Almata apple tree

Malus domestica 'Almata'

• Check pollinators >

• Picking season: Early
• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Pollination group: 1

Almata is a red-fleshed apple variety closely related to the red-fleshed crab-apple Malus niedzwetzkyana. The apples are dark red, with a soft red flesh, producing a pink juice. The blossom is dark pink, the leaves are a dull bronze-green color, and even the wood has a pink stained appearance.

The apples ripen early in the season and do not keep.

The flavor is poor, not really suitable for eating fresh.

Despite these poor characteristics Almata has proven quite popular because of its apparent health benefits - the anthocyanin pigments which give the apple its distinctive dark red appeance are rich in anti-oxidants.

Almata apple trees for sale

You can pre-order for spring 2025

• Semi-dwarf 1-year bare-root tree $37.95
  Mature height: 8ft-12ft after 10 years
  Semi-dwarf rootstock
  

  Out of stock
  

How to grow

Like many other red-fleshed varieties Almata flowers very early in the blossom season.

Almata is also very cold-hardy, down to zone 4.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Almata was developed by Niels Hansen at the South Dakota Experimental Station. His interest in red-fleshed apples was inspired by a research visit to central Russia in 1897 where he met the Russian botanist Niedzwetzky at Almaty in present-day Kazakhstan.  Niedzwetzky was the discoverer of Malus niedzwetzkyana,  a unique red-fleshed crab-apple growing wild in that area.  

Almata characteristics

• Gardening skillExperienced
• Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
• Pollination group1
• Pollinating othersPoor
• Picking seasonEarly
• UsesCulinaryJuice
• Keeping (of fruit)1 week
• General resistanceAverage
• FireblightSome susceptibility
• ScabSome susceptibility
• MildewSome resistance
• Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 3 (-40C)
• Summer maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
• Country of originUnited States
• Period of origin1900 - 1949
• Flesh colourPink / Red
• Fruit colorRed - dark

Similar varieties

• 
  Pink Pearl
  Pink Pearl features bright pink flesh, and pink apple blossom.
• 
  Redfield
  An unusual apple / crab-apple cross, with distinctive red-flesh.