There are now several thousand apple varieties from natural crossings and targeted breeding that have established themselves in commercial plantations and private gardens. Determining them is not always easy.

Identify old varieties and plant new ones

Hobby gardeners are often confronted with the question of identifying apple varieties when they want to harvest particularly tasty apples from an old apple tree and want to replant this tree after a disease or fungus infestation. These classic apple varieties include the following varieties:

  • James Grieve
  • boskoop
  • Cox Orange
  • Elstar

To determine the variety, it is usually not enough to look at the tree trunk and leaves.

Various indications also lead to a solution for apple trees

In order to be able to identify the exact variety of an apple tree, the appearance of the tree at different times of the year must be observed. Some apple trees get yellow leaves when they fall, while other varieties tend to have a reddish fall color. Another indication is the time of the apple blossom, although this can also vary depending on the weather throughout the year. However, in relation to the rest of the development of vegetation in a garden, there are varieties with earlier and later apple blossoms. The flowers themselves do not always look the same. Although apple blossoms are very similar, they can develop white and reddish hues during the pollination period.

Harvest time is the most important time for determining the variety

The most important identification criteria for apple trees are the fruit. When the apples are harvested from the tree, they differ not only in colour, shape and weight. Some apple varieties have a characteristic skin pattern of green and red tones. The criterion for true gourmets is the apple taste. This can be sweet, a little sour, sometimes bitter and floury. While modern breeds only show a little browning of the flesh after biting, this is more pronounced in older varieties.

tips and tricks

Pomologists are specialists who deal with the cultivation and identification of apple trees. At the state offices for horticulture, they can identify the variety of your apple tree from photos, fruits and leaves.

Category:

Trees