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Apple trees

Expert help available for this variety

Northern Spy

Northern Spy is a traditional American winter apple, particularly well-suited to colder climate zones. The apples are quite large and have a handsome red-flush over a yellow-green background. Rated by the 19th century English pomologist Robert Hogg as "a valuable dessert apple".

Northern Spy ripens quite late in the season and will then keep in cold conditions well into the following spring without loss of quality. It is a versatile apple, with a good strong aromatic flavor, suitable for eating fresh or cooking with.

Deliveries Fall 2012 or March - April 2013

Northern Spy apple trees for sale

Mature height*Supplied asPriceQuantity
required
Small (6ft - 9ft)1-year -Bare-root - Bud. 9 rootstock  (dwarf)$29.00
Large (9ft - 12ft)1-year -Bare-root - G.30 rootstock  (semi-vigorous)$29.00
Very large (14ft+)1-year -Bare-root - Bud. 118 rootstock  (vigorous)$29.00

Delivery discounts. Prices are for individual trees excluding delivery. There is no minimum quantity but it is cost effective to order in multiples of 3 trees.

Delivery period: Trees are delivered in March and April. However it is best to order as soon as you can to ensure items are reserved for you. If you live in a warm zone (e.g. Southern California, Alabama etc.) Fall delivery is possible. More details on our spring shipping schedule by state.

*Mature heights: Height shown is the approximate height of the tree when mature (after 5-10 years), not the height when supplied. Actual mature heights may vary considerably dependent on your local conditions and training and pruning regime.

Stock availability: Items showing as 'sold out' will probably be available again next season. If you would like to reserve in advance use our enquiry form - this does not commit you to anything.



Growing

  • Overall disease resistance: Poor
  • Cropping: Heavy
  • Fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Flowering group: 5
  • Ploidy: Diploid
  • Pollinating others: Average
  • Precocity: Slow to start bearing
  • Bearing regularity: Biennial tendency
  • Fruit bearing: Spur-bearer
  • Gardening skill: Average
  • Vigour: Large
  • Fruit persistence: Normal ripening
  • Fireblight: Very susceptible
  • Woolly aphid: Very resistant
  • Cedar apple rust: Some susceptibility

Uses

  • Flavour quality: Very good
  • Flavour style: Aromatic
  • Good for eating fresh
  • Good for cooking
  • Good for juice
  • Picking season: Very late
  • Use / keeping: 3 months or more

Identification

  • Fruit colour: Red / Green
  • Leaf colour: Green
  • Country of origin: United States
  • Period of origin: 1800 - 1849

Climate

  • Suitable for temperate climates
  • Tolerates cold winters
  • USDA Zone 4: Yes
  • USDA Zone 5: Yes
  • USDA Zone 6: Yes
  • USDA Zone 7: Yes

Pollination guide for Northern Spy apple trees

Northern Spy is self-sterile and needs to be pollinated by another tree of a different variety nearby.

Our online pollination checker lists suitable pollination partners for this variety.

More advice about pollination.


How to grow Northern Spy apple trees

Northern Spy has a reputation as a tough hardy heavy-cropping apple variety. However it is quite susceptible to many of the usual range of apple diseases, particularly mildew and fireblight. Northern Spy also takes its time to come into bearing, and when it does, it can over-crop and then fall into a biennial bearing habit. This can be avoided by preventing over-cropping in the "on" year. Don't let these problems put you off though, as Northern Spy's natural vigour helps it to grow through many of these problems, and on a dwarfing rootstock should start bearing within 4 years.

One of the reasons that Northern Spy is so successful in colder zones is that it blossoms quite late. It helps if you have other late-flowering varieties nearby such as Ashmead's Kernel or Spitzenberg.

Planting instructions.

Pruning instructions.


Historical details

Originated in the early 1840s in New York state.

Northern Spy has been used as a starting point in rootstock programmes, and the well-known English MM106 rootstock is derived from it.

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