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Keepsake apple trees

• Gardening skill: Suitable for beginners
• Picking season: Very late
• Keeping (of fruit): 3 months or more
• Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
• Pollination group: 4
• Uses: Eating fresh

• List of other varieties that will pollinate Keepsake

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.

Historical details

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.