The 'Maunzenapfel' is mainly known in southern Germany. We introduce you to the high-yielding and robust apple and explain what needs to be considered when growing and caring for it.
The 'Maunzenapfel' is also simply called 'Maunzen' and is one of the most robust apple varieties. It defies frost, comes to terms with cool altitudes, successfully wards off most diseases and can deliver incredibly high yields as a "mass carrier". Because of the favorable sugar-acid ratio, its fruit is used in particular for cider and juicing.
‘Mountain Apple‘: Wanted Poster
| Synonyms | 'Meows' |
| Fruit | small to medium sized; yellowish-green base color with light red striped top color |
| Flavour | juicy, sweet and sour |
| Yield | very high; tends to alternate |
| Harvest time | from September |
| Maturity for pleasure | from November |
| Shelf Life | good; Can be stored until January |
| Growth | medium to strong |
| Climate | undemanding; thrives even at high altitudes with severe frost |
| Diseases and Pests | hardly susceptible to pests and diseases |
Origin and history of the apple
The 'Maunzenapfel' comes from the Göppingen area in Baden-Württemberg. It is named after its finder, an arborist named Maunzen. The 'Maunzenapfel' was a seedling that had emerged by chance, the tree warden Maunzen recognized its potential and continued to propagate it. This is said to have happened around the year 1900, but it was only after the ice winter of 1928/29 that the special qualities of the Meunzenapfel were recognized: the tree was exceptionally frost hardy and was almost the only variety to withstand temperatures close to -40 °C even at rough altitudes. As a result of this experience, the 'Maunzenapfel' was increasingly cultivated in southern Germany.
‘Meows‘: Appearance and Taste
The fruit of the 'meadow apple' is small to medium-sized. The apple is mostly equilateral and conical in shape with five distinct edges giving it the shape of a pentagon when viewed from above. The shell surface is usually flat, sometimes slightly warty and only slightly greasy. The basic color of the shell is yellowish green, the top color on the sunny side has washed-out light red stripes and is marbled. The stalk is rather thin.
The flesh inside is juicy, very firm, has a sour taste and is yellowish-white in colour.
The apple has a pleasantly aromatic scent, but the taste is not particularly appealing. Because of this - and also because of its attractive appearance - the apple is sometimes referred to as a "blender".
Cultivation and care of the apple variety 'Maunzenapfel'
The 'Maunzenapfel' is one of the sturdiest, simplest and he althiest apple varieties. The demands on the climate are minimal, high altitudes with severe frost and cool summers are no problem for the tree. It grows satisfactorily in any regular garden soil. Only very light, sandy soils should be enriched with a high-quality potting soil such as our Plantura organic universal soil. In this way you can increase the proportion of organic matter and ensure that the soil is always slightly moist and nutrient-rich.
The 'Maunzenapfel' tree is medium to strong growing and shows this behavior into old age. If you want to plant the apple in a house garden with little space, you should only buy the variety grafted on weaker growing rootstocks such as M9 or M7. However, it should be noted here that these are far less frost hardy than the 'Maunzenapfel' variety, M9 is even considered to be very susceptible to wood frost.
In order to be able to fully utilize the particular robustness of the apple variety, it should therefore grow on its own roots cultivated when space is available. Cultivation as a standard tree on an extensively cultivated meadow orchard is ideal for 'Maunzen'.
The growth of 'Maunzen' is strongly branching, so that dense and spherical crowns quickly develop. In extensive cultivation, it is recommended that the tree is seldom pruned and only occasionally that senile or unfavorably growing branches are removed. Anyone who grows the 'Maunzenapfel' on a slow-growing base should use scissors and saws every year to thin out the crown. With a professional pruning of an apple tree, you can give the tree the right impetus.
The blossom ofMeadow apple opens late and is therefore frost-proof between April and mid-May. The pink-tinged flowers are best pollinated by bees from a nearby pollinator. The 'Rote Sternrenette', the 'Goldparmäne', the 'James Grieve' and 'Cox Orange' have proven to be suitable for this.
As a mass carrier, the 'Maunzenapfel' unfortunately has a strong tendency to alternation, even with the best pruning of the apple tree, that is to fluctuating returns. Radical cuts should be avoided so as not to further encourage him to do so. In years with extremely high fruit set, the hangings should definitely be thinned out, i.e. all but one fruit per fruit cluster should be removed. This thinning prevents the apple from being completely fruitless the following year.
The 'Meunzenapfel' is hardly susceptible to fruit tree canker, fire blight and powdery mildew and is almost never affected by apple scab.
‘Meadow Apples‘ Harvest and Use
The fruits of the autumn and winter apple 'Meunzenapfel' are already ripe in early to mid-September, so they can be picked for storage. The flesh is still very firm in this state and even tastes slightly bitter. The bitter taste can no longer be tasted until October and the apple is edible in November. If harvested early and stored in a dark, cool and moist place, the apple can be kept until January.
Because of its high sugar and acid content, the 'meadow apple' is a very popular fruit for pressing, cidering, juicing and even for distilling schnapps. However, the variety is not recommended as table fruit, a pollinator variety that is planted nearby, such as the award-winning 'Cox Orange', is better suited for this purpose.
The 'Meow Apple' is a generous pollinator that reliably pollinates other apple varieties but can also provide food for many insects. This makes it one of the most bee-friendly plants you can plant in your garden - one more reason to think about getting an apple tree!