🍏 Different Types of Apple Trees

Apples are one of the most rewarding fruit trees you can grow, offering endless variety in flavor, texture, color, and harvest time. Whether you want crisp and tart for snacking, soft and sweet for baking, or heirloom charm for cider-making, there’s an apple tree for every taste and climate.

1. Dessert Apples (Eating Apples)

These are your sweet, juicy, straight-off-the-branch apples — perfect for munching fresh or slicing into salads.

Honeycrisp: Crisp, sweet, and incredibly juicy. Thrives in cooler climates.
Fuji: Sweet and firm with long storage life. Great for lunch boxes.
Gala: Mild, aromatic, and early ripening - one of the easiest for beginners.
Pink Lady: Tart-sweet balance with a long growing season and great shelf life.

2. Cooking Apples (Baking & Sauces)

Cooking apples are tarter and hold their shape beautifully when baked or simmered.

Granny Smith: Classic green apple with zesty tartness. Perfect for pies.
Bramley’s Seedling: The gold standard for apple sauce and crumbles.
Jonathan: Old-fashioned apple that bakes beautifully and adds rich flavor to desserts.
Northern Spy: Tart yet aromatic - ideal for pies and cider pressing.

3. Cider Apples

For those who love a rustic homestead vibe and homemade brews, cider apples bring complexity and depth of flavor.

Kingston Black: Rich tannins and deep flavor - the ultimate traditional cider apple.
Yarlington Mill: Sweet and aromatic, perfect for blending.
Dabinett: Balanced bittersweet flavor with excellent fermentation qualities.
Ashmead’s Kernel: A heritage English variety with a honeyed tang that works beautifully for fresh eating or cider.

4. Heirloom & Heritage Apples

These varieties connect you to history and old-world flavor, offering unique textures and aromas you won’t find in grocery store apples.

Arkansas Black: Deep red, crisp, and stores beautifully through winter.
Roxbury Russet: America’s oldest known apple, with a sweet-tart, rich flavor.
Esopus Spitzenburg: Said to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite — complex, spicy, and aromatic.
Gravenstein: Juicy, fragrant, and an early producer, beloved for baking and sauce.