Macoun apple trees
- Gardening skill: Average
- Picking season: Late
- Keeping (of fruit): 1 week
- Self-fertility: Not self-fertile
- Pollination group: 3
- Uses: Eating fresh
Macoun is a McIntosh-style apple, widely grown in New England and with arguably the best flavor of its siblings. It is a sweet refreshing apple with a pronounced flower-like vinous flavor. The flesh has a soft crisp texture and plenty of juice.
Although it ripens late, Macoun is not a keeper - this is an apple that is definitely at its best when picked and eaten straight from the tree.
Macoun apple trees for sale
1-year Macoun apple trees bare-root
G.11
rootstock
Small (6ft-9ft) mature height
$29.00
1-year Macoun apple trees bare-root
G.210
rootstock
Medium (8ft-12ft) mature height
$29.00
*Find out more about the apple rootstocks we use to control the mature height.
How to grow
Macoun inherits most of the characteristics of the McIntosh family. It is happiest in the cooler zones of the north-east, and benefits from cool autumn nights to bring out the color and flavor.
As with most McIntosh offspring, Macoun is prone to over-cropping. To improve fruit size and quality it is usually necessary to thin the fruitlets in early June - one visitor to our website suggested thinning should be "merciless". This will also help to prevent the biennial bearing to which Macoun can be prone.
Macoun produces a vigorous tree that is fairly easy to grow. It is somewhat susceptible to scab but resistant to cedar apple rust and fireblight.
Advice on fruit tree pollination.
Historical details
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva - 1920s.
Macoun characteristics
Using
- Picking season:
Late
- Uses:
Eating fresh
- Cropping:
Heavy
- Keeping (of fruit):
1 week
- Flavor style (apples):
Vinous
- Fruit persistence:
Normal ripening
Growing
- Gardening skill:
Average
- Self-fertility:
Not self-fertile
- Pollination group:
3
- Pollinating others:
Average
- Ploidy:
Diploid
- Vigour:
Vigorous
- Bearing regularity:
Biennial tendency
- Fruit bearing:
Spur-bearer
Disease resistance
- General resistance:
Good
- Cedar apple rust:
Some resistance
- Fireblight:
Some susceptibility
- Scab:
Some susceptibility
Climate
- Cold hardiness (USDA):
(4) -30F / -34C
- Summer average maximum temperatures:
Cool ( 20C - 24C / 68F - 75F) Warm (25C - 30C / 76F - 85F) Cold (< 20C / 67F)
Identification
- Country of origin:
United States
- Period of origin:
1900 - 1949
- Fruit color:
Crimson
Similar varieties
CortlandDeveloped from McIntosh, Cortland is one of the most widely-grown Mac-style apples.
EmpireOne of the most widely-planted McIntosh style apples, Empire has the Mac flavor but improves on it.
EnterpriseEnterprise is a modern American disease-resistant apple, good for eating fresh and cooking.
McIntoshA traditional versatile apple popular in the northern states of the USA. Also known as Macintosh.
Snow Apple / FameuseA very hardy north country apple, known both as the Snow Apple and Fameuse, and the probable parent of McIntosh.
