Apple (Malus) ‘Arkansas Black’ Semi-dwarf 5 Gal.
$52.00
15-18‘T, Sun ·
Apple 'Arkansas Black'
Malus 'Arkansas Black'
Dramatic deep crimson (sometimes almost black) fruit! Compact, upright tree yields fruit on spurs all down the limbs. Extra firm and crisp apples are perfect for baking, apple butter, and cider. Full flavor develops after 30 days in the refrigerator, or in storage for 3 months, when the flesh turns creamy yellow and the full, sweet, intense aromatic flavor is unlocked.
Like other prized heirlooms, these apples have a complex flavor profile, and are worth the effort.
Mid-season bloomer. Triploidy. 2 Pollinators required.
Disease resistances: Some resistance to scab and fire blight; very resistant to rust. Due to the thick skin they appear to be less susceptible to codling moth.
The original Arkansas Black apple tree is suspected to have been a seedling of Winesap that grew in the orchard of Mr. Brattwait in Bentonville, Arkansas in the 1840s-70s. These excellent keeping apples are from the time when homes had cold cellars, not indoor refrigerators, providing fresh fruit in winter.
Tom Burford provides additional context: "Seedling apple orchards had been first planted in the Ozarks (some by the Cherokee) as early as 1822, and by 1900 Benton County had forty thousand acres of production orchards with fresh fruit, apple drying, brandy, and vinegar making as major industries."
Zones 4-8. Cold hardy to -30F.
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