Dolgo Crabapple (Bundle of 2) | Spring 2027

About Dolgo Crabapple

Dolgo is the acid crab for cold country: about 25 to 27 g/L acid in the juice, a heavy early bloom that pollenizes other apples, and hardiness to zone 1b.

• Where it came from: Raised at the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station in Brookings from Siberian crab N. E. Hansen brought back from Russia in 1897, and released in 1917.
• Parents: A seedling of Siberian crab (Malus baccata).
• Also called: Dolgo crab apple.
• Cider class: Sharp. It's a very high acid crab (Claude Jolicoeur measured 27 g/L) with some astringency, but the tannin is medium to low, under 2 g/L, so it isn't a bittersharp.
• Juice: SG about 1.070 (about 17 Brix) and about 25 to 27 g/L acid as malic (Claude Jolicoeur, Cider Workshop); growers have measured SG 1.072 to 1.074 and pH 2.95 to 3.01 (2017 and 2019).
• Winter: Rated zone 1b. It shrugged off a -10F early fall freeze at our nursery on October 25, 2020 that damaged some of our rootstocks.
• Bloom and ripening: blooms in apple group 2 of 7 (early); ripens about Aug 19 to Sep 1 in Missoula.

Part of: sharp cider apples, zone 2 cider apples, crabapple pollenizers.

More reading: best crabapples for cider.

Questions about Dolgo Crabapple

Is Dolgo crabapple good for cider? Yes, in small amounts. At about 25 to 27 g/L acid its juice is four or five times as sour as a normal cider juice, so keep it to 15% of a blend or less (5 to 10% is plenty for most). It brings acid and red color, and it ripens early (about August 19 to September 1 in Missoula), so many people freeze the juice until the apples are ready. See it at 4% in our Zone 3 heirloom cider blend, which opens in the hard cider calculator.

Are Dolgo crabapples edible? Yes. They're about an inch across, tart and juicy, and they make one of the best crabapple jellies there is.

How big does Dolgo Crabapple get? Dolgo grows into a full size tree, about 20 to 30 ft unpruned.

Sources: MSU WARC, Dolgo, Alaska Pioneer Fruit Growers Association, Dolgo crab, Cider Workshop, Sorbitol in Crab Apples? (Dolgo juice readings).

Overview

Producing massive amounts of white flowers every Spring that will then turn to 1-inch crimson red crabapples, Dolgo is a must for many reasons.

Uses

Whether it’s eating the good tasting crabapples (high acidity which I like), used for processing, or as a pollenizer or rootstock on which to top graft, Dolgo is a must for many reasons in the orchard.

Disease Resistance & Hardiness

And did I mention it's resistant to scab, fireblight, and cold hardy to zone 1b. When some of our rootstocks such as some in the Geneva or Emla series had suffered from some frost damage at our nursery from the early fall frost (-10F) on 10/25/20, Dolgo didn’t bat an eye.

Cider & Culinary Notes

Although I’ve never used Dolgo for cider, I have used one of its descendants, Kerr apple crab (which is crossed with Haralson) and that made for I think the best tasting cider I’ve ever had. Some sources say it makes great jelly and I’d bet Dolgo cider ain’t too shabby, especially when blended with something sweet like Macoun or Honeycrisp.

Cold Hardiness

Zone 1b hardy.