Mantet Apple Tree | Bare Root, Zone 2

Mantet apples in a basket at an apple exhibition

Mantet 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 resistanceNo strong resistance

Apple scab : Unknown, no published data yet
Cedar-apple rust : Unknown, no published data yet
Fire blight : Susceptible, 2 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 apple disease chart (opens in a new tab)

At a glance: Mantet Apple is an apple 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 4 of 7, mid for an apple or crabapple), and it ripens about Aug 16 to Aug 28 in Missoula (our Missoula estimate).

Hardy to	Zone 2 to 7. 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 950 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. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety that blooms in groups 3 to 5, such as Carroll, Pristine or Dearborn's Unknown. It has good pollen, so it can also pollenize other apples blooming at the same time. Good partners we carry: Kerr Applecrab, Norson Apple, Trailman Applecrab, Carroll Apple and 103 more. Apple Pollination Map.
Ripens	About Aug 16 to Aug 28 in Missoula (a Missoula estimate from published sources). Real years swing about a week either way. See the date for your town.
Rootstock and size	Dolgo: full size, about 20 to 30 ft tall unpruned. Very hardy and well anchored. 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	Fresh eating (7/10), sauce and butter (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 Canadian prairie breeding stations and what else came out of it.
What you get	Bare root, 3-5 ft or 4-6 ft. Shipped or picked up in Missoula in spring, roots wrapped in moist sawdust. Guaranteed to bud out.

Overview

Mantet is an early-season dessert apple developed in Manitoba, Canada (Morden) and introduced in 1929. It’s often praised for unusually good flavor for such an early apple. When Luke tried it at Ed Schultz in Summer of 2024, he rated it right up there with Pristine in terms of high quality summer apples. That year it was better than Carroll (another great summer apple), although in 2025, Carroll was better than Mantet (possibly because of our drought).

History & Parentage

Many fruit references describe Mantet as Tetofsky × McIntosh and note it was introduced by the Morden Station in 1929. However, the UK National Fruit Collection lists the parentage as Tetofsky × Unknown. The most rigorous way to state this is: Tetofsky is consistently listed as a parent, while the other parent is variously reported (often McIntosh, sometimes unknown in formal records).

Fruit Quality & Uses

Mantet is tender, fine-textured, juicy, sweet/subacid and aromatic, and is most often used for fresh eating, with additional use for cooking/sauce given its early season and softening nature. As is the case with most summer apples, Mantet is not a good storage apple.

Growth Habit & Spacing

These trees are grafted onto Dolgo and Bud 118 and can be spaced 18-20 ft for Doldo, and 15 ft. apart for Bud 118. Tighter for a more intense spacing/pruning regiment, or even further for a more lax approach.

Pollination

Not self-fertile—needs another apple nearby with overlapping bloom. Plant with other summer apples such as Carroll, Lodi, Yellow Transparent, Pristine (less hardy), Dearborn's Unknown, Prairie Sensation, Norland, Norkent, Norson, or even some of the earlier season applecrabs such as Rescue, Trailman, Kerr (slightly later), Chestnut, or Martha.

Cold Hardiness

Given Ed Schultz' constant success with Mantet after experiencing two separate winters of -47F, with no winter injury, Mantet is a solid zone 2. Hardy certainly down to -47F, and likely even colder (into the -50Fs). Given its hardiness as a summer apple, it would be a great apple for Alaskan growers in colder parts of the state with a shorter growing season.

Photo: “Mantet Apple” by TJSweden, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Questions we get about Mantet Apple

Does Mantet Apple need a pollenizer?

Yes. Mantet Apple needs pollen from a different variety that blooms at about the same time. Plant a different apple or crabapple variety that blooms in groups 3 to 5, such as Carroll, Pristine or Dearborn's Unknown. It has good pollen, so it can also pollenize other apples blooming at the same time. Partners we carry include Kerr Applecrab, Norson Apple, Trailman Applecrab.

How cold hardy is Mantet Apple?

We rate Mantet Apple 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 Mantet Apple need?

About 950 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.

When does Mantet Apple ripen?

About Aug 16 to Aug 28 in Missoula, Montana (an estimate built from published sources and our climate). Warmer places run earlier and cooler places later; our ripening map converts the date to your town.

How big does Mantet Apple get?

We graft Mantet Apple onto Dolgo (full size), which makes a tree roughly 20 to 30 ft tall if you never prune it. Some sizes are on Bud 118. Plant about 15 ft apart.

What is Mantet Apple good for?

Our top use scores for Mantet Apple are fresh eating (7/10), sauce and butter (6/10).

Is Mantet Apple disease resistant?

No. It's prone to fire blight. Nobody has published solid data on it for apple scab, cedar-apple rust and powdery mildew yet, so we list those as unknown. Our apple disease resistance chart has every rating, the notes and the sources.

Will deer eat Mantet Apple?

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

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Pollination partners

Trees that will pollenize Mantet Apple

Mantet 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 Good pollenizer

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