20 apple varieties: Grow your own organic apples

Looking to plant an apple tree in your garden? Here is the lowdown on 20 different types of apples. The varieties listed should be available at nurseries. They are listed in the order in which they mature.

No apple tree is fully self-fertile; so more than one variety should be grown. It's ideal to choose trees from within the same pollination group, although pollination will usually occur between varieties in adjoining groups. The groups relate to flowering time:

1. Early to mid season
2. Midseason
3. Mid to late season

Triploids (marked T) are almost sterile varieties and therefore poor pollinators. They need to be grown with two other varieties from the same group — to pollinate both the triploid and each other.

The days from bloom to picking time indicated below are only an average. The exact time varies according to season and locality. All the apples on a tree do not ripen at the same time; and, for the early- and mid-season varieties, you'd need to pick them more than once.

NAMES POLLINATION GROUP DAYS FROM BLOOM TO PICKING COLOUR REMARKS(T) Indicates triploid number of chromosomes and the need for 2 other varieties nearby for cross-pollination.

(S) Indicates that spur strains on dwarfing rootstocks are available.

* Indicates disease-resistant varieties.

'Gravenstein': (T)190–95Red striped. Good quality. High acidity.

Cooking; 40–60 days' storage.

'Cortland': 2125–130  Medium red. Good quality. Medium acidity. Dessert and cooking; 90–100 days' storage.

'Honeycrisp': 2125–130 Red striped. High quality. Low acidity. Dessert; 90–150 days' storage.'

Jonagold' (T)2125–130  Red over yellow. Good quality.  Medium acidity. Dessert; 90–120 days' storage.

'Liberty': 2125–130 Red. Good quality. Medium acidity. Dessert and cooking; 90–120 days' storage.

'McIntosh': (S)1125–130 Medium red. Good quality. Medium acidity. Dessert and cooking; 60–90 days' storage.

'Golden Delicious':  (S)2140–145Yellow. High quality. Medium acidity. Dessert and cooking; 90–120 days' storage.

'Jonathan': 2140–145 Bright red. Good quality. Medium-high acidity. Dessert and cooking; 60–90 days' storage.

'Red Delicious': (S)2140–150 Medium red. Popular. Low acidity. Dessert and cooking; 90–100 days' storage.

'Northern Spy': 3145–155 Red striped. Good quality. Medium acidity. Dessert and cooking; 120–150 days' storage.

'Empire': 3155–165 Red. High quality. Medium acidity. Dessert and cooking; 90–120 days' storage.

'Mutsu' (or Crispin): 3155–165 Green. High quality. Medium acidity. Dessert; 90–120 days' storage.

The following apple varieties are the hardiest, and grow well in the prairies.

• Consult your local nursery to determine which varieties are best suited to your area.
• To ensure pollination, plant more than one variety.

Alternatively, you can grow a crab apple. These make good pollinators for eating apples. It need not be very close: bees will still find both. NAMES COLOUR REMARKS

'Breakey': Yellowish green. Eating and cooking.

'Carroll': Creamy green. Eating and cooking.

'Collet': Greenish yellow. Dessert and cooking.

'Edith Smith': Greenish yellow. Eating.

'Glenorchie': Pale yellow. Eating and cooking.

'Haralson':Green. Eating.

'Harcourt': Yellow with splashes of red. Eating.

'Luke': Yellow and red. Dessert and cooking.

Regardless of your choice, be sure to check with the professionals so that you can maximize the season and enjoy the produce to the fullest.