Pre-order for spring 2024We are now accepting pre-orders for the spring 2024 planting season.
Orange Pippin Trees USA logoSpecialist fruit trees for your orchard or back-yard

Wealthy apple tree

Malus domestica 'Wealthy'

Wealthy
Wealthy is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Very late
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Pollination group: 3

Wealthy is a dual-purpose apple with a sweet / sharp flavor, equally good for eating fresh or for use in the kitchen.

Wealthy apple trees for the northern states for sale

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

How to grow

Wealthy is a good choice if you are in zones 4 and even zone 3 because of its reliable cold-hardiness. However it is somewhat prone to fireblight and cedar apple rust.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Wealthy is an important variety in the development of new apple varieties in North America. It was the first variety to be specifically developed to withstand the cold winters of the upper mid-West. It was raised by Peter Gideon, a self-taught horticulturalist living in Minnesota, who experimented with crossing cold-hardy Siberian crab-apples with regular apple varieties. It quickly became a huge commercial success, making apple-growing possible across the prairies. It also galvanised public research into cold-hardy apple breeding, and led to the establishment of a state experimental fruit farm, which eventually became the starting point of the University of Minnesota's famous long-running cold-hardy apple program.

Back in the 1860s, before the University of Minnesota's well-regarded cold-hardy apple program even existed, there was Wealthy - thought to be the first apple variety raised specifically to cope with Minnesota winters.

Wealthy characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Pollination group3
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • Picking seasonVery late
  • UsesEating fresh
  • Keeping (of fruit)2-3 weeks
  • General resistancePoor
  • FireblightSome susceptibility
  • ScabSome susceptibility
  • Cedar apple rustVery susceptible
  • MildewSome susceptibility
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)Zone 4 (-34C)
  • Country of originUnited States
  • Period of origin1850 - 1899
  • Fruit colorOrange / RedRed

Similar varieties