Description

Leaves: Alternate; simple; ovate; deciduous; serrate margin; white hairy beneath.

Twigs/buds: Twigs red-brown; somewhat woolly; characteristic sweet taste. Terminal bud woolly (particularly at tip), blunt; lateral buds similar but smaller.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect; 1" wide and showy; white to pink. Fruit a pome or apple; red, yellow, or green.

Bark: Thin; red-brown to gray-brown; divided by shallow furrows into wide, scaly ridges.

Wood: Not generally used for wood products other than fuel; hard; good firewood.

General: Not native to Utah; cultivated apples are of European or Asiatic origin. Fairly adaptable and tough, but prone to many minor and major pests. Shade intolerant.  Fruit and/or plant part can be nuisances; use fruitless varieties if possible.  Sucker (sprout) growth can be a problem.

Landscape Use: Not a good landscape tree unless fruit is desired. Perfect fruit involves extensive pesticide use. Most eating apples are cultivars or varieties that are grafted. Zones 3-9.

Cultivars: Numerous varieties.  Common in Utah: 'Braeburn', 'Cameo', 'Elliot Gold', 'Gala', 'Golden Delicious', 'Honeycrisp', 'Jonagold', 'Jonathon', 'Lodi', 'Mcintosh', 'Red Delicious', 'Wealthy'.

Characteristics