Colorado Orange Apple Tree | Bare Root, Zone 3b

Representative photo of golden-yellow apples with an orange blush (Jonagold), not Colorado Orange itself

Colorado Orange Apple (Spring 2027)

$49.99

Reliable shipping

Flexible returns

Pollination Needs a partner

Bloom group 4 of 7 (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 resistanceNot tested yet

Apple scab : Unknown, no published data yet
Cedar-apple rust : Unknown, no published data yet
Fire blight : Unknown, no published data yet
Powdery mildew : Unknown, no published data yet

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

See it on our apple disease chart (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Colorado Orange Apple is an apple tree we've estimated at zone 3b (winters to -35°F), and not self-fertile, so it needs a different variety nearby as a pollenizer (bloom group 4 of 7, mid for an apple or crabapple).

Hardy to	Zone 3b to 8. The b means the warmer half of zone 3 only (winters to -35°F). Find your zone with our cold hardiness calculator.
Chill hours	About 1,000 hours (800 to 1,200). 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 4 of 7 (mid), late spring here. Not self-fertile. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety nearby that blooms at about the same time (bloom groups 3 to 5 on our chart). Good partners we carry: Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple, Burgundy Apple and 103 more. Bloom group is our estimate from the variety's origin and relatives. Apple Pollination Map.
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. Plant about 15 ft apart. Our rootstock guide.
Good for	Winter storage (9/10), fresh eating (7/10), pies and baking (7/10), juice and sweet cider (7/10), cooking and roasting (6/10), hard cider (6/10). Scores are our 1 to 10 ratings, but we're still new to this one, so they lean on published descriptions and other growers rather than our own harvests. 8 and up makes our Best Of lists.
Deer	A deer favorite. Fence it or cage it.
What you get	Bare root, 3-5 ft or 5-7 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

This is our first year growing Colorado Orange, so everything below is secondhand until we get more long-term data from our own mother trees.

Overview

Colorado Orange is an old Colorado apple that was grown for keeping. The old description the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project has on file says it's "palatable in December and improves from then on to July."

Origin and History

According to the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project (MORP), which works to preserve Colorado's heritage apples, it was originated by Jesse Frazer of Fremont County, Colorado, more than 100 years ago. Frazer said it was "of excellent quality," with a flavor "distinct and peculiar to itself." The USDA also had a specimen painted for its Pomological Watercolor Collection, and that's the painting in our photos.

Fruit and Uses

The old description MORP quotes calls it "large, round, oblate," a yellowish-orange apple with a blush where the sun hits it. The flesh is light yellow, "exceedingly firm, yet very crisp," with "a rich, high aromatic, sub-acid flavor," and it's very juicy. MORP lists it for fresh eating, cooking and cider, and the same description calls it "the longest keeper." If you have a root cellar, this is the kind of apple it's for.

Growth Habit and Spacing

Ours are on Bud 118 semi-dwarf rootstock. Plan on about 15 feet between trees, up to 18 feet for airflow.

Pollination

It needs a pollenizer. We're estimating it blooms mid-season, so pair it with something like Haralson, Wolf River, Frostbite, Goodland, Northwest Greening or Kerr.

Cold Hardiness

We haven't found a published hardiness number for Colorado Orange. We've listed it at zone 3b for now, but that's an estimate, not a tested number. We'll update it once we've wintered our own trees.

Image credit: watercolor of the ‘Colorado Orange’ apple by Bertha Heiges, USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

About the photo: this isn’t Colorado Orange itself. Photos of Colorado Orange are either under copyright or simply unavailable, so we picked the open-source image that looks closest to the fruit. Photo: “Jonagold apples” by liz west, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY 2.0.

Questions we get about Colorado Orange Apple

Does Colorado Orange Apple need a pollenizer?

Yes. Colorado Orange Apple needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety nearby that blooms at about the same time (bloom groups 3 to 5 on our chart). Partners we carry include Otterson Crabapple, Trail Crabapple, Alexander Apple.

How cold hardy is Colorado Orange Apple?

We list Colorado Orange Apple at zone 3b, which means winters down to about -35°F. There's no published hardiness number for it and we haven't wintered our own trees yet, so zone 3b is an estimate, not a tested number. We'll update it once we have.

How many chill hours does Colorado Orange Apple need?

About 1,000 hours of winter chill (we count hours at or below 45°F), likely somewhere between 800 and 1,200. Nobody has published a chill figure for it, so that's our estimate from its relatives and origin. Our chill hours guide has a calculator for your winters, and our research page lists the sources.

How big does Colorado Orange Apple get?

We graft Colorado Orange Apple 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. Plant about 15 ft apart.

What is Colorado Orange Apple good for?

Our top use scores for Colorado Orange Apple are winter storage (9/10), fresh eating (7/10), pies and baking (7/10), juice and sweet cider (7/10). Since we're still new to it, those scores lean on MORP's old description rather than our own harvests. Anything scored 8 or higher makes our Best Of lists.

Is Colorado Orange Apple disease resistant?

We don't know yet. Nobody has published solid disease data on Colorado Orange Apple for apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fire blight and powdery mildew, so we list it as unknown instead of guessing. That doesn't mean it's weak. Plenty of the plants we grow have never been through formal disease trials. Our apple disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Colorado Orange Apple?

Yes, deer love it. Protect Colorado Orange Apple with a fence or a cage, especially while it is young.

What arrives, and when does Colorado Orange Apple ship?

A dormant bare-root plant, roots wrapped in moist sawdust with a vapor barrier, shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring. Sizes offered: 3-5 ft or 5-7 ft. We guarantee our plants bud out. Stone fruits can be slow, so if one still has not budded out by August 15, write to us and we credit you for the following spring.

Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Colorado Orange Apple

Colorado Orange Apple 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 4 of 7 (Mid)

Pollination Needs a partner

Pollen Not tested yet

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