Apple, Winecrisp, Bare Root

Winecrisp Apple (Malus domestica)

Winecrisp produces dark red apples with firm, juicy flesh and a balanced sweet-tart flavor. Its scab resistance and keeping quality make it useful for a fall harvest that extends into storage.

Key Characteristics

Firm fruit with a balanced flavor

The creamy flesh is crisp and juicy, with enough acidity to balance its sweetness. Try it fresh and in cooked dishes where a firm apple is useful.

A harvest that continues into storage

Winecrisp ripens later in the apple season. Sound fruit benefits from refrigeration, allowing you to spread its use beyond the week it is picked.

Scab resistance from breeding work

Winecrisp came through the Purdue–Rutgers–Illinois disease-resistance breeding program. Keep ordinary pruning, sanitation, and pest monitoring in place even when choosing a resistant cultivar.

Pollination Partners

Plant at least one different, compatible apple variety for cross-pollination. Options in our 2027 selection include Gold Rush, Enterprise, Gibson Gold, Gala, Honeycrisp. A second tree of the same cultivar on another rootstock is still the same variety. Cross-pollination depends on overlapping bloom, not matching harvest months.

For additional orchard pollen diversity and spring flowers, consider Indian Summer crabapple, where its bloom overlaps the apples it supports.

Rootstock and Mature Size

Semi-dwarf Rootstock (M106 or M111): approximately 12–20 feet. Mature size varies with soil, training, and pruning. Give dwarfing rootstocks secure support; the M.106/M.111 option may be either rootstock, so allow for the larger end of its range.

Product Details

• Sun: Full sun to light partial shade; full sun is best for fruiting.
• Soil: medium to medium-dry, well-drained soil; avoid standing water.
• Mature height: Approximately 12–20 feet; see rootstock and pruning guidance above.
• Bloom: Mid- to late-season; pink buds opening to white flowers.
• Fruit: Dark red skin; firm, crisp, juicy flesh with balanced sweet-tart flavor.
• Uses: Fresh eating, baking, juice, and refrigerated storage.
• Ripening: October
• Chill hours: Approximately 800–1000 hours.
• Pollination: Cross-pollination with a compatible cultivar required.
• USDA hardiness: Zones 4–8.

General Apple Orchard Guidance

A good start

Choose well-drained soil and enough room for the mature tree. Water consistently while roots establish, mulch with space around the trunk, and keep vigorous grass and other competitors away from the young root zone.

Fertility and fruit-tree guilds

Use a soil test to guide lime and fertilizer rather than feeding heavily by default. Our Tree Planting Kit fertilizer blend is an optional planting supplement; keep concentrated fertilizer away from bare roots and avoid excess nitrogen.

Interested in permaculture and stacking functions around your fruit trees? Explore our fruit-tree guild guide for ideas on combining plants for flowers, ground cover, and mulch while giving your tree room to grow.

Practical pest and disease care

Prune for light and airflow, thin crowded fruit, and remove fallen or mummified apples. Monitor for codling moth, apple maggot, and plum curculio; bagging clean young fruit after thinning can help in a small orchard. Identify a problem before choosing a treatment, and avoid insecticides during bloom to protect bees.