Salads & Slicing

Our use scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings, adapted from the grades S. A. Beach used in The Apples of New York (1905). A 6 is a solid good, and 8 and up are his higher grades. For slicing, Cortland and Snowsweet top the group at 9 out of 10, and Honeycrisp scored 8. Snowsweet doesn't brown when cut. Goblin, a Bitterroot apple found in Stevensville, has crisp flesh that resists browning too, and Blushingstar is a white freestone peach that doesn't brown when cut.

The top three all handle cold: Cortland and Snowsweet are rated to zone 3 and Honeycrisp to zone 2b. Macoun, Empire, Goblin and Airlie Red Flesh are rated to zone 3b. The peaches and nectarines want warmer ground. Contender and Blushingstar are rated to zone 4, Glohaven and Hardired to zone 4b, and Fantasia, Flavortop and Mericrest to zone 5. Chicago Hardy fig is rated to zone 6, so here it winters indoors. Check yours with the cold hardiness calculator.

The apples all need a pollenizer, and Belle de Boskoop is a triploid, so plant two other apples near it. The peaches and nectarines are self-fertile, so one tree will crop. Our pollination maps help you pair the apples.

Slicing fruit comes in over a long stretch. Risingstar peach ripens in early August, Hardired and Glohaven in late August in Missoula, Contender and Blushingstar in early September, Cortland, Snowsweet and Macoun in late September, and EverCrisp in mid to late October. See the ripening maps.