter and tastier varieties were selected. We have put together for you the best sour apple varieties that have mastered the balancing act between sparkling acidity and a pleasant taste.
1. ‘Boskop’: Well-known and well-established large, sour apple; Particularly suitable for baking or as a baked apple, but can also be used as a sour dessert apple; known for its storability until theApril in.
2. ‘Red Berlepsch’: Strongly aromatic apple with juicy flesh; particularly well suited as a sour apple for direct consumption; Can be stored well into March.
3. ‘Freiherr von Hallberg’: Juicy, sour apple with a spicy aroma; crisp flesh and unusually small core; very well suited as a table apple.
4. ‘Red Moon’: Strongly sour taste; attractive red coloring of the flesh; due to the high acid content only conditionally suitable as a dessert apple; good cider apple.
5. ‘Ontario’: Juicy apple with excellent sweet and sour taste; rather undemanding in cultivation and also suitable for late frosts; late harvest from the end of October and good storage properties.
Other sour apple varieties for the home garden:
- 'Holsteiner Cox'
- 'Discovery'
- 'White Clear Apple'
- 'Idared'
- 'Jamba'
- 'Topaz'
Tip: Most apple varieties are grafted, which means that they consist of a base and a noble variety. The substrate usually forms the roots and is therefore the most important factor for water and nutrient absorption and thus also for growth. Depending on which base was used, the growth strength of the tree can vary. We explain which rootstock is suitable for which tree in our variety articles.
Sweet apple varieties
Sweet apples are not only ideal as a snack, they are also he althy because, unlike other sweet types of fruit, apples only have a low sugar content. The following varieties have particularly sweet apples in the garden:
1. ‘Rheinischer Winterrambur’: Large, yellow-green apples with red stripes; very sweet aroma with little acidity; low demands for location and care.
2. 'Helios': Medium-sized, yellow fruits; finely aromatic, sweet aroma with little acidity; scab resistant with high yield.
3. 'Red Ice Apple': Dark red fruit with excellent sweet taste; firm flesh and easy to store; robust and he althy with a good yield.
4. 'James Grieve': Juicy apple with a sweet, tangy aroma; low demands on care and location; Due to the thin shell, the shelf life is limited.
Other sweet apple varieties:
- 'Opal'
- 'Resi'
The he althiest apple varieties
An old saying goes that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. In fact, there is a core of truth in this statement: Apples have always been considered a he althy food because of their high content of vitamins, fiber and secondary plant substances. In addition, even sweet apple varieties are only moderately high in sugar. But which is the he althiest apple variety? Researchers assume that many old apple varieties are particularly he althy because they have an increased content of polyphenols, which have various he alth-promoting effects and, among other things, can have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing effects. In addition, some apple allergy sufferers tolerate varieties with a high polyphenol content better. The following are therefore among the particularly he althy apple varieties:
1. ‘Red Moon’: Very old apple variety with red flesh; extremely high content of anthocyanins, which act as antioxidants; is considered allergy friendly.
2. ‘Goldrenette Freiherr von Berlepsch’: Old apple variety with high polyphenol content; high vitamin C content; aromatic, sweet and sour taste; good shelf life.
3. ‘Damsonrenette‘: Old variety with high polyphenol content; often allergy friendly; pleasant sweet and sour taste with good shelf life.
4. ‘Boskop’: High in fiber and polyphenols; often well tolerated by allergy sufferers; sour taste and good shelf life.
5. 'Metzrenette': Juicy, noble aroma; very high polyphenol content and allergy-friendly; robust and he althy to grow.
Other he althy apple varieties are:
- 'Gravensteiner'
- 'Croncels'
- 'Dülmener Rosenapfel'
- 'Notaris'
Apple varieties with large apples
Many gardeners prefer apple varieties with large fruits. Not only do these often look more attractive, they are also often easier to work with because they are easier to peel. If you're looking for an apple variety with big apples, check out the following varieties:
1. 'Graham's Jubilee Apple': Large, sweet apples with a light base color; Autumn apple with a short shelf life; good for eating fresh, baking and canning.
2. ‘Landsberger Renette’: Old variety with large, sweet wine apples; good shelf life up toEnd of January; suitable as table and kitchen apple.
3. 'Winter Banana Apple': Large, yellow-green to light orange apples with a sweet taste; late winter apple with good storability; good table and cider apple.
4. 'Bismarckapfel': Old, sour-tasting variety with large apples; also suitable for high altitudes; very good storage properties.
5. ‘Cardinal Bea’: Dark red, large apples with sweet, juicy flesh; robust in cultivation; good suitability as table or cider apple.
Other apple varieties with large fruits are:
- 'Boskoop'
- 'Kaiser Alexander'
- 'mother apple'
- 'Rheinischer Krummstiel'
Crisp apples for the home garden
The first bite into a crunchy apple is certainly a nice feeling. Unfortunately, not every variety can boast a crisp texture. If you don't want to do without an apple with firm flesh, you should look out for the following varieties:
1. 'Rubinola': Autumn apple with crunchy, juicy flesh; sweet and sour, spicy taste; Robust, he althy apple variety.
2. 'Böhmer Cox': Large, red marbled fruits; crisp flesh with balanced sweetness; good dessert apple.
3. ‘Gerlinde‘: Crisp apple with a sweet taste and fine acidity; small to medium-sized apples with red cheeks; Resistant to scab and not very susceptible to powdery mildew.
Other crunchy apple varieties:
- 'mother apple'
- 'Pilot'
- 'Discovery'
- 'Florina'
Robust and easy-care apple varieties
A he althy, robust apple tree saves its owner a lot of work and is often a guarantee for regular yields even under suboptimal site conditions. You should know these particularly easy-care apple varieties:
1. 'Rebella': Resistant to scab, mildew and fire blight; little susceptible to spider mites; very frost hardy.
2. 'Rewena': Resistant to fire blight, scab and mildew; tart-sour aroma; high and regular returns.
3. 'Maunzenapfel': Particularly robust apple variety; also suitable for high altitudes and heavy frost; hardly susceptible to pests and diseases.
Other robust apple varieties:
- 'Liberty Apple'
- 'Corbinian apple'
- 'Rheinischer Krummstiel'
- 'Joseph-Musch-Apfel'
- 'Florina'
- 'Reglindis'
Particularly juicy apples
Apples can not only be used for direct consumption or baking - the processing into apple juice is also a popular variant. Cider apples, which are preferably used for the production of juice, not only have to shine with their taste, but also be special be juicy. But even when eating straight from the tree, many people love to bite into the juicy flesh of the fruit. If you prefer a particularly juicy apple, look out for these juicy apple varieties:
1. ‘Red Trierer Weinapfel’: Firm, juicy flesh; tart-sour aroma; Cider apple with good storage properties.
2. 'Florina': Medium-sized apple with sweet, juicy flesh; brings high yields early; very robust and he althy.
3. 'Sonnenwirt Apple': Coarse-celled, juicy flesh; slightly sour, fruity taste; very good suitability for cider, baking and direct consumption.
Other juicy apple varieties:
- 'Rewena'
- 'Boskoop'
- 'Pinova'
- 'Topaz'
- 'Dülmener Rosenapfel'
Beautiful Apples and Trees
An apple tree not only provides us with delicious fruit, but can also become an eye-catcher in the garden: dreamy blossoms, a picturesque growth and particularly intensively colored apples transform the apple tree into a real eye-catcher. But which varieties shine with particularly beautiful apples? We introduce you to the most beautiful apple varieties:
1. ‘Baya Marisa’: Apple with intense red skin and flesh; pink, impressive flowers; no tendency to tan; Red coloring is retained even after processing.
2. 'Carnival': Unusual fruit coloration with red stripes on a yellow background; balanced, slightly sour taste; white-pink flowers.
3. ‘Redlove’: Various red-fleshed apple varieties with an intense red skin; flowers in pink and red tones; The red coloring is retained during cidering and baking.
More beautiful apple trees:
- ‘Heslacher Gereutapfel’
- 'Blue Cologne'
- 'Silver Pearl'
Have you found the right apple tree for you? We will tell you how to proceed after the selection of the apple treeour article on “planting an apple tree”.