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A ripe Centennial applecrab
  • A ripe Centennial applecrab
  • Centennial applecrabs shown whole and cut beside a size scale
  • A ripe Centennial applecrab
  • Centennial applecrabs shown whole and cut beside a size scale
Centennial Applecrab (Spring 2027)

Centennial Applecrab (Spring 2027)

$59.99
Roostock/Size

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns
Pollination Needs a partner
Bloom group 3 of 7 (Early-Mid)
See trees that will pollenize it Apple Pollination Map
Ripening

Will it finish before your first hard freeze?

Check it on the Ripening Map (opens in a new tab)
Disease resistanceResists 2 of 4
  • Apple scab : Resistant, 4 of 5
  • Cedar-apple rust : Unknown, no published data yet
  • Fire blight : Resistant, 4 of 5
  • Powdery mildew : Unknown, no published data yet

Scored 1 to 5. Higher resists better, and ? means no published data yet.

See it on our crabapple disease chart (opens in a new tab)
On video

At a glance: Centennial Applecrab is an applecrab tree rated hardy to zone 2 in our ratings (winters to -50°F), not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer (bloom group 3 of 7, early-mid for an apple or crabapple), and it ripens about Aug 25 to Sep 4 in Missoula (picked and dated at our place in Missoula).

Hardy to Zone 2 to 8. A bare number means the whole of zone 2, colder half included (winters to -50°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours About 750 hours (500 to 1,000). Our estimate. No published figure exists for this variety yet. Montana winters give it plenty. In milder climates, make sure your winters average at least this much. Check your chill hours or see our sources.
Pollination Needs Cross-Pollination. Bloom group 3 of 7 (early-mid), late spring here. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety that blooms in groups 2 to 4. It has good pollen, so it can also pollenize other apples blooming at the same time. Good partners we carry: Hewe's Virginia Crabapple, Hyslop Crabapple, Wickson Crabapple, Blue Pearmain Apple and 100 more. Apple Pollination Map.
Ripens About Aug 25 to Sep 4 in Missoula (picked and dated off our own trees). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town.
Rootstock and size Bud 118: semi-dwarf in our dry Montana soils, semi-standard on paper, about 12 to 18 ft tall unpruned. Stands on its own, few suckers. Dolgo: full size, about 20 to 30 ft tall unpruned. Very hardy and well anchored. Our rootstock guide.
Good for Fresh eating (8/10), sauce and butter (8/10), juice and sweet cider (7/10), canning and freezing (7/10), jams and jellies (7/10), hard cider (6/10). Scores are our own 1 to 10 ratings; 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer A deer favorite. Fence it or cage it.
Where it came from Read about the University of Minnesota breeding program and what else came out of it.
What you get Bare root, 3-5 ft or 4-6 ft or 5-7 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

About Centennial Applecrab

Centennial is a sweet, pretty applecrab from the University of Minnesota (1957) that reached 19 Brix on farm in Vermont and took -47F in Gallatin Gateway with zero injury.

  • Where it came from: University of Minnesota, 1957 (released as MN 1472).
  • Parents: Dolgo x Wealthy.
  • Also called: MN 1472.
  • Cider class: Not classed by any source; Walden Heights calls it more sweet than tart.
  • Juice: 13.5 Brix and pH 3.63 (Walden Heights, 2014); 19 Brix on farm, tied for the highest there (Walden Heights SARE, 2020 to 2021).
  • Winter: Zero winter injury at Ed Schultz's orchard in Gallatin Gateway, Montana after a winter that hit -47F.
  • Bloom and ripening: blooms in apple group 3 of 7 (early-mid); ripens about Aug 25 to Sep 4 in Missoula.

Part of: zone 2 cider apples.

More reading: best crabapples for cider.

Questions about Centennial Applecrab

Is Centennial good for cider? As the sweet part of a crab blend, yes. It reached 19 Brix on farm in Vermont, and our rosé crab blend uses 20% Centennial with Kerr and Otterson.

Is Centennial applecrab edible? Yes. The University of Minnesota calls it excellent for fresh eating and sauce, though it doesn't store long.

How big does Centennial Applecrab get? On Dolgo roots it's full size, about 20 to 30 ft unpruned; on Bud 118 it's semi-dwarf, about 12 to 18 ft.

Sources: University of Minnesota hardy fruit releases, Fedco Trees, Centennial, Walden Heights Nursery, 2014 fruit evaluation, Walden Heights Nursery, SARE FNE20-960.

Overview

Introduced in 1957 by the University of Minnesota, Centennial is closely related to the beloved Kerr. While Kerr is a cross of Haralson x Dolgo, Centennial is the result of Wealthy x Dolgo—a pairing that brings both cold hardiness and flavor potential.

This is our second year offering Centennial, though. While we haven’t tasted the fruit yet, we’ve been impressed by the tree’s resilience—zero winter injury at Ed Schultz’s orchard in Gallatin Gateway, MT after a winter that saw -47°F on his site. It’s also a favorite among growers in Alaska, which says a lot about its toughness. Here is a direct quote from Ed, “

Flavor is excellent. And they’re really pretty. They’ve got a yellowish pink skin. They come on earlier but they hang on the tree a long time and stay good without getting mealy. Centennial ripens end of August/first part of September.

Fruit & Flavor

According to the University of Minnesota:

“Large, red-over-orange crabapple that is excellent for fresh eating and sauce, but does not store well.”

  • Ripens late August in Montana

  • Best used fresh or for sauce

Cold Hardiness

  • Hardy to at least -50°F

  • Great for Zone 2 and colder regions

For Spring 2027, our Centennial trees are grafted onto the hardy full size Dolgo and semi-dwarf Bud 118.

Questions we get about Centennial Applecrab

Does Centennial Applecrab need a pollenizer?

Yes. Centennial Applecrab needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety that blooms in groups 2 to 4. It has good pollen, so it can also pollenize other apples blooming at the same time. Partners we carry include Hewe's Virginia Crabapple, Hyslop Crabapple, Wickson Crabapple.

How cold hardy is Centennial Applecrab?

We rate Centennial Applecrab hardy to zone 2, which means winters down to about -50°F. Our ratings come from real winters at our two Montana sites and from trusted growers across the North, not from a catalog average.

How many chill hours does Centennial Applecrab need?

About 750 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 500 and 1,000. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Not tested. Its parents are Wealthy (800 to 1,000 hours) and Dolgo (about 500), so we estimate around 750. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

When does Centennial Applecrab ripen?

About Aug 25 to Sep 4 in Missoula, Montana (picked and dated off our own trees). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.

How big does Centennial Applecrab get?

We graft Centennial Applecrab onto Bud 118 (semi-dwarf in our dry Montana soils, semi-standard on paper), which makes a tree roughly 12 to 18 ft tall if you never prune it. Some sizes are on Dolgo.

What is Centennial Applecrab good for?

Our top use scores for Centennial Applecrab are fresh eating (8/10), sauce and butter (8/10), juice and sweet cider (7/10), canning and freezing (7/10). Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Centennial Applecrab disease resistant?

Yes, for the diseases it's been tested for. It's resistant to apple scab and fire blight. Nobody has published solid data on it for cedar-apple rust and powdery mildew yet, so we list those as unknown. Our crabapple disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Centennial Applecrab?

Yes, deer love it. Protect Centennial Applecrab with a fence or a cage, especially while it is young.

Juice data

SG (Brix)Acid g/L Tannin g/LpH
1.065 (16.0) P 5.5 E 0.9 E 3.63 P

On these numbers it's a sharp on the Long Ashton scale. Fruit grown in Vermont. Letters show how solid each number is: M measured, P published but weaker, E our estimate.

Walden Heights, VT: 13.5 Brix in 2014, 19 on farm in 2020 to 2021, pH 3.63, "more sweet than tart". Acid and tannin are ours.

Sources: Walden Heights Nursery (Walden, VT, zone 3a), SARE fruit evaluation 2014, Table 7; Walden Heights Nursery SARE FNE20-960 report (UVM lab, 2020 to 2021)

Run Centennial Applecrab through the hard cider calculator to see what it does in a blend.

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Bred By

University of Minnesota Fruit Varieties

Best For

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Disease Resistance

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Browse

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Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Centennial Applecrab

Centennial Applecrab needs a different apple or crabapple nearby to set fruit. Every tree below blooms at the same time and has pollen that works for it. Plant partners within about 100 feet.

Bloom group 3 of 7 (Early-Mid)
Pollination Needs a partner
Pollen Good pollenizer

104 trees we carry will pollenize it. Showing the best matches, in-stock first.

See every pairing on the Apple Pollination Map

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