Overview

Bring the joy of homegrown fruit to your garden with the McIntosh apple tree. This popular variety, botanically known as Malus domestica ‘McIntosh’, is offered as a 2-3 foot tall bareroot live plant, ready for planting. Famous for its bright red skin and distinctive tangy-sweet flavor, the McIntosh apple is a beloved classic. It’s an excellent choice for eating fresh, baking into pies, making sauces, or crafting homemade cider. Known for its heavy fruit production and early ripening season, you can anticipate a bountiful harvest year after year, often fruiting as early as its first year. The McIntosh apple tree is also valued for its robust nature and resistance to common pests and diseases, making it a rewarding addition for both experienced gardeners and those just starting their fruit-growing journey.

Key Benefits

Adding a McIntosh apple tree to your landscape offers numerous advantages, from delicious fruit to ease of care.

• Abundant, Early Harvest: Enjoy a significant yield of flavorful apples, often starting in the first year and ripening early in the season, ensuring fresh fruit sooner than many other varieties.
• Versatile Culinary Use: The crisp, tangy fruit is perfect for fresh eating, baking, cooking, and making apple cider, providing endless culinary possibilities.
• Disease and Pest Resistance: This variety boasts natural resilience against common apple tree issues, reducing the need for chemical sprays and promoting organic growth.
• Easy to Grow: With its hardy strength and low susceptibility to problems, the easy grow apple tree makes successful fruit cultivation accessible even for novice gardeners.
• Organic Growing Potential: Its natural hardiness means you can grow delicious, chemical-free apples, perfect for a healthy lifestyle.
• Attractive Landscape Addition: Beyond its fruit, the tree offers beautiful seasonal foliage and blossoms, enhancing the aesthetic appeal of your garden.
• Perfect for Home Orchards: A reliable and productive choice for anyone looking to establish a home orchard, especially a fruit tree for zones 4-7.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your McIntosh apple tree, a sturdy bareroot apple tree, is straightforward, ensuring years of delicious fruit. These trees thrive in full sun, meaning they need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily to produce the best fruit. When planting your bare root tree, choose a site with well-draining soil. Apple trees prefer a slightly acidic to neutral pH (6.0-7.0). Dig a hole wide enough to spread the roots and deep enough so the graft union (the swollen part on the trunk) is about 2 inches above the soil line. Water thoroughly after planting.

Consistent watering is crucial, especially during the first few years as the tree establishes. Aim for about 1 inch of water per week, either from rainfall or irrigation, particularly during dry spells. Once established, the tree is more drought-tolerant but will benefit from watering during prolonged dry periods. Fertilize in early spring with a balanced fruit tree fertilizer, following package directions. Pruning is essential for good fruit production and tree health; prune in late winter to remove dead or diseased branches, improve air circulation, and shape the tree. The Malus domestica McIntosh variety is hardy and grows well outdoors in USDA Zones 4-7. Remember that McIntosh apple trees are not self-fertile, so you will need another apple variety nearby for pollination to ensure fruiting. Good pollinator options include Gala, Fuji, or Honeycrisp.

Size & Details

This offering is for a McIntosh apple tree supplied as a bareroot live plant, typically measuring 2-3 feet in height upon arrival. When mature, the tree can reach a height of 12-15 feet with a spread of 8-10 feet, forming a moderately sized, productive fruit tree suitable for most home gardens. It exhibits a moderate growth rate, establishing itself well within a few seasons. Harvest time usually occurs in September, and with proper care, you can expect the tree to bear fruit as early as its first year after planting. This bareroot apple tree is a robust specimen, ready to establish quickly in your garden and provide a reliable harvest of delicious, tangy McIntosh apples for many years to come.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this apple tree get? A: The McIntosh apple tree typically grows to a mature height of 12-15 feet with a spread of 8-10 feet, making it a manageable size for most home gardens.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The McIntosh apple tree is an outdoor fruit tree, best suited for planting directly in the ground in appropriate USDA hardiness zones.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: This fruit tree requires full sun exposure, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily, to ensure optimal growth and fruit production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the McIntosh variety is known for being an easy grow apple tree, boasting good disease and pest resistance, making it suitable for gardeners of all experience levels.
• Q: What condition will the tree arrive in? A: Your bareroot apple tree will arrive as a dormant, bare root specimen, meaning it will not have soil around its roots or leaves. This is the ideal state for planting during dormancy.
• Q: When is the best time to plant this apple tree? A: Bareroot apple trees are best planted in early spring while the tree is still dormant, allowing it to establish its root system before the growing season begins.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: This fruit tree for zones 4-7 is very cold hardy and designed to thrive in these specific USDA hardiness zones, enduring winter temperatures within that range.
• Q: Do I need more than one tree to get apples? A: Yes, Malus domestica McIntosh apple trees are not self-fertile. You will need to plant another compatible apple variety nearby for cross-pollination to ensure fruit development.
• Q: How long until it starts producing fruit? A: With proper care and good pollination, the McIntosh apple tree can begin to bear fruit as early as its first year after planting, with increasing yields in subsequent years.
• Q: What kind of soil is best for this apple tree? A: McIntosh apple trees prefer well-draining, fertile soil with a slightly acidic to neutral pH. Avoid heavy clay soils that retain too much moisture.