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Orange Pippin Trees USA logoSpecialist fruit trees for your orchard or back-yard

FrostbiteTM apple tree

Frostbite
Frostbite is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Late
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Pollination group: 3
An unusual small apple with a distinctive sweet flavor, and exceptional cold-hardiness.
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Frostbite apple trees for sale

  • Semi-dwarf 1-year bare-root tree $39.30
    Mature height: 8ft-12ft after 10 years
    G.935 rootstock
Next deliveries

Our inventory is up to date, you can pre-order now for the spring 2024 planting season.


Frostbite is an unusual apple, smaller than most modern varieties, and with a very different intense sweet flavor.

It is also one of the most cold-hardy of all apple varieties, and can be grown throughout zone 4 and with care in zone 3 (using cold-hardy rootstocks).

History

Frostbite was developed by the University of Minnesota in 1921, but not trademarked and released until 2008. For most of the intervening period it was relatively unknown outside of the university, where it was referred to simply as MN 447. However it has played a key role in the University of Minnesota's long-term apple breeding program, and contributed its excellent cold-hardiness to several other important varieties - it is a parent of Keepsake and Sweet Sixteen, and grandparent of Honeycrisp.

Frostbite characteristics

  • Gardening skillAverage
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Pollination group3
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • PloidyDiploid
  • Bearing regularityRegular
  • Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
  • WildlifeRHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking seasonLate
  • UsesEating freshJuice
  • Keeping (of fruit)1-2 months
  • Flavor style (apples)SweeterAromatic
  • Juice styleSweeter
  • General resistanceAverage
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)(3) -40F / -40C
  • Summer maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)
  • Country of originUnited States
  • Period of origin1900 - 1949
  • Flesh colourCream
  • Fruit colorRed - dark
  • Fruit sizeSmall

Similar varieties

  • See also Honeycrisp
    Honeycrisp
    Honeycrisp is a cold-hardy disease-resistant apple - it shows just how good modern apples have become.
  • See also Keepsake
    Keepsake
    A high-quality late-season eating apple, keeps well, and at its best in mid-winter.
  • See also Sweet Sixteen
    Sweet Sixteen
    Sweet 16 is a sweet-flavored apple, with good cold hardiness.