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

Keepsake apple tree

Keepsake
Keepsake is listed in the RHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking season: Very late
  • Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
  • Pollination group: 4
A high-quality late-season eating apple, keeps well, and at its best in mid-winter.
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Keepsake apple trees for sale

  • Medium 1-year bare-root tree $38.70
    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.


Keepsake is a late-ripening winter apple with a good strong apple flavor - at its best in mid-winter. The apples have a full rich flavor, and a juicy crisp texture.

Keepsake was released in the 1980s but did not achieve much commercial success, perhaps because the apples can be a bit uneven in shape. However the combination of good flavor and disease-resistance makes it a useful choice for the backyard orchard, particularly in the northern states.

How to grow

Keepsake is easy to grow, and has good disease-resistance. The only real issue is a tendency to over-crop, which can lead to biennial bearing (fruiting every other year). This can be prevented by carefully thinning the fruitlets in early June.

Advice on fruit tree pollination.

History

Keepsake was developed by the University of Minnesota and released in 1978. It is perhaps best-known as one of the parents of Honeycrisp, which inherits Keepsake's excellent disease-resistance.

Keepsake characteristics

  • Gardening skillBeginner
  • Self-fertilityNot self-fertile
  • Pollination group4
  • Pollinating othersAverage
  • PloidyDiploid
  • Bearing regularityBiennial tendency
  • Fruit bearingSpur-bearer
  • WildlifeRHS Plants for Pollinators
  • Picking seasonVery late
  • UsesEating fresh
  • CroppingGood
  • Keeping (of fruit)3 months or more
  • General resistanceGood
  • FireblightSome resistance
  • Cedar apple rustSome resistance
  • Cold hardiness (USDA)(4) -30F / -34C
  • Summer maximum temperaturesCool ( 20-24C / 68-75F)Warm (25-30C / 76-85F)
  • Country of originUnited States
  • Period of origin1950 - 1999
  • Fruit colorOrange flush
  • Fruit sizeAverage